‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ Review: The Iconic Platforming Plumber is Asphyxiated in an Intergalactic IP Spree [C-]

There’s a sense of resignation that comes with watching The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. To see the sequel to Illumination’s 2023 mega-hit adaptation of Nintendo’s landmark platforming series — the start of a new fascination with cinematic ventures for the legendary gaming company — is to accept, within oneself, the limited quality of the franchise-abiding, hyperactive kids’ movie you’ve chosen to watch. For Mario fans, it means acknowledging that, despite that fact, you will point and gawk at the screen when a piece of iconic imagery from the games appears for your sensory pleasure for a few seconds. 

Such was my reaction to Galaxy, a film that ultimately left me feeling so emotionless that writing a full review seems to challenge my opinion on an intrinsic basis. It’s light, fluffy, and ultimately forgettable, but far from the worst kids’ entertainment that could assault your adult senses. It’s fast-paced and frenzied, but never truly annoying. If it’s primarily intended as a tribute to the franchise it’s based on and the company behind it, well, what were you expecting? 

At the very least, the returning team of screenwriter Matthew Fogel and directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic doesn’t hesitate to lean on the strength of the IP, and to streamline where necessary. While the first film contained backstory nonsense about Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) being brothers in New York, Galaxy dives straight into the expansive Mario universe. There are no montages set to overplayed pop songs—the film relies almost entirely on the fantastic music from the games, composed by the likes of Koji Kondo and Mahito Yokota. It also knows where to cut: despite his prominent appearance in the previous movie, characters like Donkey Kong are absent here to avoid overload. Most importantly, we meet the adorable, egg-laying, green dinosaur Yoshi (Donald Glover) within the first five minutes of the film. 

Galaxy doesn’t leave you or your kids waiting around. The plot is rapid, scattered, and mostly pointless beyond celebrating the Mario universe. Using the eponymous sub-series as a jumping-off point, it shows our heroes facing off against the new villain, Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie, hilariously), as he tries to rescue his father, Bowser (Jack Black), from Mario after the last movie. He also captures Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) to harness her power in creating a new Bowser planet for him and his minions. 

But that’s mainly just an excuse to cram as much fan service as possible into every scene. Galaxy doesn’t fall short there: as it trisects its story among its major players, it explores diverse environments that offer ample opportunities to showcase both iconic and obscure characters and landmarks. Kids will love watching Yoshi outrun a T. rex while juggling Baby Mario and Luigi in an impressively kinetic chase sequence. Older, more devoted fans might semi-ironically gasp when they see characters like Birdo and the Piantas from Super Mario Sunshine. 

The concept of “Super Mario Galaxy” also serves as a springboard for what feels like an inevitable obligation for franchises seeking to establish a multiverse and cinematic crossover. As our characters explore the far reaches of space, other Nintendo properties are there to pepper their journey — two movies in and Nintendo is already planting seeds for a future Super Smash Bros. film. A cynical view might see this as just a pit stop on the road to long-term franchising, rather than a truly faithful adaptation.

But it’s hard to define what a “faithful” Mario movie would really mean. The essence of a Mario game is in its platforming rhythms, developing skills as difficulty climbs alongside your growth. That experience is impossible to recreate in a movie, so the film relies on familiarity and spectacle: after all, it’s an Illumination film, with its bright, sleek, upbeat style coated with a steadfast coat of Mario paint. It’s superficially a Mario movie; in spirit, it’s not much different from Despicable Me. 

That’s evident in its reliance on the studio’s typical style rather than exploring more innovative ideas for what a video game adaptation could be. It’s a film of big sight gags and easy jokes, featuring Pratt’s bland voice as Mario and Glover doing a Yoshi impression because Hollywood still thinks celebrities sell animation. (Yes, he just says “Yoshi,” in case you were wondering.) It’s occasionally clever in small moments: a scene where Mario and Luigi manage a day in the Mushroom Kingdom is visualized as a top-down pixelated map like in classic 2D Mario games. Similarly, a scene where Mario and Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) dash through a fireball-trap-filled catacomb is shown in a side-scrolling 8-bit style from Bowser Jr.’s command console. But even that shows a limit to the film’s creativity—it suggests there needs to be a story reason to play with the form. Anything is possible in a Mario game, yet the movie seems bound by its own rules. In this way, Galaxy continues the trend of video game movies that fail compared to other films that mimic the feel of the games without actually adapting them, like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. It fails at its own game.

But it’s the reality of routine predictability that makes it hard to feel strongly about Galaxy one way or the other. After the credits, the impression is one of overstimulation and vacuity—despite the violent blitz of colorful Nintendo imagery for 90 minutes, it ultimately signifies little more than recognizable franchise iconography in animated form. In its relentless fan service, Galaxy emanates a generic sameness, decorated with flashy sights and sounds drawn from one of the most iconic video game series ever. It’s all synergistic fluff, but at least the fluff is shiny.

Grade: C-

Universal Pictures will release The Super Mario Galaxy Movie only in theaters on April 1.