From the moment it begins, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is colorful and full of excitement. As a follow-up to a blockbuster hit, it entertains in spades. But the end result feels like cinematic cotton candy: fun at the moment but not designed to be filling. Despite its stunning animation, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is a grand space opera with little to offer under the surface.
After defeating the villainous Bowser (Jack Black) at the end of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are now full-time plumbers/monster hunters in the Mushroom Kingdom. But disaster strikes when newcomer Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie, Oppenheimer) stages a daring prison break to rescue his father. To make matters worse, he’s abducted Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson, Just Mercy), a powerful magic user and guardian of the child-like Lumas. Now, the Italian brothers must embark on an intergalactic adventure to stop the Bowser family and save the universe.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie assumes that most viewers have at least seen the previous film, so it wastes no time throwing you directly into the narrative. The problem is that it never slows down. Once Mario and Luigi make it into space, they run into hijinks across several different planets pulled directly from the games. But all these sequences end almost immediately after they begin. The story quickly moves from one upbeat action sequence to another, with little time to process anything. Fan-favorite Nintendo characters like Yoshi (Donald Glover, Mufasa: The Lion King) and Fox McCloud (Glen Powell, The Running Man) are quickly introduced but have no real arcs to speak of. They show up, say/do something that fans will recognize, then move on to the next scene.
As a lifelong Nintendo fan, I can admit I had fun with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Fellow diehards will undoubtedly scream at a handful of well-placed cameos. Composer Brian Tyler (Abigail) implements themes that span the entire series, from the original 8-bit games to the modern Nintendo Switch titles. However, there’s not much else to offer. The story is underdeveloped, leaning on fans’ pre-existing knowledge of the games to fill in the blanks. The expanded cast gets little to do and even less to learn. Any attempt at pathos feels like the bare minimum needed for a feature film. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie may look beautiful but only exists to entertain six-year-olds. What a shame.
George W. Campbell
George W. Campbell is a director/screenwriter/editor from Bowie, Maryland, whose films focus on themes of family and personal relationships. As a Nicaraguan-American filmmaker, he aims to highlight specific parts of his culture and personal experiences (songs, dances, foods, and language).