by Joe Friar, Fort Worth Report
April 5, 2026
Now that the origin story is out of the way, this sequel, inspired by the “Super Mario Galaxy” video games, levels up while opening the Nintendo floodgates for a cosmic adventure filled with plenty of Easter eggs for fans of the gaming franchise. Superhero plumbers Mario and Luigi team up with green dinosaur Yoshi for an adventure to rescue Princess Rosalina from the claws of Bowser Jr. If you don’t know any of these characters, stay home. This is fan service aimed to please by cramming as many video game references as possible into 98 minutes. Exhausting, but fun. Yes, I got excited when Glen Powell showed up in Hangman-mode as the mercenary ace pilot born on Papetoon.
2023’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and written by Matthew Fogel, served as an origin story for Brooklyn plumbers Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day), who became superheroes in the Mushroom Kingdom ruled by Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy). The show was stolen by Jack Black as villain Bowser, whose piano ballad “Peaches” became a viral hit. The animated film was structured like a traditional movie, enough so that newbies wouldn’t be lost in the story that originated as a 1983 arcade game. As Mario would say, “Yahoo!”
Horvath, Jelenic, and Fogel return to helm “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” inspired by the 2007 and 2010 “SMB Galaxy” video games, while incorporating elements from several games, including “Super Mario 2: Yoshi’s Island,” “Super Smash Bros.,” “New Super Mario Bros.” and “Super Mario Sunshine,” to name a few.
Composer Brian Tyler, who scored the first animated Mario Bros. movie, also returns with a 70-piece orchestra to recreate and remix Koji Kondo’s iconic video game music, pulling from several of the franchise titles, including a rendition of “Jump Up, Superstar!” from “Super Mario Odyssey.” Fans will appreciate the nostalgic music replacing licensed pop songs. We only get a couple this time around, most notably “Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G. for Yoshi’s swagger scene in a Brooklyn flashback. The loveable green dinosaur is voiced by Donald Glover, who expressed interest in being in a Nintendo movie.
Keegan-Michael Key returns to voice Toad while Kevin Michael Richardson reprises his role as Kamek, the Magikoopa advisor to Bowser (Jack Black). We also get plenty of new celebrities lending their vocal talents, including Brie Larson as Princess Rosalina, Benny Safdie as Bowser Jr., Luis Guzmán as Wart, and Issa Rae as the Honey Queen.
The story involves Princess Rosalina, the adoptive mother of those cute, starry Lumas, who is kidnapped by Bowser Jr. so he can use her magical power to create a Death Star-like super cannon. There is at least one moment where Tyler’s score pays tribute to John Williams’ iconic “Star Wars” theme as Bowser Jr. navigates the galaxy in his “Close Encounters”-inspired spaceship.
Mario and Luigi meet Yoshi in Mexico (Tostarena Town) after responding to a plumbing call. The three head to Princess Peach’s birthday celebration in the Mushroom Kingdom, where they are asked to keep an eye on things, including miniature Bowser, who’s in rehab, while Peach and Toad set out to rescue Rosalina. BTW, Peach and Rosalina are revealed to be sisters, a departure from the video games where they are not related.
We also get a fun spaceport scene that recalls the Mos Eisley Cantina from “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” featuring a plethora of Nintendo characters. Was that Samus Aran’s spaceship? It’s not exactly a “wretched hive of scum and villainy,” but it is where we meet mercenary ace pilot Fox McCloud (Powell) from Nintendo’s “Star Fox” series, who is hired by our superheroes to fly them in his Arwing spacecraft to Bowser Jr.’s location to rescue Rosalina.
I saw “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” with my adult son, who has been a fan of the games since childhood. We both agreed that Illumination, Nintendo, and Universal are probably setting us up for a “Super Smash Bros.” movie, filled with tons of characters. And if there’s a “Star Fox” spinoff, let’s hope it’s 2D animation, as in the anime-inspired flashback scene in “Galaxy.”
Bowser stood out in the 2023 animated original, but here, there is so much going on in rapid succession that it’s hard for any character to claim the spotlight. The pacing is a bit exhausting, but I enjoyed the sequel more than the original, but not as much as the 1993 “Super Mario Bros.” movie with Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo—plus we all know The Super Scope seen in the baby scene is a direct reference to the Devolution Gun in the 90s film.
I can’t imagine anyone going to see this movie who isn’t familiar with the games, unless they’re dragged by their kids or grandkids. If that’s you, remember this is a fan-service movie, so you may be lost but will probably find the film “cute.” That is, unless you are a connoisseur of fine cinema who finds the whole thing an utter bore. To that I say, “Mama mia!”
(3 stars)
Now showing in theaters
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