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An expanded world and introducing fresh characters while developing preexisting ones are common in the best sequels — “The Godfather Part II,” “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Toy Story 2.”
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” shares these traits but poorly executes them, so it falls short of its cosmic aspirations.
Directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic bring the most iconic video game character — a thick-mustached plumber — back to the big screen with “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” a sequel to their 2023 animated blockbuster, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” While entertaining and filled with plenty of laughs, unmemorable moments and little character development make “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” a fun but routine sequel.
The film, released on April 1, opens with Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie) kidnapping Rosalina (Brie Larson), with plans to harvest her transcendent energy for his “Boomsday Machine,” a weapon like the Death Star Superlaser.
Bowser Jr. then travels to the Mushroom Kingdom to rescue his father, Bowser (Jack Black). In the original film, Bowser was shrunken by Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and trapped in her castle. Despite Mario (Chris Pratt), Luigi (Charlie Day) and their new companion Yoshi’s (Donald Glover) efforts, Bowser Jr. uses a UFO’s tractor beam to lift the castle into the air, rescuing his dad, who is now back to his normal size.
The rest of the film follows Peach, Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), Mario, Luigi and Yoshi as they attempt to save Rosalina and stop Bowser Jr.
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is expectedly not hard to follow (spoiler, the heroes come out on top), but few memorable scenes made this film lackluster.
But don’t get me wrong, I had a blast watching this flick. The eye-catching colors and pure wonder of the world are enough to make you feel like a kid again. However, the film’s rapid location changes and fast-paced nature went a bit overboard. “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” blends into an Easter egg-filled whirlwind; I woke up the next morning barely remembering what happened.
The prequel features a killer soundtrack and a few standout scenes — Mario fighting Donkey Kong (Seth Rogan), a “Mario Kart”-themed “Rainbow Road” chase and Bowser belting out the song “Peaches.” In “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” Luigi sings part of Dean Martin’s “That’s Amore,” and there’s a needle drop of The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize.” Other than that, the film’s much more forgettable than its predecessor.
In the prequel, it’s interesting to watch Peach coach Mario in the Mushroom Kingdom. Originally from Brooklyn, Mario develops into the high-jumping video game character we know and love. But in this installment, we don’t learn much about Mario — the franchise’s titular character.
Still, there’s a glowing Super Star at the end of the level.
I’ll admit I’m not the most experienced Mario gamer, but I’ve spent many hours playing “Mario Super Sluggers” on the Nintendo Wii.
In the Mario baseball game, Yoshi’s “Egg Swing” batting power-up has saved me countless times, and similarly, Yoshi rescues “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.”
Even with minimal dialogue, Glover stole the show as the green dinosaur; his voice acting is spot on. Yoshi doesn’t say much, but he adds such an adorable layer to the film. The character is a much-needed refresher, counteracting a stagnant Mario.
Safdie is another fantastic addition to the all-star cast. He’s wildly entertaining as Bowser Jr., who wields his “Super Mario Sunshine” paintbrush. Although Bowser feels more like a side note compared to the previous film, Black and Safdie mesh well together.
For a surface-level picture, there are some great father-son moments, specifically a bedtime puppet show. In a flashback, Bowser Jr. remembers his dad telling him a story about the fictitious Planet Bowser. Inspired by the story, Bowser Jr. builds Planet Bowser in the movie, which holds the Boomsday Weapon. The puppet show is an unexpected heartfelt scene and a clever use of nonlinear storytelling.
Peach and Rosalina also shared sincere moments, fueled by the reveal that they’re long-lost siblings. This relationship was the original plan for the “Super Mario Galaxy” game, but it didn’t pan out. The film scratches the surface of Peach and Rosalina’s connection, so I’d expect another installment to expand on it.
Glen Powell as the Han Solo-esque pilot Fox McCloud is another new voice. Powell somehow took a voice acting role for a character that still feels completely like him: charismatic and high-octane. While I applaud Powell, this addition rubs me the wrong way.
Introducing a non-Mario Nintendo character like McCloud in a pivotal role feels dangerous for these movies. A term that gets thrown around with projects like “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is “slop” — money-grabbing ventures with minimal substance. I’m not ready to call these films slop. While Powell was fantastic, adding a character like McCloud sets up the inevitable sequels to head in that direction.
With a franchise as innovative and recognizable as Mario, it’s a shame that writer Matthew Fogel gets lazy. Like its predecessor teasing Yoshi, Fogel reveals Daisy as an addition to the next movie in the end-credits scene. It seems like Fogel is holding off on main characters so the future installments will have a new angle, rather than building on its already established characters.
Despite the issues I have with this picture, it was such an enjoyable theater experience — tons of laughs and people wearing Mario merchandise. “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is something you can passively take in; it’s an in-one-ear-and-out-the-other experience. But, with an abundance of references to the Mario franchise — a Birdo cameo, parallels to the 8-bit games and many more Easter eggs I didn’t catch or understand — there’s enough to chew on for a wide-range of ages.
