How The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Pays Tribute to the Last Mario Game You Would Expect

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The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is packed with hidden references, or ‘Easter eggs,’ from across the entire Mario universe, even including a nod to a surprisingly unexpected game. Following the lead of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it takes relatively simple Mario storylines and fills them with lots of details that fans will appreciate. However, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie goes even further, referencing even more niche and lesser-known parts of Mario history than the first film.

In The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Mario and his friends leave the Mushroom Kingdom and head into space to stop Bowser Jr. Along the way, they encounter a variety of other Nintendo characters, including Wart, Fox McCloud, the Pikmin, and ROB. While these cameos are enjoyable, a particularly well-received moment for fans actually centers around Bowser Jr. himself.

Bowser Jr.’s Mario & Peach Trap Is An Homage To Super Mario Maker

Later in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Mario and Peach find themselves captured by Bowser Jr. They have to rely on their jumping and running skills to break free. Bowser Jr. creates a series of tricky traps and obstacles, forcing the heroes to dodge hazards like spikes and fire. The scene is exciting and enjoyable, but it’s especially fun for longtime fans of the classic 2D Mario games.

During a scene where Bowser Jr. sets traps, the film features a level-building system that closely resembles the game Super Mario Maker. Originally released for the Wii U in 2015, with versions also for the 3DS (2016) and Nintendo Switch (Super Mario Maker 2, 2019), Super Mario Maker lets players design and share their own 2D Mario levels using a wide variety of game elements.

As a huge Mario fan, I found the level design in Bowser Jr.’s sections really clever. It reminded me a lot of Super Mario Maker – he gets to move things around on a grid to build his levels, which is super cool. What really got me was the art style. It’s like a trip down memory lane, mixing the classic 8-bit characters from the original Super Mario Bros. with the more detailed blocks and items from Super Mario World. It’s a fantastic way to celebrate the whole history of Mario!

Despite being brief, the scene is the most memorable and well-executed nod to the beloved Wii U game, Super Mario Maker, in the entire movie series. Super Mario Maker was incredibly popular, not just with Mario fans but with a wide range of players, making it a perfect fit for such an exciting sequence like Mario and Peach’s escape.

This Mario Galaxy Gag Proves That Mario Maker Is The Future Of 2D Mario

The recent Super Mario Bros. Movie includes nods to almost every Mario game ever made, and a particular scene highlights something many fans have realized about Super Mario Maker. The Super Mario series began as a 2D side-scrolling game, and while Mario has appeared in many different types of games since then, he’s still best known for that classic 2D style. Even after moving to 3D with games on the Nintendo 64 and GameCube, fans wanted the 2D gameplay so much that it returned with New Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo DS.

The original New Super Mario Bros. was initially popular, but later games in the series – like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, New Super Mario Bros. 2, and New Super Mario Bros. U – weren’t well-received, and many fans found them uninspired. Recognizing the need to refresh 2D Mario games, Nintendo took a risk with Super Mario Maker. This game offered a huge variety of classic 2D Mario styles and let players design their own levels, effectively shaking off the criticism that the series had become too predictable.

When Super Mario Maker let fans build their own levels, it quickly became clear that the community could create content faster than Nintendo itself. This led Nintendo to develop Super Mario Bros. Wonder, a fresh take on 2D Mario. While Wonder was a good step forward, it received little attention in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, suggesting it hasn’t yet reached the same level of cultural impact as Super Mario Maker. The level-creation aspect of Super Mario Maker clearly left a lasting impression, as evidenced by its influence on the movie.

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2026-04-06 02:43