Keegan-Michael Key improvised a song for Toad in the Super Mario Bros. movie

A lot has been said about the voice cast behind the upcoming Super Mario Bros. animated movie from Nintendo and Illumination, but the bulk of that talk has centered on appreciation for Jack Black and disappointment in Chris Pratt. There’s not too many people talking about Toad, and I guess in the grand scheme of things, that’s good news!

While we already knew this, you might have forgotten that Keegan-Michael Key is the actor behind Toad, and we got to hear just a taste of his take on the character in the debut trailer. It’s clear that Key has had a voice filter and effects applied to his work, but if you’re a fan of the actor/comedian, you can probably pick up on his cadence.

What awaits us from Key’s take on Toad in the full movie? According to a Variety interview with Key, it seems like we’ll get to hear a musical moment!

“I got to improvise a song in ‘Super Mario Bros.,’ which was an absolute blast. That was just a stick of fun, that whole thing.

I was working on the voice with my partner and trying to find the voice through the internal journey of the character. And then with the directors [Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic], we sprinkled some things in, we moved it around.

There was something about the timbre. I wanted it higher and higher and higher. And that’s where we ended up, and I’m really happy with where we ended up.”

[Keegan-Michael Key]

There have been rumors for months now about the Super Mario Bros. movie including musical numbers, and Key’s comments certainly lend credibility to those rumblings. Couple that with Jack Black’s comments on Bowser having a ‘musical side’ in the film, and it seems like we will indeed to see a musical set-piece or two.