The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

We get to step into the Mushroom Kingdom for a second time. I watched the animated fantasy adventure movie The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in theaters, released on April 1, 2026, and the sequel to 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, both based on the Mario video game franchise. Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, it takes place in the Mushroom Kingdom and various areas throughout Space. Starring Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Charlie Day, it is rated PG.

Princess Peach gets an alert for help from Space, so she and Toad set off to do what they must. Mario and Luigi, along with their new friend Yoshi, stay behind to guard Bowser. Bowser’s son Bowser Jr. crashes things to free Bowser, which results in the others getting involved in the space adventure too. Meanwhile, Peach still wonders where she came from. With all this happening, can our heroes save the day?

After the first movie impressed me, and I’m a big fan of Mario and Nintendo franchises in general, I was excited to see what they would do in the sequel. I have to say I found this one even more enjoyable. I will start by addressing the story. This is a big conversation point, because while the movie has been praised for its fun and game references, which I’ll get to, it’s been massively criticized by critics and even some non critics for not having much in the way of story and character. The story is just an excuse for the adventure, with not much of an interesting plot. The characters have their distinct personalities, but there’s really no arc for anyone. For a while, I was trying to be a critic judging art. As of recently, I’ve changed my tune and instead try to judge movies by how enjoyable they can be to watch. With that in mind, I think people are making too much of a big deal about this. The first movie didn’t have much story and character either. I guess there was a little more than this film, but it wasn’t the focus. The focus was how much fun the movie was. And this is the same. The Mario games in general were always just fun games to play. Story and character was never really a factor. I feel like this movie understands that. After all, isn’t an adaptation supposed to adapt what people liked about the source material to begin with? They potentially could have done more with story and character and made it work, but as is, I don’t see it as a big deal. The lack of it is actually kind of refreshing to just get a fun movie you don’t have to think too hard about.

Now for what this movie really embraces. Like I said, this movie is all about fun and game references. It was cool how the first movie showed off a lot of the Mushroom Kingdom, but this movie goes further with some new areas due to the space setting. Admittedly, there maybe isn’t as much focus on the Super Mario Galaxy games as fans might have wanted, but they do that to represent other Mario games throughout this movie, like the first movie did. We do still get a space adventure. Like how the first movie had Donkey Kong in a big role, due to him debuting alongside Mario, this movie has Yoshi in a big role, due to him debuting in a Mario game. Even besides that, there are multiple Nintendo characters in cameo roles, with one specific Nintendo character also playing a big role. As someone who loves Nintendo’s franchises, being interested in the possibility of more Nintendo adaptations, this element is exciting. Of course, the movie does still have some flaws. For example, after the song Peaches from the first movie became a sensation, they weirdly decided not to do another song to that level. The biggest flaw might be that Princess Rosalina, one of the best Mario characters, who was used so effectively in the Super Mario Galaxy games, has a weak role in this movie. It was cool to see her, and I guess we still got some good usage out of her. It’s just that she could have benefited from a different role in the story. While not a perfect movie, the way it appeals to fans and is entertaining cannot be denied.

The voice cast do a decent job. Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, and Kevin Michael Richardson return to reprise their roles as Mario, Princess Peach, Luigi, Bowser, Toad, and Kamek from the first movie. I would say the actors feel a little more into their roles this time, with slight improvements. As for some of the new actors, we get Donald Glover as Yoshi. I will admit that given Yoshi only makes animal sounds and repeats his name to talk, it did feel a little pointless to hire a big name actor. With that said, he does such a good imitation that it does work. Benny Safdie plays Bowser Jr.. He really does come across as Bowser’s son, given he has a lot of the same evil enthusiasm, just in a more childish way. Brie Larson plays Princess Rosalina. She carries both a loving motherly charm with the Luma species that she takes care of, but also knows how to take authority when a threat presents itself. Despite my earlier comment that her role in the plot could have been better, I still think the character is done well. There are also other good voice performances from Glen Powell, Luis Guzmán, Issa Rae, and Ed Skudder. I like this cast.

Overall, this was a fun movie to watch. It doesn’t need to be high art to be a good movie, you just have to represent what people liked about the source material. It does leave me excited for what’s to come next for Mario or Nintendo. Don’t listen to the haters and give it a shot. Make sure to watch for a mid-credits scene for laughs and a post-credits scene to find out who’s going to be in the next movie.

I saw this movie in theaters. I wanted to use this as an opportunity to talk about alternatives to streaming. I did talk about this once before, but I feel like I know so much more now to talk about it again. Streaming was super popular when it started, with people generally ditching other forms of watching entertainment to get in on it. The COVID-19 Pandemic also contributed to the popularity of streaming and staying home. Since then, it’s become clear streaming isn’t perfect, as something you like can be removed suddenly and you don’t have it anymore. It can be expensive to have subscriptions to multiple streaming services. Plus, it can take the fun out of the other ways to watch stuff. I wanted to remind everyone of the great things you can use. In my opinion, DVDs are the best way to watch a movie or show. Once you own it, it’s yours. Additionally, they are fun to find at thrift stores for $5 or less. And there was a time DVDs were fun to watch, adding much more than the content with interactive menus and special features. The period from 1999-2009 was a big highlight for DVDs. Nowadays, DVDs are more generic, but maybe with more people buying new ones, DVDs can return to how they were before. There are no guarantees, just a thought I’ve had. Even if that doesn’t happen, there is something about being able to own what you want to watch on a physical copy. I also recommend going back to watching cable or network TV. It could be a lot of fun to scroll through the TV to find good movies and shows to watch. Checking in at a certain time to watch all of what’s set to air that day. Back before streaming, there was something about waiting until the next episode in a season was going to drop instead of getting a whole season at once. Again, maybe with enough participation, we can get back to that. The movie theater was a cool experience. There is just something about seeing movies on the big screen with yummy snacks. I get that a lot of people aren’t as interested with current movies, but you could go just for any movies you’re looking forward to. You could also look up when theaters show older movies you like so you can watch those there too. I’m not saying streaming is bad. There is an advantage to the convenience of streaming. But all these other ways of watching movies and shows I do think are superior. They just were more fun and engaging to me. So I recommend going back to these. I did after realizing the disadvantages of streaming. If you don’t want to, you’re entitled to your own opinions. But if there’s even a small part of you that does want to go back to these awesome activities, do it. I don’t think you’ll regret it. And please spread the word.