Even though it’s become a meme used to criticize his increasing love of the recording booth, Chris Pratt‘s track record as a voice actor is actually pretty phenomenal.
The LEGO Movie, sequel The Second Part, and Pixar’s Onward have respective Rotten Tomatoes scores of 96, 84, and 88 percent, while the early reactions indicate that The Super Mario Bros. Movie is shaping up to be greeted as one of the greatest video game adaptations ever made, regardless of the constant backlash being directed towards Pratt’s accent as the title hero.
If anything, that’s reason enough to be quietly optimistic about the Guardians of the Galaxy star headlining the upcoming Garfield, even if following in the footsteps of Bill Murray is a tough task. The memes have been a constant source of online mirth for a while now, and it appears that Pratt is fully aware his penchant for a voiceover role has turned him into a figure of widespread mockery, because his April Fool’s Day post on Instagram is a masterclass in self-awareness and self-deprecation.
As you can imagine, a brief hint of panic swept across the internet, which was to be expected given Pratt’s reputation and close ties to the Mouse House. Of course, once everyone realized what the date was, a sigh of relief was breathed at around the same time eyebrows were raised at the often-controversial A-lister leaning into a joke that’s regularly been made at his expense.
Then again, there’s always the chance the Disney top brass may have just had a light bulb go off in their heads…