The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Review
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is bigger, but not better.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Courtesy of Universal Pictures / Nintendo
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) was a dream come true for the 10-year-old version of me. With The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Universal, Illumination, and Nintendo return with directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic for a bigger, more ambitious sequel. As a lifelong fan of the games, I had a ton of fun watching. It’s just not as strong as the first, and not one I’d recommend to someone who isn’t already a fan.
Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are now settled in the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser (Jack Black) is tiny and imprisoned, but peace doesn’t last long. A new threat arises when Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie) attacks, determined to free his father. Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), and new friend Yoshi (Donald Glover) set off on an intergalactic quest to stop him and rescue the newly introduced Rosalina (Brie Larson).
The original Super Mario Bros. Movie was thin, but it was focused. It was tightly paced, with clear stakes and a strong emotional core grounded in the brothers’ relationship and Mario’s dynamic with Peach. The film had a sense of confidence, even as largely nostalgia-dependent fluff.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Courtesy of Universal Pictures / Nintendo
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Courtesy of Universal Pictures / Nintendo
Galaxy is bigger, but at a cost. More characters, cosmic scale, bigger ideas. The first film is streamlined; this one feels overextended. With so many characters to juggle, it’s hard to give them the attention they need. The movie touches on meaningful themes of loneliness, purpose, and family connection, but it rarely slows down long enough for those emotional beats to land. It just doesn’t have the same sense of focus as the first movie.
However, Galaxy is a beautiful-looking movie. The animation is top-notch, eye candy throughout. Its grander scale is ambitious, and the visual artistry matches. Even with more photorealistic touches, the art style stays largely faithful to the modern 3D Mario games, and it’s wonderful seeing it come to life on the big screen in a way that looks even better than the first film.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is a bigger sequel, but that doesn’t mean it’s better. It’s overstuffed in a way that sometimes works against it. Still, it’s a fan service fever dream, packed with references to classic Mario games and other Nintendo properties. That will have die-hards like me overjoyed, but it won’t mean much to viewers who aren’t already invested. There are still a lot of great gags, even if some won’t land for an unfamiliar audience. Either way, kids will eat it up, even if it never quite comes together the way the first film did.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is bigger, but not better. Still, fans like me will be overjoyed and kids will love it.
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