There is so much hectic action on screen that one cannot hear oneself think, which is somewhat of a good thing, as The Super Mario Galaxy Moviedoes not offer anything radically new in terms of story.
A sequel to 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, with directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, and the main cast returning, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is based on Nintendo’s 2007 video game, Super Mario Galaxy.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (English)
Directors: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic
Starring: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Benny Safdie, Donald Glover, Brie Larson
Runtime: 98 minutes
Storyline: Mario and friends go to outer space to rescue Princess Rosalina and face off against Bowser and Bowser Jr
Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson), the adoptive mother of the star-shaped Lumas, is kidnapped by Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie) to prove once and for all that he is worthy of his villain dad, Bowser (Jack Black), the king of the turtle-like Koopas.
Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, has shrunk Bowser and imprisoned him in her castle. Mario (Chris Pratt) and his brother Luigi (Charlie Day) are in charge of Bowser’s rehabilitation, which is not going too well since he still has anger issues, though he is growing incrementally closer to the brothers.
The brothers, while investigating a disturbance in a desert, befriend the green dinosaur Yoshi (Donald Glover). At Peach’s birthday celebrations, she tells Mario, who has feelings for her but is afraid to voice them, that she does not know where she came from.
When a Luma crashlands at the party and tells of Princess Rosalina’s kidnapping, Mario and the gang go to the rescue. They are helped on their quest by a mercenary space pilot, Fox McCloud (Glen Powell), and a bored honey bee queen (Issa Rae) from Honeyhive Galaxy.
Fans of the game will enjoy the Easter eggs and callbacks and there is enough frenetic action, and colours for those completely new to the world of Italian-American plumbers from Brooklyn and blond princesses.
The movie portrays a bunch of relationships, including father-son (Bowser and Jr) and sibling (Peach and Rosalina) arcs, but then loses interest and leaves them stranded. The same goes for Powell’s piratical McCloud, which is a terrible shame.
The voice work is competent, with Black and Pratt giving their 110%. The action sequences, especially when the brothers are left in charge of the Mushroom Kingdom and plant flags as they battle threats, are reminiscent of the game, as is the Super Scope that turns Mario, Luigi, and the tyrannosaur into babies.
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The chase over the dinosaur bridge in Fossil Falls is pretty cool. The sequence where Peach and her anthropomorphic mushroom sidekick Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) breach the crime boss Wart’s (Luis Guzmán) casino bends reality in the nicest possible way bringing to mind the room and not the camera that moved in Jamiroquai’s ‘Virtual Insanity’ music video.
There is a lot of running, catching, falling, and jumping, which gets exhausting after a while. There is practically no humour in a film that is supposed to be a comedy. However, it would keep the bachcha party engrossed, and parents can take the precious 90 minutes on offer for shut-eye in air-conditioned comfort.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is currently running in theatres
Published – April 04, 2026 12:00 am IST
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