The people who are going into “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” with hopes and expectations of watching a masterpiece in plot and story development are the ones who are disappointed. In no space or time was this film supposed to harbor an Oscar-caliber screenplay.
Just like the first entry in the franchise, this film is a love letter to Mario fans across the globe. It’s just expanding a little in the Nintendo/Illumination Universe. For the most part, fans knew going into this that it was going to be a lovely mess of Easter eggs, references and character reveals throughout, the way it was intended to be. Mechanically and technically speaking, this is not a good film. It’s choppier than the ocean during a hurricane. It lacks plot development. Our characters do not really develop aside from maybe a couple.
But despite all that, this film is a ton of fun, especially for those of us who have been playing the Super Mario games our entire lives.
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” (2026) Review | Illumination Expands Mario’s Cinematic Lore
Bitten by the Nostalgia Snake
I’ve been jumping onto Goombas with Mario since his beginning on the original Nintendo Entertainment System. I’ve played every single one of his games in my 38 years of life, and I can tell you that I smiled for damn near the entirety of this movie. There were references and Easter eggs galore from nearly every single game our short-stacked plumber has been in. You’d need to watch this film 20 times to pick out all the characters running around. From the original “Super Mario Bros.” to “Super Mario Galaxy” and everything in-between, there are characters and references of all kinds.
The animation is beautiful and vibrant, which should come as no surprise. Illumination has really upped its game for the Mario movies, it seems. They’ve added more details to our characters, brighter colors and some really fun action animation.
Returning Voices Along With Surprising Newcomers
Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key and Anya Taylor-Joy all return to voice their respective characters of Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Toad and Princess Peach. But there’s a pile of newcomers that help expand the universe Illumination is bringing to the big screen.
Most notably, Benny Safdie is our new main baddie, voicing Bowser Jr. while Dad is locked up in the Mushroom Kingdom. Personally, I thought he was fantastic and look forward to seeing what they do next with him. Brie Larson lends her voice as Princess Rosalina, who had way more screen time than I expected, but she was also great.
Believe it or not, for as good as Yoshi sounded, I would’ve bet they pulled audio from the games. In actuality, he is voiced by Donald Glover, so huge props to him for being able to sound like everyone’s favorite long-tongued dinosaur. But my personal favorite has to be Glen Powell, who voices Fox McCloud. Yes, Star Fox. If there’s one thing Illumination needs to do is to fast-track a Star Fox film, because he was absolutely my favorite part of this film.
Mario May Not Win Awards but It Will Win the Box Office
There are a whole lot of things that happen in this film, and as I mentioned, the plot is as thin as ice. But it works fine. We don’t need extravagant plot points and twists. This is a children’s film after all. It’s supposed to bring that inner child back out of you as an adult, make you dive deep into your cortex and bring back memories. I can confidently and proudly say that it did just that for me. My 9- and 7-year-olds loved it, and the more I think about it, I did too.
Will it win any awards? You bet it won’t. But what it will win is the box office. Mario and the gang are about to explode once again across the globe in 2026, and you should go witness it for yourself.
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