Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Chris Pratt says he's been working hard on Super Mario's voice

"It's-a me."

If you've recovered enough from last night's news that Chris Pratt is now Super Mario, here's some words from the newly-appointed actor on landing the plumb role in Nintendo's upcoming animated movie.

Speaking via Instagram, Pratt said that getting to play Mario was proof "dreams come true" after he used to steal quarters from a local wishing well to play the Super Mario Bros. arcade game.

"There was this coin-operated laundromat by my house and it had Super Mario Bros., the original arcade game. I loved that game. I never had a quarter... I'd steal them from the wishing well.

Cover image for YouTube videoRecapture the magic of Super Mario 64 with this buildable LEGO ? Block

"That's wild. It just dawned on me right now that the quarter I stole from the wishing well to play Super Mario Bros. has come true - that I get to be the voice of Mario.

"But I clearly stole someone else's wish so I'm waiting for that row of karma dominos to come crashing down on me right now. But as it is right now, 'it's-a me, Mario!' That's not the voice. You'll have to wait to hear the voice but we've been working hard at it.

"Dreams come true," Pratt concluded.

Nintendo announced the animated movie's cast during last night's Nintendo Direct. Alongside Pratt, Queen's Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy will play Princess Peach, while Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Charlie Day will be Luigi.

Jack Black will voice Bowser. Keegan-Michael Key will play Toad. Seth Rogen will voice Donkey Kong.

Charles Martinet, the proper voice of Mario, will instead appear in "surprise cameos".

The long-awaited Super Mario movie is being made by Minions production company Illumination, and was first announced back in 2017.