Flying into theaters, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is a trip of fun and whimsy through the cosmos.
In this sequel, Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) take on a new foe, Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), who intends to continue his family legacy of villainy with a giant new planet that will destroy the universe.
Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) is set on her own mission to rescue Rosalina (Brie Larson), who was kidnapped by Bowser Jr. to power his machine.
The animation of “Mario Galaxy” is absolutely incredible. The colors are flashy and vibrant, and really fit the Mario theme.
They were a great reminder of how vibrant the Mario games can be. All the characters were animated smoothly and brought over from the games pretty faithfully.
One of the main flaws with the first movie was the out-of-place needle drops. “Mario Galaxy” remedies that by using more music from the games.
Video games have tons of original music that can be used in movie adaptations, and in the case of “Mario Galaxy”, some of these songs can be mixed into original compositions too.
The needle drops that are in the movie did not feel completely out of place, unlike the prequel. Seeing Yoshi (Donald Glover) walk through New York City while an instrumental version of “Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G. plays just works.
A lot of the easter eggs from the Mario series and other Nintendo franchises also make their way into the movie.
Many elements from different games from Mario and Nintendo history make an appearance in “Mario Galaxy”, and it’s fun finding the easter eggs.
However, the easter eggs make up much of the story. The story is the movie’s biggest weakness. It’s very fast-paced and doesn’t leave much room to breathe.
The movie has a runtime of 98 minutes, yet it does not feel like there is a straightforward storyline. Thanks to the fast pacing, each major plot point lasts about five minutes on average, and it feels like a lot happens, but a lot of these plot points seem to be there just to show off easter eggs.
Bowser (Jack Black) had a great redemption arc going for him. He was becoming great friends with Mario and Luigi, and it seemed like he was on the right path.
However, once he reunited with Bowser Jr., all of the character development Bowser had grown disappeared. It was a waste of a storyline and a shame that a decently good subplot was tossed aside.
For a movie called “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie”, it does stray away from its source material quite a bit. Super Mario Galaxy is an amazing video game.
There are a ton of elements from it that could have been brought over from the game to the movie, but they just were not there.
Rosalina had a very in-depth backstory in Super Mario Galaxy that was completely retconned for the movie. The new backstory is out of place compared to the one in the game, and it does not make sense why it would be changed.
For being such an important character in Super Mario Galaxy, Rosalina felt sidelined. Not only was her backstory butchered, but her role in the movie felt underused.
Characters from other Nintendo franchises were also present, such as Pikmin and Fox McCloud (Glen Powell).
While it is cool to see characters like these on the big screen, these characters have no ties to Super Mario Galaxy. They are there simply for fan service and only take away screentime from the main cast.
“Mario Galaxy” references many other games, the main ones being Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Bros. 2, Yoshi’s Island, and Super Mario Sunshine.
Many elements from these games show up in the movie, but due to the fast pacing, they can never be truly appreciated. Instead, they are used as a quick plot point, and then it is off to the next thing.
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is well-animated, but it certainly strayed away from being a faithful adaptation and instead just feels like a Mario movie in space.
Rating: 2.5/5
Griffin May can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].
