What’s It About
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will focus on a galactic adventure where Bowser Jr. attempts to rescue his miniature father from imprisonment. To stop him, Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad must travel through space, encountering Rosalina and her star-like Lumas, who guide them on their journey. The movie will draw heavily from the Super Mario Galaxy video game but will also incorporate surprises from other Super Mario eras.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
The first Super Mario Bros. Movie was in 2023 and made over a billion dollars worldwide. Everybody knew a sequel was coming. The question was never if; it was how good. Well, the answer arrived this Easter, and the good news is that The Super Mario Galaxy Movie does not disappoint. It actually does something rare: it takes everything that worked the first time and pushes it further, wider, and higher — literally into outer space. Right away, this film establishes a bigger vision. Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are no longer stumbling around trying to figure out who they are. They know. And this time, they move through the adventure together, which makes an enormous difference. The brotherly connection between them was always the heart of the franchise, and directors Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc, and Fabien Polack finally give that relationship the space it deserves. Their scenes carry warmth and genuine humor, and watching these two navigate galaxy after galaxy with that easy chemistry makes the whole film feel grounded, even when it is set among the stars. The story itself is straightforward, which is both the film’s strength and its limitation. Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson), a platinum-haired guardian of the cosmos who mothers a collection of star children called Lumas, gets captured by Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), who wants to restore his shrunken, humiliated father, Bowser (Jack Black), back to full villainous power. Mario and Luigi set out to stop him, picking up the lovable green dinosaur Yoshi (Donald Glover) along the way, while Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) handle their own dangerous path through enemy territory. The two storylines weave together with energy and purpose, and the film moves fast enough that you rarely stop to question the thin plotting underneath all that beautiful chaos. And it is beautiful. The animation throughout this film demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible. The filmmakers take from Super Mario Galaxy games, to say the least, and celebrate sending players across small spherical planets, and use that concept to build some of the most inventive environments in recent animated film history. There are honeycomb-shaped planets ruled by the Honey Queen (Issa Rae), star fields that stretch endlessly, and gravity-bending landscapes that seem to shift with every step. The texture work alone is exceptional, the spots on Bowser’s skin, the thickness of Mario and Luigi’s mustaches, the soft glow of a Luma settling into sleep. It’s easy to see that Super Mario Galaxy was far from being a rush job. The 8-bit sequences, where the animation shifts to honor the original video game era, are some of the most joyful moments in the entire film. They hit differently when you grew up with those games, and they work just as well for younger viewers seeing them fresh. Screenwriter Matthew Fogel, returning from the first film, clearly loves this franchise, and his affection shows in how carefully Easter eggs and character references are placed throughout. Nothing feels thrown in randomly. It all serves the world. New cast members earn their roles. Glover’s casting as Yoshi has a great deal to do with his ability to embody the essence of Yoshi: playful, loyal, and surprisingly comedic without being over-the-top. He fits into the Mario and Luigi dynamic so perfectly that he adds the type of light, comedic rhythm that this film has been begging for. Brie Larson gives Rosalina a significant emotional presence. She is not concerned with being rescued; she enters the film with her Star Wand ready to fight a machine that is significantly larger than herself. She plays Rosalina with a great deal of spunk and heart; as a result, the film is able to focus on Rosalina, and she becomes the centerpiece of this story. Glen Powell appears in the form of Fox McCloud of the Star Fox series and makes a memorable appearance in the casino scene when Peach & Toad come through a room filled with all of Mario’s best foes! He has a cocky confidence that is the perfect fit for Fox and by the way the audience reacted to him in the theater, it’s clear that they want to see more from him. After this performance, it seems like a Star Fox movie is more of an eventuality than a pipe dream. Bowser’s story has received mixed reviews. Jack Black has really thrown himself into the role and there are definitely some great moments where Bowser has the opportunity to redeem himself, teaming up with Mario & Luigi for a brief time, only to be taken back into villainy later on in the story. The relationship between Bowser and Bowser Jr. is very touching and has the potential for an even deeper story than just what you see on screen. But the writing never fully commits (I did say this was a video game movie, right?) Bowser shifts directions based on what the plot needs rather than what the character earns, which makes his journey feel unfinished. For a character who received the most substantial development in the entire film, as an adult, that inconsistency stings. One place where the sequel clearly surpasses the original is the music. The first movie relied heavily on recognizable songs, “Thunderstruck,” “Take on Me,” and it pulled viewers out of the world every time one played. Composer Brian Tyler takes over the soundtrack this time, blending iconic Mario game themes with original compositions, and the result is a score that actually belongs to this film. It supports the action rather than interrupting it. That single change makes the viewing experience noticeably more complete. The movie fails to provide any real main character development. Although Peach has some real and thoughtful character background, the rest of the characters start and end in the same mental place. Nobody goes through any real emotional struggle or has any reason to change. Peaches being consistent in their character growth is actually comforting for children, as their heroes stay the same throughout the film. However, for adults to fully appreciate complexity, just stop it there, as this film is a cartoon for young adults and kids, and that ceiling is never attempted to be broken through. That said, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is not trying to be something it is not. Nintendo and Illumination understand their assignment: deliver color, energy, adventure, and joy. They deliver all four. This is a film built for rewatching, for pausing during Easter egg moments, for nostalgia, for dragging the whole family back to the theater, for showing kids that imagination has no boundaries. At 98 minutes, it earns every second. The post-credits scenes alone confirm that this universe is expanding with purpose and confidence. A third film is coming. And if the trajectory holds, it might just be the best one yet.
OUR RATING – A GALACTIC 8