‘Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ Review: Lots of Characters, No Stars

Okay, so The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is packed with big names, but honestly, it’s a guessing game trying to figure out who’s who! I didn’t even realize Brie Larson was voicing Rosalina until the credits rolled. And the idea that Donald Glover spent hours recording as Yoshi? Wild! Seriously, even Benny Safdie’s own brother probably couldn’t pick him out as Bowser Jr. – they messed with his voice so much. Even Jack Black, who was awesome in the first Mario movie, is mostly a tiny, squeaky Bowser in this one. They totally changed his signature growl! It’s a fun movie, but you’re really relying on reading the cast list afterward to appreciate everyone involved.

Okay, I’m still really enjoying Jack Black as Bowser – he actually feels like the character! Honestly, the rest of the cast just doesn’t bring much energy, which is probably why they’re so forgettable. And it’s a shame about Chris Pratt. I know he can be funny when he’s doing voice work, but he’s now voiced Mario twice and hasn’t had a single truly hilarious or memorable line. It’s a bit disappointing, honestly.

Honestly, I went in expecting a fun, nostalgic trip, and that’s exactly what The Super Mario Bros. Movie delivers. It’s packed with references and everything you love from the games – power-ups, characters, the whole nine yards. If you just want to see Mario do Mario things on the big screen, you won’t be disappointed. But I also think a movie, even one based on a beloved game like this, should offer a little something extra, you know? It’s great fan service, but I was hoping for a bit more depth.

It doesn’t quite feel like a direct adaptation. Thankfully, directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, along with their animation team, worked hard to capture the classic, bouncy look of Mario‘s characters, environments, and items. This animated Mario is a far cry from the much-criticized live-action Super Mario Bros. film from the early 90s – it’s more like a living Nintendo style guide. Several scenes in The Super Mario Bros. Movie cleverly recreate the structure of old NES levels, but with the fast-paced energy of modern animation. The film doesn’t so much adapt Super Mario Bros. 3 faithfully as it imagines what that game might have looked like to the first generation of NES players, letting them relive the magic of those pixelated adventures.

The film The Super Mario Galaxy Movie takes its title from a 2007 video game, but only uses a few basic plot points from it. The story quickly becomes a fast-paced, 90-minute chase across space to rescue Rosalina. The movie begins with Bowser Jr. kidnapping her, leaving her children – the Lumas, colorful, living stars – floating helplessly in space. (The Lumas call Rosalina “mom,” and she refers to them as her kids, though it’s a bit hard to believe she actually had dozens of star-shaped children… adoption seems more likely!)

Once Rosalina is captured, a Luma manages to get away and asks Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) for help in rescuing her. This leaves Mario (Pratt), Luigi (Charlie Day, who at least tries to sound like a classic Italian-American from Brooklyn), and their new dinosaur friend, Yoshi (Glover), to protect the Mushroom Kingdom. Yoshi surprisingly just appears and quickly joins their team! Considering they’re already friends with a talking mushroom (Keegan-Michael Key), a boot-wearing dinosaur who turns everything he eats into eggs isn’t that strange, though.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie feels strangely uninspired throughout. The plot unfolds without much explanation, assuming viewers are already deeply familiar with Mario lore. If you haven’t played a lot of Mario games over the years, you might find yourself confused about why things are happening. The script introduces many storylines but doesn’t follow through on most of them – characters and plot points are simply dropped without resolution, like the Luma who motivates Peach’s quest, who disappears after serving their purpose.

Bowser is the biggest example of this inconsistency. He begins the film as a captive of Peach and Mario, initially attempting to redeem himself and regain his original size. He even starts to genuinely like Mario! However, as soon as Bowser Jr. appears, Bowser immediately reverts to his villainous ways, and his fixation on Peach continues from The Super Mario Bros. Movie. This pattern continues in Galaxy, where he awkwardly gifts Peach a romantic painting of them together, only to be ignored for the rest of the game.

