The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Review
Let me be honest, I didn’t play Super Mario enough to make it to the place where the galaxy would come in. I made it to the rainbow road on Mario Kart, though. But does that even apply here? They tried to make a movie based on video game characters that don’t speak by adding a plot to it. Yet even if the 2023 movie’s box office did well, and some kids enjoyed it, you have to wonder whether this sequel was warranted. Apparently, they did it anyway, and that brings us to 3 years later and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
Saving the day through sheer dumb luck, Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) have moved out of the real world and into the magical Mushroom Kingdom. Directing duo Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and writer Matthew Fogel have also returned to bring audiences a new story with the brothers. All their friends and foes are back, along with new Nintendo characters, too.
Mario and Luigi have now settled into the Mushroom Kingdom. Thwarting Bowser (Jack Black) and his evil plans to marry Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), their story is known all over. Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) tells her babies the story. All is well until Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie) kidnaps her with the intention of stealing her powers. Determined to restore the family legacy and free his father from prison, Bowser Jr. will stop at nothing. The brothers and companions thus have to band together to save the galaxy in this new adventure.
It is weird watching this sequel as something feels off. There is the animation, and I believe it begins there. Even as someone who has not played the video games that much, I am aware of the look and feel of them. So, even though this is the second film, the fact that this 2D game has been transferred into this 3D bubbly form is unsettling. You know that their world has changed and been plotted out into a story instead of adventure levels. Instead of seeing the characters and their simple tasks like in the games, you are sad when they do not look like the nostalgia you want.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie might be the second film of what could potentially be a longer series; however, watching it from a different perspective than the first film truly changes your enjoyment or lack thereof. Thinking about the film a bit more seriously and understanding that the original characters from the game don’t speak, the movie simply becomes ridiculous. You recognise that there is really no story there. When you play the game, you choose what the character’s actions are, so when in the film things do not happen as you would have planned, you remember that you are watching a kids’ movie and not playing your nostalgic childhood game.
With regards to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie being a children’s film first and foremost, you do wish they had done more. Surely it’s simple enough and all, but when you are given strong female characters being saved by two plumbers, it feels like we are not even in the 21st century. As much as the animation is jarring, you cannot help but be mesmerised by Rosalina’s power. While her sequences are lovely, you do wish there could have been more.
Of course, you have to remember Nintendo and Universal are “storializing” (yes, I have made up a word just for this situation) an adventure game. But we still have every right to be disappointed. With my little knowledge of any new elements of the game, I can still be led to not believe the plot of this new adventure Mario and friends are led on. Add to that, and the music simply does not belong in the world of the Super Mario Brothers.
Worlds, characters and even special power-ups are introduced in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, but these cannot save the day. When I say that this film is made for children, there is no denying it. The younger generation, even if they play the game, will not notice things the more mature eye would. So, for the adult viewer, you will definitely be dissatisfied in some way. Almost exactly three years after the release of the first film, audiences are given plenty of new galaxies to explore here. If you have kids who liked the first one, or you force yourself to watch the continuation, then get yourself to the cinema. To see where Mario, Luigi, and friends go next, the galaxy awaits. Or does it?
★★
In Cinemas April 1st / Voices of Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Brie Larson, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Donald Glover, Benny Safdie, Keegan-Michael Key / Dir: Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic / Universal Pictures UK, Illumination / PG
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