Last year, Nintendo announced the cast of Illumination’s upcoming animated Super Mario movie, including the casting of Chris Pratt as the titular plumber, a decision which continues to confuse many fans to this day.

Ever since the reveal, Illumination CEO and Super Mario Bros. producer Chris Meledandri has been defending the casting decision online, mostly offering reassurances to fans that Pratt’s Mario voice is “phenomenal“. At the CineEurope event in Barcelona, Meledandri shared even more comments about the casting of Pratt, stating that he’s given a “strong performance” and that he believes critcicism will mostly “evaporate” once people hear it.

“Chris was cast because we felt he could give a great performance as Mario. And now that we’ve done about 15 recording sessions, and the movie is three-quarters done, I sit here and say that I love his performance as Mario. …he’s given such a strong performance.”

“When people hear Chris Pratt’s performance, the criticism will evaporate, maybe not entirely — people love to voice opinions, as they should. I’m not sure this is the smartest defense, but as a person who has Italian-American heritage, I feel I can make that decision without worrying about offending Italians or Italian-Americans. … I think we’re going to be just fine.”

In a separate interview with Variety, Chris Pratt himself shared his own thoughts about his performance, claiming that it would be “unlike anything you’ve ever head” in the Mario world, and that he worked closely with the directors to craft the voice:

“I worked really closely with the directors and trying out a few things and landed on something that I’m really proud of and can’t wait for people to see and hear, it’s an animated voiceover narrative. It’s not a live-action movie. I’m not gonna be wearing a plumber suit running all over. I’m providing a voice for an animated character, and it is updated and unlike anything you’ve heard in the Mario world before.”

Of course, at the time of this writing, we have yet to see any teasers or trailers showing Pratt’s performance in action, leaving the question of whether it will live up to expectations unanswered. Stay tuned for more updates as they come.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.