Editor’s note: The opinions expressed here are solely those of writer Amanda Finn and do not reflect those of WDWNT or any other staff therein.
Spoilers ahead for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, now in theaters, is the half-hearted sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie circa 2023.
Review
In its original iteration, The Super Mario Bros. Movie centered on Mario (Chris Pratt) and his brother Luigi (Charlie Day) as they venture forth to defeat baddie (and hopeless romantic) Bowser (Jack Black) in his quest to wed Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy). This latest film, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, is not really about any of that. Where a plot should be, this film splices together ham-handed Easter eggs in the hope that nostalgia-hungry Millennials and Gen-Xers will throw their coins at it. I know Yoshi is a dinosaur that literally expels eggs, but come on.
Maybe that’s why this film is Nintendo and Illumination’s version of Disney’s Wish.
Mario and Luigi are back (though with far less screen time) to visit Princess Peach for her birthday. When Peach finds out, through a panicked Luma, that Princess Rosalina has been kidnapped, she sets off to save her. Although a now miniaturized Bowser is not the bad guy this time around, his son, Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), is now in the business of princess napping to avenge his father. Despite being incredibly powerful, Rosalina succumbs to Bowser Jr.’s technology and must wait patiently for her rescuers to arrive.
Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi are hanging out in the Mushroom Kingdom with their new pal Yoshi (Donald Glover) and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), who is less than thrilled with the new addition to their circle. The brothers then decide to follow Peach and help with Rosalina’s rescue, which is when they encounter the fiendish Honey Queen (Issa Rae) and Wart (Luis Guzmán), who try and stop them.
On the surface, that may sound like a decent film plot. And it would be if not for the constant interruption to throw video game references at the screen to see what sticks. Was it fun to see some familiar faces in the movie? Sure. Will fellow Super Mario 64 gamers be happy to see the baby penguins again after throwing them off the cliff in-game so many times? Probably. But unless Nintendo is going to announce a Super Smash Bros. movie, we probably didn’t need a cameo from Mr. Game & Watch or R.O.B.
While the movie creators were busy shoving IP into this movie, Mouser and the Pikmin didn’t add anything to it. That’s the biggest problem with this film—it’s a lot of fluff without a lot of substance. Myriad storylines crashing together leave so many questions unanswered. How did Bowser Jr. manage to accumulate an army of Koopas, tech, and build an entire planet since his father was captured? Why do the Tostarenan not seem fazed by Yoshi’s presence in their town when he’s revealed? Why bother calling this a Mario movie when it’s not really about the Mario brothers?
Here’s the thing: kids seemed to generally like this movie. It has enough silliness and vivid animation to keep their attention. But it didn’t elicit nearly the amount of laughter, mirth, or joy from the kiddos in the theater as the first film did. Young audiences know when a film is a slapdash cash grab sequel. And those of us craving some good old-fashioned video game nostalgia won’t get that dopamine hit from seeing our childhood faves again.
Even my deep love for Yoshi couldn’t redeem this movie.
Rating out of 7 Yoshi eggs: 3
If you stay through the end, there are two post-film scenes. One is a mid-credits scene, and the other follows the end of the credits. The mid-credits scene was one of my favorite scenes in the entire film.
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