Charles Martinet retires as the voice of Mario: 'You are all Numba One in my heart!'

This year has marked a sea change when it comes to representations of Nintendo's mustachioed, denim-clad mascot, Mario.

The iconic video game character jumped to the big screen this spring with The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which remains the top grosser at the U.S. box office so far this year. In that film, the titular hero was voiced by Chris Pratt, rather than his longtime video game voice actor Charles Martinet.

On Monday, Nintendo officially announced that Martinet is retiring from voicing the beloved plumber. According to a statement from the gaming juggernaut, Martinet will move into a new role as "Mario Ambassador."

"Charles Martinet has been the original voice of Mario in Nintendo games for a long time, as far back as Super Mario 64," reads the statement from. "Charles is now moving into the brand-new role of Mario Ambassador. With this transition, he will be stepping back from recording character voices for our games, but he'll continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario and interacting with you all!"

Nintendo; Illumination Entertainment & Universal Pictures Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt) in 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie'

Martinet shared the statement to his own Twitter account, adding, "My new Adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart! #woohoo!!!!!!!"

Thanks to Martinet, Mario's enthusiastic yelp of "woohoo" has become iconic. The blockbuster success of the film, however, will likely result in younger fans associating Pratt's voice with the plumber. For the time being, it's unclear if Pratt will also lend his voice to games featuring the character.

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