Publication Date: 04-03-2026

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026) review

Dir. Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★

Sometimes I truly curse myself. I was satisfied with The Super Mario Bros. Movie back in 2023, and not solely because I subjected myself to the 1993 atrocity in the days leading up to its release. I appreciated the fact that it stuck true to the spirit of its side-scrolling origins, and later, the vastness of its open-world design. I also enjoyed the Rainbow Road sequence, and the personalities of the characters brought to life by a well-cast crop of performers, many of whom non-traditional voice actors.

But even in my praise, I hoped the sequel wouldn’t be so safe. I hoped the inevitable follow-up would take more narrative chances and ingratiate us into at least one of the worlds. Then I saw The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and had to remind myself that Nintendo executives have their thumbprints all over these films. They are engineered to be innocuous and tow the line of quality control. They are feature-length advertisements for the coolness of the Mario franchise. Don’t say that miserable Bob Hoskins/John Leguizamo movie didn’t have an enduring impact. It basically screwed us out of getting a Mario movie helmed by, say, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, or someone who could adapt our favorite video game characters with a modicum of subversion mixed in with loyalty.

As the title suggests, this go-round has Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) whisked away into the cosmos, where Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie, “Mario Supreme?”) is plotting his reunion with his father, Bowser (Jack Black), who is now diminutive in size. His plan involves harnessing the powers of Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson), who guards colorful little stars known as Lumas. When Rosalina is captured, Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), and newcomer Yoshi (Donald Grover) sprint into action.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is a series of things happening, all vibrant and brightly colored, but seldom emotionally stimulating. It’s shocking how little humor actually lands, and the only bits that come close are more inspired visual gags, such as a flashback to Yoshi being exiled to the dessert, which is set to a music montage. It’s a lot of kinetic noise that amounts to fleeting amusement, with characters getting swallowed by kaleidoscopic, intergalactic backgrounds.

Some asides are better than others. The inclusion of Star Fox (Glen Powell) feels like how secondary Avengers were once a part of Captain America and Thor because they likely couldn’t sustain their own (lucrative) features, but the animators do make an effort to underscore his presence with a totally different visual cue. Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) has a shining moment after getting robbed by an airport monkey, leading to a chase that ends in a dystopian Las Vegas-esque hellhole. Moreover, the film’s most effective plot-thread is the push-pull Bowser has between living up to his son’s vision of him and his dastardly plans while also recognizing that Mario and Luigi have loaned him a hand and given him multiple opportunities to show the good in his heart. This is evident right down to a final confrontation, where the brotherly plumbers express remorse even as while their winning the battle.

But this is a movie chockablock of Easter eggs, including but certainly not limited to R.O.B., and fluttering diversions. It never stays with one thread for too long, making it tailormade for the flighty attention span of little ones. They’ll be dazzled by the bright colors, but they’re likely subjected to the same kind of zany noise pollution on their phones. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is probably the first in a long series of sequels and a cash cow franchise whose milk will never run dry. It feels engineered to maintain a status quo as opposed to give life to a series that’s specific enough to have its own lore, yet broad enough to be more daring than this project ever attempts.

My review of Super Mario. Bros (1993)
My review of The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

Voiced by: Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Benny Safdie, Donald Glover, Glen Powell, Brie Larson, Luis Guzmán, Issa Rae, and Kevin Michael Richardson. Directed by: Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic.