THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE – An All-New Mario Adventure on the Big Screen!

THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE is directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic. The film stars Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Benny Safdie, Donald Glover, Brie Larson, Glen Powell, Luis Guzman, and Kevin Michael Richardson.

Mario and Luigi, now residing in the Mushroom Kingdom, make a new friend when they meet the dinosaur Yoshi. But it’s not long before the brothers are off on another adventure, aiding Princess Peach in rescuing the captured Princess Rosalina, who’s been kidnapped by the villainous Bowser Jr., out to rescue his father from the heroes, while also bringing a new weapon to the table that could spell doom for the Mushroom Kingdom and many galaxies.

Video game-based movies are tough to make well. In over three decades of attempting it, only a handful of studios have delivered. Nintendo became reluctant to license out their properties for movies after the failure, both with critics and audiences, of the 1993 film SUPER MARIO BROS. It took 30 years, but lightning finally struck for Nintendo on the big screen when THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE came out in 2023, making a ton of money for Nintendo and Universal Studios/Illumination, showing that game-based movies might have a future after all. It didn’t hurt that Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto was on board as a producer! When a movie does well, sequels are inevitable. Three years later, THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE has arrived. Does lightning strike twice for Nintendo?

THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE succeeded because of its simplicity. It wasn’t an overly complex film or one that contained any big shocking moments. But it was a great time for young and old alike, with youngsters being whisked away by the colorful characters and the grown-ups loving this franchise finally getting the big screen treatment it deserved, complete with a few easter eggs tossed in for the longtime fans to enjoy.

Unfortunately, lightning doesn’t strike twice. While the previous Mario movie from Universal/Illumination felt like a fun simple story with a few easter eggs, THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE feels like it’s nothing BUT easter eggs. If the first film was organic and natural, the sequel feels like a manufactured product that crams in as many references to the games/worlds/characters as possible, often discarding elements as quickly as they’re introduced. There are some moments with heart, and the voice cast is solid, but it’s unfortunately a disappointment. Bigger doesn’t always mean better, especially if it comes at the expense of everything that made the first movie so much fun.

I’ll give credit where credit is due. The voice cast is quite good. Jack Black once again seems to be having the time of his life playing Bowser, and newcomers like Brie Larson are a welcome addition to this galaxy, infusing these characters with as much heart and soul as the script will allow. Luis Guzman is great, albeit underused. The animation is beautiful, and does a solid job bringing these diverse locales, which go well beyond just the Mushroom Kingdom, to life. If Shigeru Miyamoto wanted to see his creations come to life visually on the biggest screen possible, he picked the right team to do so with Universal/Illumination.

But for every step forward… it’s several steps back. I’d even go so far as to say THE SUPER MARIO BROS MOVIE from 2023 is my favorite movie ever based on a video game, or at least in the top two or three. THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE is nowhere near this accolade. I appreciated the easter eggs in the first movie… but the sequel seems intent on sacrificing meaningful content for character and locale references. A society of bees? Let’s throw it in the movie. A Mario game on the NES that had different villains from the rest of the series proper? Let’s throw them in the movie. Characters and franchises Mario crossed over with in the SUPER SMASH BROS. games? Let’s throw them in the movie. Baby versions of the characters? Why not? Let’s throw them in too! Most of these elements are gone from the movie as quickly as they’re introduced, making you question how many the movie actually needed.

I’m also puzzled by the filmmakers’ decision to skip straight to SUPER MARIO GALAXY as the inspiration for the second movie. Between Mario’s first appearance in 1981’s DONKEY KONG to 2007’s SUPER MARIO GALAXY, there’s a quarter century worth of stories to tell that could’ve built up to something this big and bold. Why not make a SUPER MARIO LAND movie with Tatanga the Space Lord as the villain, letting the heroes visit that game’s unique and exotic locales? A movie that introduces the Koopalings? What about a SUPER MARIO WORLD movie with a lost valley, cavemen, and monstrous dinosaurs? A SUPER MARIO BROS. 2 (AKA SUPER MARIO USA) movie about the dream world of Subcon? Or even my dream project, a movie based on 1996’s SUPER MARIO RPG, which introduced many memorable one-off characters that could use a new lease on life? To put it simply, there were a lot of other stories that needed telling before leaping straight to SUPER MARIO GALAXY.

The pacing and the tone of the film are all over the place. Despite the film clocking in at only around 100 minutes (including credits), it still feels packed with filler. Some plot points go basically nowhere and feel half-baked at best. Bowser also acts ridiculously out of character for the entire movie, prompting me to wonder how many of the games the filmmakers and screenwriters actually played; the old Mario cartoons from the late 80s/early 90s had a far more threatening and menacing version of the character, even if he was still a bit bumbling (though I won’t deny Jack Black still infuses the character with plenty of life and humor). The inclusion of Fox McCloud (the hero of Nintendo’s long-running STAR FOX franchise) is also puzzling, which makes me wonder if the filmmakers are going for an NCU (Nintendo Cinematic Universe). One positive here? The anime-style sequence that introduces Fox and his backstory is awesome. Give us THAT movie!

I walked into the theater to see THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE expecting a worthy follow up to one of my favorite game-based movies ever made… and walked away having seen something hollow that seemed more concerned with cameos and easter eggs than telling a coherent story. It lacks the simplicity and heart of its predecessor, and even a talented voice cast and gorgeous visuals can’t save it. I imagine young children will be entertained by it (one of my fellow critics brought his kiddos and they seemed to be having the time of their lives), but older audiences and longtime Mario fans will see through the smoke and mirrors, realizing how truly empty the sequel is. I’m sure there’s some witty “our princess is in another castle” joke I can end this review with here, but instead I’ll say to just wait for the home/streaming release. Here’s hoping the inevitable third SUPER MARIO BROS. animated movie will be, well, super.

The movie does include a mid-credits and post-credits sequence, so stick around for those.