Don’t be fooled, but April 1, 2026, marked the mustachioed plumber’s return to the big screen with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, a sequel to 2023’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” I was lucky enough to see it on opening night with my brother and sister, and I can safely say that this … was a movie! Let’s be real. Movies based on video games are hit or miss, and it’s not like the line of Mario films has had a particularly positive track record.
Though the initial film set itself apart from that nightmarish live-action flick from 1993 starring John Leguizamo, critics hated it, while the fans of the franchise ate it up. As I sat in the theater and took this one in, however, I could see where the former was coming from.
The movie follows Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad as they venture into outer space to face off against the galaxy-conquering machinations of Bowser and his troop of Koopas. We see the whole cast return, and despite my provocations toward Chris Pratt and Jack Black, they all do a fantastic job. Newcomers to the cast include Yoshi (Donald Glover, and I honestly couldn’t shake any of Troy’s lines from “Community” out of my head when he spoke) Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), and Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson).
The animation was arguably the strongest facet of the film. The way Bowser Jr., in particular, was designed was perfect, with him having a vibrant color palette and moving like a maniacal villain despite his stature. Despite being titled after Super Mario Galaxy, it took influences and designs from several Mario games, and the player in me couldn’t help but smile at how they came to life on the big screen, whether it was the scenic sands from Mario Odyssey’s Tostarena Town or Bowser’s imposing technicolor castle ripped straight from Super Mario Wonder.
Now it’s time for the negatives. Artistically, this film gets a gold star, but in terms of being a good film, it falls pretty short. I’ve been on my soapbox before about kids’ movies deserving to be well-written, and my thoughts haven’t really changed here. The plot bounces all over the place, and in a way that feels like they filmed the stream of consciousness that poured out of some Nintendo-obsessed kid’s head.
Despite being a Galaxy movie, Rosalina has no role in it, acting more as a MacGuffin rather than a character. A similar issue falls to Yoshi as well — his role offers nothing to the film, which raises the question as to why Illumination would pay Childish Gambino to say about four to five lines. If you’re not a huge Nintendo fan, there is NOTHING for you here. The characters are slingshotting from place to place seemingly at random, and it’s a cycle of them having a little battle/adventure/chase, and then rocketing off to the next level. While I appreciated little character cameos and appearances such as Star Fox, it felt more like the movie was trying to reach a quota on iconic references rather than telling a compelling narrative.
In the end, this film was a mixed bag. While it’ll obviously turn an enormous profit, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is devoid of anything interesting for anyone who isn’t a Nintendo fan in some capacity. It’s sadly the cinematic equivalent of jingling keys, and here’s hoping the next foray for Jumpman is less of a bloated mess.
