Movie Review: ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’

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Review by James Lindorf

We are right in the middle of The Super Mario Bros. 40th Anniversary, which began last September. The year-long event celebrates the original 1985 Famicom release with new games and the release of “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” It has been three years since Mario, Luigi, and the Mushroom Kingdom took the world and the box office by storm to the tune of $1.3 billion. I am sure Nintendo and Illumination would have loved to get a sequel out even sooner, but animation is a time-consuming process. Despite the delay with the core production and acting teams back, we could be looking at the highest-grossing film of the year once it opens everywhere on Wednesday, April 1st, getting a jump on the weekend.

Returning screenwriter Matthew Fogel had a tough task in front of him. How do you build off of the last film and tell a good story while constantly bombarding the audience with references? Luckily, there is no shortage of source material, with 24 mainline Mario games alone and over 200 to pull from if you look at the various spin-offs. This is not a layered emotional film capable of moving adults while teaching life lessons. Fogel did stick to the core elements of the first film, centering the plot on various family relationships. Gone is Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi’s (Charlie Day) disapproving father, and in his place is Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), who wants to rescue and impress his deadbeat dad, Bowser (Jack Black). The Mario brothers were finding their way in the world in the first film. That theme continues here as Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) finally finds her place in the galaxy. “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” features an extensive list of supporting actors, including Keegan-Michael Key returning as Toad and newcomers Donald Glover, Brie Larson, Glen Powell, Luis Guzmán, and Issa Rae.

The new cast is a who’s who in Hollywood, but why are they all here? Typically, when you hire a big name to play a role in an animated film, you want the audience to recognize the voice and bring all the established goodwill to the current film. However, everyone here is either run through enough filters or has the natural talent and encouragement from Directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic to be largely unrecognizable as themselves. Until the credits rolled, I thought Luis Guzman was Tracey Morgan and had no idea Donald Glover was Yoshi, and that holds for Brie Larson. It poses an interesting conundrum: if they aren’t recognizable, are you really paying that much just to have their names on the poster when any number of professional voice actors could have filled the role for pennies on the dollar? Whether they were the clear choice for the movie or not, everyone here gives a good performance. My favorite of the group is Taylor-Joy, followed closely by Day. Thankfully for Pratt, Fogel actually practiced some restraint on the sheer number of mamma mias this time around, allowing for a less stereotypical performance.

A lack of emotional depth and casting complexities aside, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is just light-hearted fun. Yoshi is an adorable bit of comedic relief, and there are a lot of great references. My personal favorites include the addition of the Super Scope, the Brian Tyler score that hits a few key notes before morphing into something else, giving you that nostalgia bump without losing creativity, and all the “Star Fox” references. When the movie is bursting with references, it is confusing that they insist on repeating several of them. There is a great joke where they reference the look of the old games, then they do it again, and again, and again. This is a major missed opportunity to introduce new jokes or, even better, dedicate that time to story development and character growth.

“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is a great kids’ movie that falls short of universal appeal. It has a good central message if you look for it, and for me, it is on par with the first film. A new element that I really enjoyed is the design of Bowser Jr. and his abilities. His go-to weapon is a paintbrush that can trap enemies, create monsters, and give him armor and enhanced abilities. It makes him a much more dynamic and interesting villain than his father, and his potential for causing harm is off the charts by comparison. Overall, the story is a step down, but I did not have to suffer through another Bowser song, and the inclusion of Jr. is a major win. Taking all of the factors, including the story, production values, performances, and target audience, into consideration, the second Mario movie comes in at a score of 3.5 out of 5.

Rating: PG
Release Date: April 1st, 2026
Runtime: 1h 38m
Directors: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic
Producer: Christopher Meledandri, Shigeru Miyamoto
Screenwriter: Matthew Fogel
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures, Nintendo, Illumination Entertainment