Film: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie [2026] – Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie keeps its great visuals and nostalgia from the first outing. But lost its charm, and story.

While The Super Mario Bros. Movie brought the franchise into theaters with Illumination’s great visuals, and a character driven story, the second movie forgets what made it work: A story.

Mario, Luigi, and Princess are joined by Yoshi (Donald Glover) in an exhausting film that is more fan service than actual sequel. Did Nintendo pull a Sony and make a mess? Who knows. But Illumination’s most visually spectacular animated feature yet is a parade of in-game references and large-scale action scenes but again seems content to exist sans much character of its own.

The film constantly throws new ideas, characters, and references at the audience, rarely allowing any of them to breathe. Yoshi just shows up for no reason, Bowser suddenly has a son, and he’s sidestepped for no reason. Wouldn’t be better if Bowser managed to escape and tries to get revenge? Less characters, more room to breathe, and more IP for a potential future sequel. Instead of cramming everything here and confusing everyone? What should feel expansive instead feels crowded and oddly impersonal.

To be honest, I found it all deeply annoying. I played Mario growing up, then Mario Kart, then Smash Bros. And the trailer made it seem like the film would reference all of those in a satisfying way. Thing is, the film actually references all of those, in the most useless way. More gags than story, or character.

All in all, It’s like whiplash cinema at its best. While the first was fun, great, and it made us fall in love with Mario and Princess Peach, the sequel dismisses all of that, in favor of very little plot, gags, quips, and a force nostalgia play.

Should You Watch It?

There’s very little plot in this sequel – it feels like more of a series of sugar-coated chases.

Where Can I Watch It?

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is now playing in theaters.