The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Review: Cute, Flashy, And Mostly Empty
It's not surprising that we got a sequel to "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," which came out in 2023 and made well over a billion dollars at the box office. Even though Nintendo was, understandably, nervous to license this particular character after the live-action "Super Mario Bros." bombed harder than one of the original game's Bob-ombs in 1993, we're now living in an age where Mario movies, based on the long-running game franchise about plumber brothers Mario and Luigi, are actually profitable. I guess this is good news for Nintendo and Universal Studios, but is it good news for audiences? Not really.
Kids will love "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," but parents who take their little ones to see this mercifully short movie might still end up checking their watches. This story, such as it is, picks up right where "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" left off; the evil Bowser (Jack Black) is shrunk down to the size of a mouse so he can't threaten the safety of the universe, and Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are ready to celebrate the birthday of Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy). Before long, though, the gang learns that Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) has been kidnapped — not by Bowser himself, but by his ambitious yet shrimpy son Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie) — so that her immense power can be used to power a "Boomsday Device" that will destroy the entire galaxy.
Again, this plot is pretty simple, and on a surface level, this is a cute and somewhat entertaining movie that kids will enjoy and parents will endure. Beneath this candy-coated, colorful surface, though? There's nothing here, even when you compare it to its predecessor — which was much more spirited, funny, and entertaining.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie assembles an all-star cast and is jam-packed full of references, but still feels largely lifeless
Once again, "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" assembles a ridiculously great voice cast to bring these video game characters to life, with Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black all returning from the first movie. (Day, in particular, is a deeply amusing choice to me primarily because I'm a longtime fan of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," so imagining his deranged Charlie Kelly delivering a lot of these lines made me laugh for reasons that co-directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic didn't intend.) The newcomers, I'll say, are largely phoning in their performances; Oscar winner Brie Larson is barely doing anything, and Benny Safdie's inclusion is just outright baffling. Donald Glover ostensibly voices Yoshi, but like, does he?! (His only line is "Yoshi!") The exception here is Glen Powell, whose voice was positively made for "Star Fox" protagonist Fox McCloud.
Throughout "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," I noticed that it contained some passing references to better movies, which is something that movies designed for children often do so that parents can enjoy a joke or two while they're watching. "Jurassic Park" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" both got shout-outs in moments I won't spoil here, but here's something strange I also noticed: apparent references to other Nintendo video games. Namely, "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom" seemed to get some play — a castle rises from the ground and there's a creature that rises from a pile of purple sludge, two things that will send neurons firing for anyone who's played that game — which just made this whole enterprise feel like corporate synergy, not an actual movie.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie didn't need to be that deep, but it didn't have to be this shallow either
It's an overstatement to say there are "flashes of brilliance" in "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," but to give credit where credit's due, there were some great instincts here — like a scene where Bowser Jr. watches Mario and Peach try to overcome obstacles he's laid in their path, but from his perspective, he's watching them in the 2D style of the classic Nintendo video games. Every time this happened, though, the movie would immediately undercut its own cleverness by reverting right back to a Marvel-style smackdown between two or more characters, with the protagonists employing mushrooms and power-ups left and right to the point where it just felt like a deus ex mushroom situation.
We're going to get more "Super Mario Bros." movies, without question; I fully expect this sequel to gross the GDP of an entire small nation at the box office when all is said and done, and in another ten years, I also expect that a movie centered exclusively around Yoshi will land in theaters. (Hopefully, if Donald Glover sticks around, he'll get to do more than say "Yoshi!") Still, this sort of movie makes me feel bleak about children's entertainment, animation, and original concepts; forgive me for feeling nostalgic, but I just don't think movies made for kids were always this devoid of a soul.
At the end of the day, "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" was nothing more than a video game I couldn't play. After the credits — including not one but two post-credits scenes — rolled, though, I didn't want to go home and load a Mario game onto my Switch; I wanted to watch a better movie.
/Film Rating: 3 out of 10
"The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" opens in theaters on April 1, 2026.