Growing up playing the Nintendo Wii, the Super Mario Galaxy video games were some of my absolute favorited, so getting a blockbuster film based on them was a dream come true. I had high hopes for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and I can assure the fans out there that this film was made specifically for them. Set after Bowser’s defeat (Jack Black) in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, this sequel follows Mario (Chris Pratt), Luigi (Charlie Day), Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) as they venture out into the cosmos to rescue Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) from Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie).
The Super Mario Bros. Movie was far from perfect, but it gave us an entertaining and faithful film about some of gaming’s greatest heroes from Nintendo. Since the story’s world and characters were already introduced, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie soared even higher as Mario and his friends reach for the stars in a breathtaking adventure featuring enough action, laughs, heart, and Easter Eggs for gamers to enjoy.
A thrilling, action-packed spectacle
Like with the first Mario movie, the animators at Illumination succeeded in bringing the plumber’s vibrant universe to life, as well as expanding it. Taking inspiration from the Galaxy games and Super Mario Odyssey, this interstellar sequel features plenty of colorful and wonderful worlds far beyond the Mushroom Kingdom.
Just about everything looks taken straight from the games, from the character designs to Rosalina’s Comet Observatory to the oceans of stars and planets the characters sail across. We even get lots of wacky and imaginative action scenes, some of which are presented in the games’ 2D and 8-bit visual styles.
It uses more original music
A huge gripe that I had with the first Super Mario movie was its overuse of licensed music, which sounded out-of-place and uninspired in the Mario franchise, which already had decades worth of catchy tunes. Since a big part of Super Mario Galaxy’s appeal is its awe-inspiring original score, watering the epic space opera down with songs by A-Ha and The Beastie Boys would’ve soured the experience for fans. It may have worked in Guardians of the Galaxy, but that’s a whole different story.
Though it somehow snuck in a song by Biggie Smalls at one point, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie relied mostly on the score by composer Brian Tyler (Yellowstone), who recreated the iconic songs from the Mario video games. Listening to the themes of the Good Egg and Gusty Garden Galaxies in the film stirred up happy memories of playing the Mario games as a kid, making it a happy, nostalgia-fueled experience.
New and more developed characters
Though Mario and Luigi had decent arcs in the first film, characters like Peach and Bowser lacked the depth needed to make it a rich, well-rounded story. Thankfully, the Princess and Koopa King do get more development in the sequel.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie shines a bigger spotlight on Peach as she tries to rescue Rosalina, who is revealed to be her long-lost sister. This is a huge deviation from video game lore. Nevertheless, after Peach was introduced as an orphaned human in the Mushroom Kingdom, the sequel adds greater depth to her quest as she tries to find her family, her origin, and a greater sense of belonging in the universe with Rosalina. Peach also displays greater vulnerability as she struggles to save everyone in her latest adventure, kicking the dirt in anger over her batch of misfortunes.
While Mario may have his name in the film’s title, it is fair to say that Peach is the true protagonist of the story.
Meanwhile, Bowser does something different in the sequel by teaming up with Mario. There was clearly some hate for Mario buried inside him after getting pummeled and miniatured. Despite this, Bowser tries to put that aside so the hero can help him reconnect with his estranged son. Even though Bowser Jr. wants to conquer the universe with his father, the latter has mixed feelings about killing Mario and his allies after developing a soft spot for them. This makes Bowser a more complex and conflicted character in this second movie.
Bowser Jr. also makes for a terrific new villain in the Mario film franchise. Benny Safdie sounds very much like a prepubescent Bowser, and the young Koopa’s dynamic with his father is compelling and even heartwarming. Growing up on his father’s bedtime stories about conquering the universe, he tries his best to make Bowser proud by rescuing him and making their fantasy a reality.
On top of that, we got Top Gun: Maverick star Glen Powell in a surprise role as Fox McCloud from Star Fox. In a short amount of time, Powell establishes the furry pilot as a cool, Han Solo-esque character worthy of barrel-rolling into their own spinoff.
That being said…
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie still suffers from some of the flaws seen in the first movie, particularly with its characters. While Mario struggles to ask out Peach and trust Bowser to help him, the heroic plumber doesn’t display as much growth as he did in his first film. The same goes for Luigi, who mostly acts as a source of encouragement for his brother as they search for Peach.
Even with Yoshi (Donald Glover) as their new partner, the green dinosaur doesn’t add much to their story. With very little dialogue or backstory, it seems Yoshi’s purpose in the film is to act cute and draw more fans into theaters. He does save the heroes at one point. But in the end, his character could’ve added so much more to the heroes’ personal journeys and the story’s themes about family and belonging.
Though Yoshi wasn’t much of a character in the game, Rosalina had even greater potential in this film. After playing a large supporting role in the Super Mario Galaxy video game, her character is sidelined for most of the film after a stunning debut in the beginning. She becomes more a living MacGuffin that Bowser Jr. uses to power his Death Star-esque superweapon, leaving her and Brie Larson sorely underutilized.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie fails to capture the beauty and tragedy of Rosalina’s character in the games, which helped her become such an iconic addition to the Mario universe. In the games, a young Rosalina traveled into space to help a lost Luma reunite with its mother. Despite missing her own mother, Rosalina decides to build home for them and several other Lumas amongst the stars.
While the film adapts some of Rosalina’s tragedy into Peach’s character, it could have elaborated more on the former’s loneliness without her sister. The movie could’ve also explored how this tragedy led to her becoming the Mother of the Lumas. Here’s hoping that the franchise makes up for this and gives Rosalina a bigger role in the sequel that will almost certainly be made.
As with most film adaptations, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was never gonna replicate the video games in their entirety. Despite its more questionable story choices, the film is still a fun blockbuster that improves on some of its predecessor’s shortcomings, which should entertain long-time fans of Mario’s cosmic adventures.
