Introduction
Basic movie information
Directed by: Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic
Full name: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
Release date: April 1, 2026 in the Netherlands and many other territories
What to expect: A fast and colourful animated adventure that mixes Super Mario Galaxy with characters and ideas from several other Nintendo games. Expect plenty of comedy, action, power ups, Nintendo references and a very large amount of Yoshi.
Additional information: This is the sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie from 2023. It was produced by Illumination and Nintendo, distributed by Universal Pictures, is rated PG and runs for approximately 98 minutes.
Budget: Approximately $110 million.
Box office: Approximately $1.01 billion worldwide.
Initial thoughts
I already enjoyed the first Super Mario Bros. Movie, so I was quite interested to see where they would take the sequel. Using Super Mario Galaxy as the foundation was a smart choice because it immediately gives the filmmakers an excuse to go wild. Instead of being limited to the Mushroom Kingdom and Brooklyn, practically anything can exist somewhere in this universe.
The movie certainly takes advantage of that freedom. It rarely stays in one place for very long and constantly introduces another character, planet, enemy or reference. Sometimes this becomes a little too much, but when Simone and I left the cinema, the most important thing was that we had simply had a really fun time watching it.
Enjoyment
Plot summary
Following Bowser’s defeat in the previous movie, Mario and Luigi have become heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom while the tiny Bowser is being kept under control. Things become considerably more complicated when Bowser Jr. enters the picture. He wants his father back and has much larger ambitions than simply causing trouble in the Mushroom Kingdom.
At the same time, Rosalina has been captured and a Luma reaches Peach asking for help. Peach and Toad travel into space while Mario and Luigi encounter Yoshi, who quickly becomes part of their increasingly strange adventure. Eventually their separate journeys collide as Bowser Jr.’s plans threaten far more than one kingdom.
The story also explores Peach’s mysterious past and her connection with Rosalina. That gives the movie a slightly more personal storyline underneath all of the explosions, power ups and characters being thrown across the galaxy.
Was the movie fun?
Absolutely. This was easily the most important part for me, and it delivered.
There is almost always something happening. Mario and Luigi use different abilities, Yoshi causes chaos, Bowser remains Bowser, and the movie happily jumps between locations and recognizable Nintendo ideas without taking itself too seriously.
I especially liked that the movie does not rely entirely on references to Super Mario Galaxy. The Galaxy games are obviously the largest influence, but there are references and appearances from elsewhere in Nintendo’s history as well. Some of these genuinely surprised me in the cinema.
The downside is that the movie occasionally feels like someone emptied an entire Nintendo toybox onto the floor and decided to use everything at once. It is chaotic, but most of the time it is entertaining chaos.
Emotional impact
There is more emotional material here than I expected, particularly through Peach, Rosalina and the Lumas. Peach learning more about her origins gives her a storyline beyond simply being the capable princess who helps Mario save the day.
Bowser and Bowser Jr. also have an interesting relationship. Bowser Jr. desperately wants his father’s approval, while Bowser finds himself caught between what has happened since his defeat and the expectations his son has of him.
None of this becomes incredibly deep, and the movie is usually already racing toward the next action scene before it can explore an emotional moment for very long. Still, these elements give the adventure some heart instead of making it ninety eight minutes of Nintendo references.
Rating for Enjoyment
After thinking about all the aspects this movie has to offer for enjoyment, emotional impact, and other factors, I decided to give the enjoyment section of this movie review an 9.
Pacing and audience
Pacing of the movie
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie moves extremely quickly. There is very little downtime, and even when the characters stop to talk, it is usually not long before another problem appears.
For a Mario movie, this energetic pacing works surprisingly well. The different planets and encounters almost feel like levels from a game. You arrive somewhere, deal with the current problem and then move on to the next area.
The problem is that the movie sometimes moves too quickly for its own good. There are enough characters and ideas here for a considerably longer movie. Some locations could have used another few minutes, while certain character developments happen so quickly that they do not have quite the impact they could have had.
Still, I would rather have a Mario movie that is slightly too energetic than one where I am checking the time halfway through.
What audience is targeted?
Children are obviously one of the primary audiences, but this movie knows that Mario now has several generations of fans.
Younger viewers can enjoy Yoshi, the Lumas, colourful action and slapstick comedy without knowing where everything originated. Longtime Nintendo players meanwhile have an absurd number of references, characters and visual details to recognize.
That makes it a very easy family movie, but it is definitely not something made exclusively for children. Simone and I had plenty to enjoy as adults who actually know these games.
Script and dialogue
The script is functional rather than exceptional. It does what it needs to do to get the characters from one ridiculous situation into another, and there are plenty of funny exchanges along the way.
