After striking out in the 90s with a live-action attempt at the character, Universal and Illumination finally struck gold with Mario and his pals in the 2023 smash hit The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The movie went on to gross over $1.3 billion at the box office and was the second-highest-grossing movie of 2023.
It was inevitable, based on how well the movie did, that a sequel would be right around the corner. Now in 2026 The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is hitting theaters with a bigger story and even more characters.
When Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) is kidnapped by the son of Bowser (Jack Black), Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), it is up to Mario (Chris Pratt) and the gang to try to save her. Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) set out on their own journey to try to find where she is being kept.
Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi (Charlie Day) stay back to help protect the Mushroom Kingdom. With the help of some new friends, including Yoshi (Donald Glover) and Fox McCloud (Glen Powell), the team must come together to stop Bowser Jr. before it’s too late.
Movies based on video games usually have a hard time separating themselves from the games to make a good transition to the big screen. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, unfortunately, suffers from this same fate. Just like the first Mario Bros. movie, this one can never figure out exactly what it wants to do.
So much is going on and thrown at the screen all at once that only a few things land. References and callbacks to the video games are fine, but when that’s all the movie really has going for it, that doesn’t bode well overall.
It is clear that the filmmakers want to include everything they can from the games, but that doesn’t mean they should. New characters are introduced and essentially get nothing to do. Rosalina is set up to be a big character at the beginning and then disappears for essentially the rest of the movie.
Yoshi gets a big introduction scene and then is just there and doesn’t seem like he does much else. Even Mario and Luigi, the two main characters of this franchise, feel like secondary characters as the main storyline revolves more around Princess Peach.
The best thing that can be said is that the movie looks fantastic. All the animation looks like an exact replica of the video games, and that is where the movie really flourishes. Some of the voice-over work is good, but most of it feels kind of flat.
Chris Pratt and Charlie Day are fine once again as Mario and Luigi, but they still seem like odd choices for the characters.
Jack Black steals all his scenes just like in the first movie. Bennie Safdie works well alongside Black as they make a fun father-son duo. The rest of the cast is fine, although they feel underutilized compared to some of the other characters.
While kids are sure to love The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, there just isn’t much here to grab onto unless you are a fan of the games.
The animation is fantastic to look at, and the score is well done. There are some humorous moments here and there, but they are too few and far between.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is currently playing in theaters.
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Jake Peffer
Jake Peffer is a film critic born and raised just outside of Atlanta. Since the age of 10, Jake has had a strong passion for film and has been writing and discussing films for over 15 years. He runs his own site, Jake's Cinema Room, and has written for other outlets including Flickering Myth, We Live Entertainment and BRWC. Since 2012, Jake has been a member of the Georgia Film Critics Association. He has also been a part of the Atlanta Film Critics Circle since 2023.