THE SUPER MARIO BROS movie was a box office smash in 2023, delivering colorful visuals and adapting the classic video game characters for fans of all ages, even if the end result was a mixed bag of nostalgia and style over substance, with moments of genuine fun in between.  Illumination Studios is now delivering a sequel in the form of THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE, which takes the popular characters on an interstellar adventure with even more familiar faces and a bevy of character subplots.

On her spaceship city hurtling through the cosmos, Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) is suddenly attacked by Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), who is hoping to gain ultimate power and impress his now lost father, Bowser. Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are spending their days saving those in need as plumbers, and they discover a dinosaur-like creature named Yoshi (Donald Glover), taking him in as a sort of pet and new best friend. Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) discovers Rosalina has been captured, and heads off with one of her star pets to rescue her… we’re told Peach is actually Rosalina’s younger sister, separated years ago. Mario and Luigi are holding a miniaturized Bowser captive, but decide to enlist his help to track down Bowser’s son and assist Peach and Rosalina. At one point they even join with a certain high-flying fox that video game enthusiasts will recognize (voiced by Glen Powell), and fly into the stars to hopefully save the day once more.

There is a lot going on in this leveled-up sequel, which is filled with plenty of visual and audio nostalgia for the most passionate Nintendo fans, and the action is fast and furious this time, barely giving audiences a chance to catch their breath or even process what they just saw. This is also a movie filled with overlapping character subplots, many of which don’t feel fully or properly explored… such as Bowser reconciling with his son, after being a lazy dad and not teaching him any sort of compassion… or Peach tracking down her long-lost sister and together harnessing immense cosmic power… and of course there’s Mario trying to process his feelings for Peach, as he can’t seem to decide if she’s just a friend or something more. At times, the various overlapping story elements feel cluttered or overly-ambitious, especially when the film is pushing frenetic actions sequences at you back to back.

The voice cast is effective and works more often than not, but like the first film, it oddly feels like Mario and Luigi don’t have all that much to say here. Chris Pratt, as big of a star as he is, doesn’t spout all that much dialogue, which feels weird considering Mario in the project’s title character, and Charlie Day as Luigi only gets momentary jokes to shine with. The addition of Yoshi (Donald Glover doing a high-pitched cartoon-y voice) is amusing, but has little more to do that being cute and quirky as a sidekick for our intended heroes. Anya Taylor-Joy is once again playing the story’s toughest character as Peach, followed closely by Rosalina, really pushing the female power feel of the story, which I didn’t mind so much in the first movie, but here it seems like overkill at times – worth noting, the female characters in the Mario video games were NOT power characters, quite the opposite, so making them such in the movies does feel more than a bit agenda-driven (and I say that as someone who usually defends that sort of thing). I also honestly felt like both of their characters could have benefit from more development instead of tough girl moments. The most interesting characters here are Bowser (Jack Black shining once again) and Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie doing his best youthful Jack Black impression), and there was real potential to explore the dynamics between these two and potentially depict them going through a mutual catharsis. We learn early on in this story that Bowser has seemingly had a change of heart, and begins to respect and even like Mario and Luigi, but Bowser Jr. follows his father’s old ways, with domination and destruction being his focus. At one point we see Bowser questioning if his son should destroy their opposition, perhaps seeing reform in the one-time villain, and the potential of him educating his son on why evil isn’t always the answer… but instead Bowser just reverts to his old self and neither character evolves, which feels like a real missed opportunity, especially for a film aimed at kids.

With a powerful and energizing score by Bryan Tyler, phenomenal visuals and sound design, THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE is a treat to watch and so much fun that you’ll likely forgive its shortcomings, and it’s an improvement over the first movie, if only slightly. At times the nostalgia feels a bit too forced and even laid on thick, but there’s enough going on to hold your interest and more importantly to keep the younger viewers entertained. I really appreciated some of the subtle touches, like homages to INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, JURASSIC PARK and other popular 80s and 90s movies, and I felt like the filmmakers were doing their best to make this sequel enjoyable for all demographics. As a follow-up, this is fun and energetic and never boring, though I feel like there was still a better movie somewhere in there. At 98 minutes, it’s a quick experience, and likely to appeal just fine to its target audience. I enjoyed it, I just didn’t love it, and as a lifelong Nintendo fan, that’s my biggest complaint.

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