Mario and Luigi still work well together because their personalities are different without making either brother useless. Bowser once again receives some of the funniest material, while Yoshi can get laughs without needing long conversations.
The dialogue is not going to be the reason you remember the movie years later. The characters, animation, action and references are much more important. It works for the type of movie this wants to be, although slowing down for a few stronger conversations could have improved some of its emotional moments.
What message does this movie instill?
Family is one of the clearest themes throughout the movie.
Bowser Jr. is driven by his relationship with his father. Peach wants answers about where she came from. Rosalina protects the Lumas as her family, and Mario and Luigi continue to demonstrate how much stronger they are when they support each other.
It also shows that family does not only mean the people you were born alongside. The different characters repeatedly build relationships with people and creatures they meet during their journey. For a movie filled with talking mushrooms, magical stars, and giant turtles, that is a surprisingly fitting message.
Rating
After some consideration, thinking over the dialogue and the scenes, I give the pacing and audience section a rating of 8.0.
Graphic style
Quality of graphics and art direction
This is where the movie really benefits from moving into the Galaxy setting.
Space allows Illumination to constantly change colours, environments, gravity and scale. The Mushroom Kingdom was already colourful in the previous movie, but the different galaxies give the artists considerably more freedom. Tiny planets, enormous structures, glowing stars and strange environments can appear one after another without feeling completely out of place.
Character animation is also excellent. Yoshi in particular translates extremely well into this style, retaining his familiar design while being expressive enough to carry entire comedy scenes.
There is an enormous amount happening on screen during some sequences, especially toward the end, but the movie rarely becomes visually ugly or difficult to follow. Seeing it on a cinema screen definitely helped the spectacle.
Rating
It took me some time to give the graphics and art style of this movie a good rating. But after considering a lot, I decided to give it a 9.5.
Sound and music
Music score and how it contributed to the movie
Nintendo has decades of recognizable music available. Small musical references can immediately identify a location, character or moment without somebody needing to explain it.
The Galaxy games are particularly well suited to a movie score because their music was already much larger and more orchestral than many earlier Mario titles. During the bigger space sequences, the soundtrack helps sell the scale of the adventure rather than simply sounding like background music from a game.
Acting and lines
The returning cast has become much more comfortable in these roles. Chris Pratt’s Mario no longer feels like something unusual, Charlie Day fits Luigi extremely well, Anya Taylor Joy gives Peach confidence without making her emotionless, and Jack Black continues to understand exactly how ridiculous Bowser should be.
The newer characters also fit into the cast nicely. Yoshi could very easily have become annoying if the performance was pushed too far, but the character remains charming.
There are a few jokes that feel aimed very directly at younger viewers, but I never felt that the voice acting itself dragged the movie down.
Rating
After a lot of consideration, I rated the sound and music section an 8.5.
Personal experiences favorite scene
One of the sequences that stood out most to me was the dinosaur encounter after Mario and Luigi are transformed into babies. Yoshi suddenly becomes the one who has to deal with the situation while an enormous T. rex is involved, which is exactly the sort of completely ridiculous combination that this movie handles well.
It combines several things the movie does best. There is visual comedy, genuine danger without becoming frightening for younger viewers, Nintendo nonsense and a massive dinosaur thrown into the middle of everything simply because the filmmakers can.
Watching sequences like this in the cinema is also where the movie benefits most from its scale. This is not a quiet Mario adventure, and it clearly knows it.
Rating
My own personal rating of this movie is a 8.5.
Last words
Pros
- Beautiful and extremely colourful animation.
- Yoshi is a fantastic addition to the cast.
- Plenty of references for longtime Nintendo fans.
- The Galaxy setting allows for much more creative environments.
- Mario and Luigi continue to work well as a pair.
- Peach and Rosalina add more emotional weight to the story.
- Excellent use of familiar Mario music throughout the adventure.
- Consistently entertaining and especially enjoyable on a large cinema screen.
Cons
- The pacing can become too fast, particularly when several storylines collide.
- Some characters and locations do not receive enough time to develop.
- The enormous number of references occasionally competes with the actual story.
- Several emotional moments could have been stronger if the movie had slowed down and allowed them to breathe.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is bigger, stranger and considerably more crowded than the first movie. It does not always know when to slow down, but it captures the joyful chaos of Mario extremely well. Between Yoshi, Rosalina, Bowser Jr., the different galaxies and several genuinely surprising Nintendo appearances, there is almost always something enjoyable happening.
Most importantly, Simone and I had a great time seeing it together at the cinema. For me, that is exactly what a Super Mario movie should accomplish.
Final Rating
8.5
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