Before watching The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, I sat through a bunch of commercials promoting the Nintendo Switch 2 console and its various games, which were Mario-related. After the movie started, I realized that I was watching a 90-minute commercial for Nintendo. Looking back at 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which had the sugar rush that you would expect from an Illumination production, as well as the confirmation of Nintendo being over-protective over their IP, it felt safe and predictable compared to what The Lego Movie achieved a decade ago, which is something surreal, inventive and funny with a brand that everyone knows.
The problem you immediately have when adapting Mario and his colorful fantasy adventures to the big screen is that storytelling was never that important as the games were more about innovative gameplay mechanics than the many variations of the simple tale of Mario saving Princess Peach from his arch-nemesis Bowser. In terms of what The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is narratively about, Mario (Chris Pratt) and his friends adventure across outer space beyond the world of the Mushroom Kingdom to rescue Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) from Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), who plans to utilize her power to conquer the galaxy.
From its title, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie obviously takes cues from the 2007 video game Super Mario Galaxy and its 2010 sequel, both of which debuted on the Nintendo Wii. The fun of those games was playing Mario and/or Luigi going through levels consisting of galaxies filled with minor planets, asteroids, and worlds, with different variations of gravity. And yet, that sense of fun is nowhere to be found here as Michael Fogel’s script is more focused on the many characters having their own set-piece that never takes full advantage of the cosmic world-building. Some of the heroes literally fly past these planetoids and thus never take the time to explore them, which could have given the film some breathing room.
Another criticism that is carried over from its predecessor is the lack of characterization, largely because The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is juggling too many characters, to the point that the Mario brothers are sidelined since they don’t really have an arc. Like before, the film can’t decide what the central relationship is, whether it is the brothers and their new companion Yoshi (voiced bafflingly by Childish Gambino himself), or Bowser reuniting with his son, which does allow Jack Black and Benny Safdie to have the most fun with their vocal performances. With two princesses on screen proving they can kick ass like they are in Super Smash Bros., there isn’t much emotional resonance for both Anya Taylor-Joy’s Peach and Brie Larson’s Rosalina.
Considering that directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic were best known for 2018’s Teen Titans Go! To the Movies prior to their Nintendo involvement, it is surprising that none of that sharp, satirizing humor is nowhere to be found here. What it lacks in humor magic for that matter, it certainly looks pretty as the staff from Illumination recreate many aspects from the video games, even if it just becomes visual noise.
Overall, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s definition of visual storytelling to cram as many Easter eggs as possible, not just from the Mario games but also other titles from Nintendo’s back catalog, most notably an extended cameo from Glen Powell voicing Fox McCloud, who has no reason to be in the narrative, but leaves enough of an impression that we could get a Star Fox movie in the future.
