‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ Review

After the billion dollar success of 2023’s ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’, a sequel was inevitable, with the only hope being that it would be handled with the same care and love for the original franchise that helped make the first film such a success. Thankfully, ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ is a well crafted piece of franchise filmmaking, heavy on the fan service and light on plot, but thankfully filled with charm and family friendly adventure.

This film follows the events of its predecessor, with the Italian plumber brothers Mario and Luigi (Chris Pratt and Charlie Day respectively) living an idyllic life filled with adventure and friendship in the Mushroom Kingdom, ruled by the benevolent Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) while their nemesis Bowser (Jack Black) is imprisoned as a shrunken version of himself. The peaceful life is disrupted when Bowser’s son, Bowser Jr (Benny Safdie), imprisons a mysterious Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson), embarking on a vengeful mission that will force Mario and friends to traverse the galaxy to defeat the villains and save the day.

As a family friendly adventure with a mixture of comedy and action, ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ shares storytelling DNA with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Like the best of those films, this one works for all manner of fans. You don’t need an encyclopedic knowledge of the universe’s lore to understand and enjoy this story, and yet there is enough clever detail and world building attentiveness to reward those who will appreciate Easter eggs big and small.

While I’m still a little iffy on Chris Pratt as Mario – coming across as he does less like the iconic Italian plumber than … Chris Pratt – the rest of the voice cast feel at home in their characters, with perhaps none more perfect among the newcomers than Glen Powell in a brief turn as Fox McCloud. Beyond Powell’s cocky charm, which comes through as his renegade space pilot, the Han Solo of the Mario universe, the Fox McCloud sequence is an example of one of the film’s better creative choices – its willingness to insert alternative animation styles to elevate different scenes. In Fox McCloud’s introduction, he rolls rapid fire through his entire backstory, which is portrayed in a sequence animated more in the style of his character and the ‘StarFox’ games. This stylized dynamism occurs later as well, as Mario and Princess Peach must survive a torturous prison on Bowser’s planet, portrayed alternately in the film’s standard animation and in the side scroller pixelated animation of the classic video games. These artistic flourishes emphasize the filmmaker’s joy and appreciation for the source material, and the delight is contagious.

The tone is light and playful throughout, which keeps the pace and fun at a maximum even as none of the action or dramatic moments feel like they have any true stakes. Even the climactic fight sequence is too tidy, with character arcs being shrugged away in favor of a quick smile of an ending.

While there is certainly an attempt at an overarching plot, ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ is less interested in ambitious storytelling than crafting a series of action set piece quests, some of which are critical to the main plot while some of them are just for fun. This decision makes sense given the source material, and keeps the film’s action coming fast and fun, certain to entertain Mario experts and newcomers alike.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
Rated PG for action, mild violence and rude humor.
Running Time: 1 hour and 38 minutes

Director Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic
Writers Matthew Fogel
Stars Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Benny Safdie, Donald Glover, Brie Larson
Rating PG
Running Time 98 Minutes
Genres Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family