It’s been a week since the trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie came out, and while Jack Black’s Bowser and Chris Pratt’s Mario were the main headlines, there was a small appearance from Keegan-Michael Key’s Toad. Now, with everyone slowly coming to terms with the vibe of the movie, Key has decided to share some more details about his version of Toad—the classic, mushroom-headed sidekick guy from the Mario games.
Speaking with Variety, Key teased that he improvised a song for the movie as Toad, which he said was “an absolute blast.” He said he worked with directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (Teen Titans Go!) to work on his Toad voice, and he just kept wanting to pitch it “higher and higher and higher.” That fits with Toad’s voice in the games, especially Mario Kart where he does most of his talking, and in the trailer it’s certainly closer than what Pratt’s doing to what we’ve heard before.
The idea of Toad singing should be a little concerning to everyone familiar with viral videos from a few years ago, though… We’re not sure anyone’s ready to hear something like this coming out of giant movie theater speakers.
Other than an opportunity to revisit “Toad Sings Chandelier,” this also seems like proof that The Super Mario Bros. Movie will have some—as Variety puts it—“musical sections.” The story mentions that there have been a lot of rumors that there would be singing of some sort in the movie, and Jack Black apparently mentioned at New York Comic Con that he “did a little bit of rocking” in his Bowser performance. He also specifically mentioned King Koopa having “a musical side,” so he’s not just talking about a rocking vibe or whatever.