Bowser says he was a terrible, absent father to his son, but a brief flashback actually shows him being a loving and kind dad. (Considering he’s a giant turtle trying to take over the galaxy, of course!) It feels like the movie is best enjoyed if you don’t overthink the plot.

It seems like the filmmakers prioritized including as many Nintendo characters as possible over developing a strong story or well-rounded characters. Almost all the main characters from the first Mario movie returned, and they added a ton of new faces from various Nintendo games – like Wart and the Honey Queen, plus Fox McCloud. That’s just who we’ve seen in the trailers; the movie is packed with even more surprise appearances.

There were a lot of characters in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie! Even my ten-year-old, who loves Nintendo Switch and usually enjoys everything, wondered if they’d used up all the characters, asking who would be left for future movies. I just told him they’d figure something out, and I’m pretty sure I won’t recognize most of the voice actors until the end credits roll.

Additional Thoughts:

It’s clear Bowser is Bowser Jr.’s dad, but the identity of Bowser Jr.’s mother is a complete mystery. The movies never explain who she is, leaving fans to wonder if Bowser once had a wife or if he reproduces in some other way. These are the kinds of questions that pop into your head while waiting for extra content after The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

RATING: 4/10

All the Old School Nintendo Easter Eggs in The Super Mario Bros. Movie

1. The King of the Koopas

The movie begins by introducing Jack Black’s character, Bowser, who is known as the king of the Koopas. Interestingly, while he’s always called Bowser in the United States, he’s referred to as King Koopa in the original Japanese versions of the Mario games. And, of course, he’s actually the ruler of the Koopas!

2. The Super Mario Bros. Rap

The advertisement for Mario’s plumbing features a rap song about the Mario Brothers – their specialty is plumbing! This unusual song, called “Plumber Rap,” was the theme song for The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, a TV series from the late 1980s. The show combined animation with live-action segments and starred Lou Albano and Danny Wells as Mario and Luigi.

3. Punch-Out Pizza

The pizza place owned by Mario and Luigi in Brooklyn is surprisingly named “Punch-Out Pizza.” The restaurant’s walls are decorated with images of characters from the retro NES game Punch-Out!!, featuring the brave Little Mac among them.

4. Jumpman

Punch-Out Pizza has an arcade game tucked away in the back corner. Although it’s hard to see clearly, the game’s title includes the word “Jumpman” – that was the original name given to the character we now know as Mario when he first appeared in the arcade game Donkey Kong. He didn’t become Mario until his later game, Mario Bros., which also introduced his brother, Luigi.

5. Pauline

The original Donkey Kong game features Jumpman—better known as Mario—attempting to save a woman from a giant ape. That woman is Pauline, and a recent nod to her appears in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. If you look at the TV in the Punch-Out Pizza scene, you’ll see her name mentioned as “Mayor Pauline,” a title reflecting her position in the newer game, Super Mario Odyssey.

6. Wrecking Crew

Mario and Luigi recently quit their jobs as demolition workers – a nod to an old Nintendo game called Wrecking Crew, where they performed similar work. In that classic game, they were constantly harassed by a boss named Spike. Now, in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Spike – voiced by Sebastian Maniscalco – appears as the brothers’ former boss, still upset that they left to start their own plumbing business.

7. Castle Burger

When Mario and Luigi’s van breaks down on the way to a plumbing job, they have to make their way through a construction site. The way they navigate it is very similar to the classic side-scrolling Mario games. They finish their trek with Mario jumping onto a flagpole and sliding down, then walking past a restaurant named “Castle Burger”—a clear nod to the ending of levels in the original Super Mario Bros.

8. Pro Wrestling

Mario’s bedroom is decorated with posters of classic Nintendo Entertainment System games. One of these is Pro Wrestling, an early wrestling game released in 1986 for the NES. The game featured a unique group of characters, like Fighter Hayabusa from Japan and the enigmatic Starman from Mexico.

