Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic — Screenplay by Matthew Fogel.
Nintendo’s beloved mustachioed plumber, Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt), is back in Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic’s The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the sequel to 2023’s billion-dollar grosser The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The sequel sees Mario, Luigi (voiced by Charlie Day), Peach (voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy), Toad (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key), and their new companion Yoshi (voiced by Donald Glover) team up in an effort to save Rosalina (voiced by Brie Larson) from Bowser Jr. (voiced by Benny Safdie). On their way to the rescue, they also encounter a certain space pilot (voiced by Glen Powell) who is willing to help them complete their mission.
When I reviewed the first Illumination-Nintendo team-up film about Mario and Luigi, I remarked that while it is occasionally really enjoyable, it was, nevertheless, an empty-calorie movie that lacked something to say and which had too much distracting non-Mario-related music. Although I was, and continue to be, incredibly impressed by the visually striking animation style, the fact that the colors pop and the characters look good is not all it takes to make a strong animated film. I enjoyed the first film, but I wanted the empty-calorie movie to learn some lessons from the first one and show that it could evolve in the sequel. Unfortunately, I don’t think The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is one that makes it clear that anyone has learned anything. The biggest positive change from film to film is that the use of popular music from the real world is not as big of a part of the second film as it was in the first film.
It is not solely the animation style and the music changes that work for this film, though. There are some really strong highlight sequences here, like seeing Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi take care of the Mushroom Kingdom with an old-school video game overview of levels, or seeing Bowser Jr. essentially play Super Mario Maker in real time (which is to say that he creates the course in real time) while Peach and Mario move through the course (while we see them move through it in Illumination’s 3D animation style, Bowser Jr.’s perspective is that of a surveillance-esque perspective that looks just like a classic Mario game level). Glen Powell’s mystery character is also quite fun to see in a film, and there’s a brief moment where we see a glimpse of a different art style to explain his background. Moments like that really jolt you awake and bring a smile to your face. And, indeed, there are plenty of references and power-ups and whatnot from various popular games throughout gaming history. I quite like Super Mario Odyssey, and there are plenty of references to that game here, even though the film’s title indicates it’s more interested in another game.
That’s the thing, though. So many of the references feel thrown in there just because, without much thought about what they add to the story, which is where the film really falls apart. Because while this film definitely is expertly animated, empty power-ups and cameos can’t change the fact that the story is thinly designed. In addition to this, the characterization of Bowser leaves something to be desired, and the vocal performance from Chris Pratt is strangely inconsistent, as it feels like he abandons the accent he opens the film with. The film’s breakneck pace cannot disguise those issues that hold the film back.
5 out of 10
– Review written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
