The Super Mario Galaxy Movie review: Animated sequel is vibrant but paper-thin

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A star rating of 2 out of 5.

Mario and Luigi, Nintendo’s famous characters, return in a new adventure! The Super Mario Bros. Movie was a huge hit in 2023, earning over $1.36 billion at the box office and receiving three Academy Award nominations.

This exciting animated film comes from Illumination, the studio that made the Minions. It brings the world of the popular video games starring the iconic Brooklyn plumbers – known for their mustaches and overalls – to life in stunning 3D.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie takes us back to the colorful and imaginative Mushroom Kingdom. While it’s just as wild as the first Mario movie, it doesn’t feel quite as new or humorous. Inspired by the 2007 and 2010 Super Mario Galaxy games, this film introduces Yoshi, the popular green dinosaur, voiced by Donald Glover. Yoshi has a huge appetite and, like in the games, eats almost anything—even people—turning them into eggs!

The story quickly introduces Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day), and their adventure begins when Princess Rosalina (voiced by Brie Larson) is kidnapped by a huge flying saucer. This leaves her little star-shaped helpers, the Luma, confused and needing help.

The kidnapping is part of a plot by the villainous Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), who is constructing a powerful weapon and requires her magical abilities to fuel it. Meanwhile, his father, Bowser (Jack Black), is still tiny – a result of Mario’s actions in the previous film.

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Naturally, a Mario movie needs Princess Peach (Anna Taylor-Joy), the leader of the Mushroom Kingdom, and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), both of whom play important roles in the quest to rescue Rosalina. The storyline itself is pretty typical, but Nintendo fans will be excited to see Fox McCloud from the Star Fox series appear, voiced by Glen Powell – though he bears a slight resemblance to Nick Wilde, the fox from Disney’s Zootopia.

The movie shines when it incorporates elements from classic Mario games into the story. One particularly enjoyable scene is a fast-paced sequence where characters navigate a security system created by Bowser Jr. – who playfully controls the traps as if it were a video game, complete with simple, retro 8-bit graphics on his monitor. The movie also features a delightful cameo by Honey Queen (Issa Rae), a beautiful and powerful character from the Mario universe.

There simply aren’t enough truly memorable scenes. The animation, directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic – the team behind the previous Mario film – is visually stunning, packed with intricate detail in every frame. However, the story itself feels predictable and lacks depth, which is typical for a movie based on a simple video game structure. Like many animated films from Hollywood, it emphasizes the importance of family, but the message doesn’t feel genuine.

Benny Safdie, known for directing ‘The Smashing Machine’ and appearing in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming ‘The Odyssey,’ is a standout as Bowser Jr., and Donald Glover is charming as Yoshi. However, the performances from Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black feel a bit flat, possibly due to the script by Matthew Fogel lacking strong, witty dialogue.

Retro gaming fans probably won’t discover much new in this movie beyond a few additions like Yoshi, but it definitely offers plenty to keep kids entertained, which is great news for parents during school breaks like Easter.

You never know – it could even get them to set aside their games or phones for about an hour and a half.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is released in UK cinemas on Wednesday 1 April.

Authors

James Mottram

James Mottram is a London-based film critic, journalist, and author.

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2026-03-31 22:34