Written by Carrie Bergan

Like a majority of today’s young adults, I grew up playing Mario games — from the GameCube to the Wii to Nintendo DS Lite. For the most part, the Mario game universe has a storyline that serves as the backbone to their storyplaying games. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, an example would be Super Mario Bros. You play as Mario, and Princess Peach has been captured by Bowser, so your goal is to rescue her by completing various levels until you reach Bowser’s castle. Aside from the main characters, which also include Luigi for multiplayer ability, there is also Yoshi, who helps you from time to time. But like a lot of fandoms, there is an even bigger, more complex backstory to each character, even the ones who aren’t in every single version. For the most part, these characters are all playable in games like Mario Kart, and some characters even have their own games, like Luigi’s Mansion. The Mario universe is huge, and I don’t know the full history. 

Warning: I will be spoiling this movie so stop now if you don’t want anything given away.

Now, even with all of this being established, from my understanding, the Mario movies are meant to be separated from those stories. This is where it gets a little tricky because Mario is such a well-known character, and unfortunately, the reviews for the Super Mario Galaxy movie are split from these choices. This is the sequel to the Super Mario Bros. Movie, which came out in 2023. Mario is voiced by Chris Pratt, which to begin with angered a lot of fans especially because the original voice actor for Mario does have a cameo. But with the decision to distance the movies from the original universe storylines, it makes sense to want an actor not entirely associated with the classic sounds to voice Mario. However, I am with the majority. I do not think Pratt makes the best choice. I don’t especially have an idea of who I’d cast, but I don’t think he was entirely the right call. 

Now, the main issue people have with Super Mario Galaxy is the decision to make Princess Peach and Rosalina sisters. I am not entirely familiar with either of their backstories, but according to fan pages, this is not plausible and a massive upset because Rosalina has this in-depth storyline that shapes who she is with her powers. Since she is the cosmic guardian, her abilities are immense and vast. From my understanding, she is incredibly powerful with gravitational control, force field generations, teleportation, and the ability to reset galaxies. It’s the mass of all this combined that her life force was required by Bowser Jr. in order to take over the galaxy.  I actually missed this giant reveal due to the need for a bathroom break and was quickly updated by my husband when I returned. Like I said, there is a high level of complexity in her backstory that gets downgraded with the change in character relationships in the movie, and it has caused some backlash. Without that initial knowledge going in, and even after learning about it, it ultimately doesn’t affect how I viewed the movie. I actually found most of it entertaining. I wouldn’t say it was amazing, and the storyline felt a bit lopsided at times, with too many side stories happening while the main one, saving Rosalina from Bowser Jr., unfolded. 

Bowser Jr. has surfaced as the villain since Bowser was shrunk and locked away after the first movie, when he tried to force Princess Peach to marry him. Their relationship goes through the ups and downs as Bowser has decided he wants to change from being the evil mastermind, yet Bowser Jr. reminds him of their plan from when he was little. Together and reunited, Bowser changes his mind, and it’s an all-out battle to rescue Rosalina. The comedic quips are genuinely funny, and the references to the video games made the movie fun. I loved seeing the Pikmin spaceship and the Tyrannosaurus rex, and my husband lost his mind when Star Fox made an appearance on screen.

Overall, it was a fun take on continuing the Mario universe, especially with the moments that reminded me of my childhood from playing the games. I especially loved when Mr. Game & Watch showed up because I always thought it was an odd character to play in Super Smash Bros. But I think I’d watch it again, and I do look forward to seeing where else they’ll take it, especially with that post-credits scene where Daisy is introduced. The number of directions they can go with the amount of characters that exist really is endless. 

My Rating: 7/10