The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is more of a remixed reimagining than a straight adaptation of the 2007 Wii game it’s named for. The movie weaves elements from multiple Mario games together in a way that’s meant to light up the parts of your brain that activate when you’re experiencing intense nostalgia for something you love. This reference-forward approach makes for some visually stunning set pieces and a number of charming cameos. But there’s a by-the-numbers quality to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s story that’s hard to ignore. And while that doesn’t keep the film from being enjoyable, it does make it seem like Nintendo might be too comfortable relying on its established moviemaking formulas.
Set some time after The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the Galaxy sequel picks up the stories of plumber brothers Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) as they settle into their new lives as world-hopping heroes. With Bowser now miniaturized and no longer posing an imminent threat to the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and her confidant Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) know that their people are relatively safe. But with so many different emergencies popping off in locales near the Mushroom Kingdom, Peach relies on assistance from the Mario brothers and their new friend Yoshi (Donald Glover) so that she can focus on her duties as a ruler.
On the whole, things are pretty chill for Mario and his pals until Bowser’s bratty son Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie) breaks out of boarding school with a plan to free and bond with his father as they take over the entire galaxy. The key to Bowser Jr.’s scheme to build a “boomsday” weapon is Rosalina (Brie Larson) — an otherworldly princess with a magical power that connects her to the stars. And when Bowser Jr. manages to capture Rosalina, Peach and Toad take it upon themselves to free her while the Mario bros stay behind to mind the mushrooms.
Though returning co-directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and writer Matthew Fogel once again give Mario and Luigi plenty of time in the spotlight with gorgeous action set pieces, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s focus on Peach is one of the big things that sets it apart from the last film. The new movie spends more time fleshing out the details of her mysterious backstory while introducing aspects of the character people know from the games, like her romantic relationship with Mario. And here, Peach is given more opportunities to shine as the centerpiece of some truly dazzling action set pieces, something that can often be missing from her video game exploits.
Peach and Toad’s interplanetary odyssey takes them to a variety of gorgeous new worlds that hardcore Mario fans will immediately recognize just from the way that composer Brian Tyler’s score morphs to allude to different Mario songs. But as much of Super Mario Galaxy’s gameplay as you’ll be able to recognize in the movie’s shots of Peach and Toad flying through space, you would be hard-pressed to call this a faithful adaptation of the game’s narrative. That disconnect made some sense for the last movie, which had to introduce us to all of these characters in a way that made sense on screen. Here, though, it feels like Nintendo’s piling on a few too many nods to different parts of the Mario franchise while not giving any single one of them enough time to properly breathe.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie feels busy as it introduces the Honey Queen (Issa Rae) and shady kingpin Wart (Luis Guzmán) while catching everyone up on what Yoshi’s whole deal is. There’s just a lot going on — some of which makes it seem like Nintendo’s using this project to hint at bigger things on the horizon. As fun as it is to see characters from other Nintendo franchises like Fox McCloud (a surprisingly excellent Glen Powell) show up, those cameos (there are a few the studio hasn’t revealed yet) and the way everyone brawls make it seem like Nintendo is more concerned with teasing a potential interconnected cinematic universe. That’s unfortunate because The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is strongest when it slows down to give its core characters new depth, and the time it spends bringing newcomers into the picture would have been much better used making sure that everyone felt more three-dimensional.
As thin as the movie’s story is, it moves with a briskness that reminds you that this is very much a movie for people with short attention spans who can’t be bothered to sit in a theater for two-plus hours (read: children). But while that enthusiasm might be enough to turn The Super Mario Galaxy Movie into another $1 billion hit, Nintendo will probably need to take a different approach as it makes a name for itself in Hollywood — especially with a much more challenging adaptation on the horizon.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie also stars Kevin Michael Richardson, Juliet Jelenic, and Ed Skudder. The movie hits theaters on April 1st.