The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Review
Nathan Swank
April 3rd, 2026
SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE is a sequel to a surprising smart, funny, nostalgia-filled kid’s entertainment that grown ups could enjoy on some level too. So it was a no-brainer that my 9-year old son was excited to go opening weekend to the new sequel. While he, like most kids, say they enjoyed it, my wife and I had difficulty keeping our eyes open through this nonsensical, money grab of a story with constant flashing visual edits geared toward kids’ raised on reels without any substance.
Promotional Summary:
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is an animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros., and follows The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which was released in 2023 and earned more than $1.3 billion worldwide. Both the 2023 film and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie are produced by Chris Meledandri of Illumination and Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo. The film will be co-financed by Universal Pictures and Nintendo and will be released worldwide by Universal Pictures. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is directed by returning filmmakers Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, from a screenplay by returning screenwriter Matthew Fogel, with Brian Tyler returning to compose the score.
Notice that the studio promotion didn’t even mention the plot. I can’t remember what the film was about, Peaches’ sister gets kidnapped, a bunch more child stars are abandoned, Yoshi is introduced, and baby Bowser is the bad guy. When I asked my son what his favorite part was, he wasn’t sure. It’s odd that Jack Black’s Bowser in the first film had the hilarious break out “Peaches” song and then the filmmakers didn’t even attempt to have him make another hit song in the second film. I’ll be honest, that was the one thing I was looking forward to and sad that it never came to fruition.
The super star cast includes: Jack Black as Bowser, Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Peaches, Brie Larson as Peaches sister Rosalina, Donald Glover as Yoshi, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Benny Safdie as Bowser Junior. It feels almost like a throw away to have such big stars inconsequential (outside of Jack Black) to the voice work for such a forgettable film. Please don’t tell my son how much despise it though.
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