And, we know now that Toad will have a small musical number in the film, revealed by Keegan-Michael Key. Key, who studied theatre at university, has sung on-screen previously in the TV series Schmigadoon! and Netflix’s Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. In an interview with Variety, Key revealed he got to improvise a song in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, adding the experience was “an absolute blast”. He also discussed the process of nailing Toad’s voice with directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic. “There was something about the timbre,” he said, “I wanted to get it higher and higher and higher.” Toad is not the only character who will lean into their musical chops during the movie. Speaking at a New York Comic Con panel last week, Jack Black also said he brought “some of [his] heavy metal roots” to Bowser. “I did a little bit of rocking,” he teased, “I think you’ll be surprised to see that Bowser has a musical side.” Key’s portrayal of Toad and Jack Black’s take on Bowser both impressed Eurogamer staff in the movie’s trailer, so needless to say there’s some anticipation here for the characters’ musical debuts.