9. Chasse au Canard

Almost every shop you see in the Brooklyn-based world of Super Mario Bros. is a hidden reference. For instance, when Mario and Luigi are investigating the flood that leads them to the Mushroom Kingdom, they walk past a French restaurant called “Chasse au Canard.” Even if you don’t understand French, the duck on the sign is a clue – the name translates to “Duck Hunt,” another classic Nintendo game that was originally sold with Super Mario Bros. as part of the “Action Set” for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

10. Level 1-2

When Mario and Luigi investigate a huge flood in the Brooklyn sewers, they notice a sign for “Level 1-2”—a playful reference to the classic Super Mario Bros. game. This echoes the original game’s first underground level, where Mario jumps down a pipe into a strange basement full of pipes and dangerous Piranha Plants.

11. The Antiques Store

In the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario teams up with Toad, who shows him around and introduces him to the Princess. During their journey, they stumble upon an “Antiques Store” filled with references to classic 8-bit games. The store sells items like a hammer, which is a nod to the Hammer Bro enemies seen in many Mario games, though Mario himself has used hammers in games like the original Donkey Kong.

12. In Another Castle

When Mario and Toad reach Princess Peach’s castle, they find it’s guarded by two Toads who tell them, “Our princess is in another castle.” This is a reference to the original Super Mario Bros. game, where Toads would say the same thing after Mario defeated Bowser in the first seven castles. It meant Mario had to continue to the next level and keep searching to rescue the Princess.

13. Baby Mario (and Luigi)

The movie includes a scene showing Mario and Luigi as young children, highlighting their close bond and how they always looked out for each other. Their appearance as kids is based on the popular “Baby Mario” and “Baby Luigi” characters first introduced in the Mario franchise with Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island. Since then, Baby Mario has become a recurring character in many Mario Kart and Mario sports games.

14. Yoshi

Yoshi, Mario’s dinosaur friend, doesn’t have a big part in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but a group of Yoshis can be spotted running in the background when Mario, Toad, and the Princess head to find Donkey Kong. And if you watch all the way through the credits, there’s a fun Easter egg: a green and white Yoshi egg in the sewers under Brooklyn is about to hatch!

15. Cranky Kong

Fred Armisen provides the voice for Cranky Kong, the father of Donkey Kong and ruler of the Kong Kingdom. Interestingly, Cranky Kong is the original ape from the very first Donkey Kong arcade game released in 1981. The Donkey Kong we know from games like Donkey Kong Country on Super Nintendo (and many games since) is said to be Cranky Kong’s son—or sometimes his grandson, depending on the specific game.

16. Watch Out For Barrels!

Mario and Donkey Kong are battling it out. If Mario wins, the Kong family will team up with the Mushroom Kingdom to fight Bowser. The fight begins on floating platforms in an arena, playing a lot like Super Smash Bros. But things quickly change when Mario falls down a level, and Donkey Kong starts throwing barrels – a classic move from the very first Donkey Kong game.

17. Diskun

The movie ends back in Brooklyn, filled with even more references to Nintendo, including signs and shops. One example is a sign for “Disk-Kun,” which was the mascot for the Famicom Disk System – a Nintendo add-on that used floppy disks to enhance the audio and gameplay of the original Famicom.

18. Captain Falcon From F-Zero

If you’ve been enjoying all the Nintendo nods throughout the movie, there’s one last fun detail to check out in Mario’s bedroom. You’ll find tons of Easter eggs hidden in there, like a poster for Captain Falcon! He’s a famous racer from the classic F-Zero game on Super Nintendo – and if you’re a Super Smash Bros. player, you might even recognize him from that game too.

19. Thomas From Kung Fu

Another artwork hanging in Mario’s room features characters from the classic Nintendo game Kung Fu. In that game, players control Thomas, who battles his way through a large temple to save his girlfriend from the villainous Mr. X.

2026-03-31 22:30