The Super Mario Bros. Movie was one of the most lucrative of 2023, making a sequel inevitable. The follow-up movie sees Mario and pals going on an adventure into the stars.
In the far reaches of space, Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie) kidnaps Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) and plans to use her power to make a planet. When Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) finds out about this crime, she travels into space to save her fellow princess and leaves Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) in charge of the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario and Luigi are also forced into space when Bowser Jr. attempts to retrieve his imprisoned father (Jack Black).
The first Super Mario Bros. Movie was a film where there was a divide between critics and audiences. It earned a 59% on Rotten Tomatoes and 46% on Metacritic, yet had a respectable 7.0 on IMDB. It was a crowd-pleaser. I gave it a 4-star review for Pop Culture Maniacs. It was a film made by fans for the fans since it was chock full of references to the franchise, and a genuinely entertaining family film. It didn’t have the emotional resonance of Pixar or DreamWorks’ best films, but it did the job it set out to do.
A lot of my review for the first film can be reused for this review. The Super Mario Bros. World had a lot of references to the games that could delight fans of the games; it was made as a love letter to the franchise. It was bright and colourful with dynamic action sequences, and it was funny. The kids in the audience enjoyed it, and I did chuckle a few times. People who enjoyed the first film should enjoy the sequel.
Whilst The Super Mario Galaxy Movie had a lot of the strengths of the first film, it also had the weaknesses. The sequel was even reference-dependent. The space adventure resulted in characters visiting multiple worlds just so various characters could appear and reference games, including more recent ones like Super Mario Odyssey. Some characters were introduced so that a Nintendo Cinematic Universe can be created. The corporate interests were even more present in this sequel, although it was nowhere near as egregious as Space Jam: A New Legacy. At best, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was even more dependent on fan service.
The Super Mario Bros. Galaxy Movie was a more sprawling film. The first act showed this: it starts with Bowser Jr. kidnapping Princess Rosalina, then Mario and Luigi re-enact Mad Max and find Yoshi (Donald Glover), who quickly becomes a part of the group, followed by Princess Peach celebrating her birthday before going into space, and then Bowser Jr. forces Mario and Luigi into space. The characters were split into three groups: Peach and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) search for Rosalina, and Peach makes a realisation about her past, Mario and Luigi try to find Peach, and Bowser and Bowser Jr. bond as father and son. There were subplots, with one of the biggest being Mario developing feelings for Peach. All these plotlines and references made The Super Mario Galaxy Movie feel like fan fiction by an enthusiastic 10-year-old.
The Super Mario Bros. Galaxy Movie does show the franchise’s limitations as a movie series. The games were always thin on a story and character front, and the foundation for other media was shaky. Just look at the live-action Super Mario movie and the animated series in the ‘80s and ‘90s. The sequel was a case of the filmmakers throwing everything at the screen and seeing what sticks.
The Super Mario Bros. Galaxy Movie was at times perfectly entertaining thanks to the humour, action, and animation, but it was messier than its predecessor and lacked the sense of freshness.
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Summary
One for kids and die-hard fans.
