This story contains spoilers for “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.”

Everybody’s favorite fearless and super capable princess is back for another adventure — along with the denizens of her kingdom and a pair of New York plumber brothers — in “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.”

Now in theaters, the follow-up to the 2023 blockbuster “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” sees Princess Peach, Mario, Luigi and Toad joined by some new yet also very familiar faces as they try to thwart yet another evil plan by a member of the Bowser clan. The result is some intergalactic travel and family-friendly action.

Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, who also helmed the first film, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” formally introduces into Nintendo’s movie universe the cosmically powerful Rosalina and her flock of star-shaped Lumas, Bowser’s ambitious mini-me, Bowser Jr., the insatiable dinosaur-like Yoshi, ace pilot Fox McCloud and more video game fan favorites. (That includes Mr. Game & Watch, one of Nintendo’s earliest playable characters.)

These introductions, of course, don’t stop when the film’s main story ends.

Much like the first installment, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” features a couple of bonus scenes that are shown after the credits begin to roll. The first is a mid-credits scene that involves a breakout character from “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” and the second, shown after the credits end, introduces another Nintendo royal.

The mid-credits scene is justice for Lumalee

Lumalee quickly won audiences over in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” with his cheerfully nihilistic one-liners while imprisoned by Bowser. The blue Luma doesn’t appear during the main story of “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” but the star-shaped creature steals the mid-credits scene.

The bonus scene takes place sometime after the movie’s main story ends at the prison where Bowser and Bowser Jr. have been locked up. After Fox teases a possible sequel or “Star Fox” spin-off by mentioning he is finally “heading home” as he approaches his ship, audiences get a glimpse of what’s in store for the Bowser duo’s foreseeable future.

Peace may not be an option, because their prison guard is former Bowser captive Lumalee. And the role reversal — complete with uniform — doesn’t appear to have changed Lumalee’s outlook on life in any way.

The blue Luma said it best in the first “Mario” movie: “Life is sad, prison is sad, life in prison is very, very sad.” Just how sad things might get for the Bowsers will be up to Lumalee.

Peach fights off some Ninjis in “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.”

(Nintendo and Illumination)

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The second post-credits scene introduces a new princess

The final bonus scene in “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is more of a teaser for what could come in a future “Mario” installment.

This stinger takes place back at the hub known as the Gateway Galaxy. The mischievous thieving monkey Ukiki is once again trying to make off with the belongings of a passerby when he is stopped by another traveler: Princess Daisy.

Daisy is a character that first appeared in the 1989 Game Boy game “Super Mario Land.” Much like Peach in the first “Super Mario Bros.” video game, Daisy was the princess players were trying to rescue. She has since become a Nintendo regular, being featured as a playable character in “Mario”-related titles including in the “Mario Kart,” “Mario Party” and “Super Smash Bros.” series of games as well as the latest main series installment, “Super Mario Wonder.”

Although Daisy does not have any lines in the film, the video game incarnation of her is known to be energetic and feisty.

This brief glimpse of Daisy is another indication that there is more to come in the Mario movie franchise. Audiences will have to wait to see if (or when) a third movie is officially announced.

Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, Bowser, and more Nintendo favorites are back in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which opens in theaters this week. The first reviews of the animated video game adaptation are now online and mixed. Some say it’s even better than the previous feature, 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, while others say it’s so much worse. Of course, either way, the fans will still eat it up, and it’s made specifically for them.

Here’s what critics are saying about The Super Mario Galaxy Movie:

Does it live up to expectations?

If the first film got you on the train, just know this sequel isn’t losing any passengers anytime soon; it’s simply picking up speed.
— David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel

I was surprised, like anyone, to enjoy The Super Mario Galaxy Movie…The sequel levels up.
— M.N. Miller, InSession Film

It never stops feeling like the product of someone mashing lifeless action figures together.
— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire

It’s more a loud, overstuffed reel of loosely connected comedy and action beats presented in mind-boggling onslaughts of color and detail.
— Eli Friedberg, Slant Magazine

How does it compare to the first movie?

It’s a far superior sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
— M.N. Miller, InSession Film

The operative word for this sequel to 2023’s smash hit The Super Mario Bros. Movie is “more,” as in more action, more characters, more Easter eggs, more everything.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie offers a similar mind-numbing experience.
— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire

The first movie… was one of the best animated films in years. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is one of the worst.
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety

Is it mostly for the fans?

The sequel hits the sweet spot in terms of what its target audience wants.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

It may feel like more of the same to some, but anything that takes me back to a CRT TV and SNES is a feeling I’ll take 100 out of 100 times.
— David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel

While the film leans into “newer” character tendencies to attract younger viewers, it honors the original enough to embrace both the old and the new with enjoyable results.
— M.N. Miller, InSession Film

Will anyone else enjoy it?

Adult non-aficionados will find little of interest other than the starry vocal cast.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

This isn’t a film that’s going to win over its skeptics.
— David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel

How is the animation and world-building?

This may be one of the studio’s best-looking efforts yet, with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie feeling even more visually alive than its already stunning predecessor.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

Featuring some of the most beautiful and dazzling animation you will ever see, it is, at times, truly jaw-dropping.
— M.N. Miller, InSession Film

There’s no sense of discovery when it comes to these planets, meticulously created to resemble the games without nary a wrinkle of surprise to be found.
— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire

Are there plenty of Easter eggs?

Even though the Star Fox character is nothing more than a way to introduce a sequel, the other supporting characters and easter eggs throughout are richly rewarding.
— M.N. Miller, InSession Film

It’s as if it exists only for us to pick out the game-referencing background details in panoramic action shots… and to threaten us with us with a Super Smash Bros. cinematic universe, given the multiversal cameos by non-Super Mario Nintendo characters.
— Eli Friedberg, Slant Magazine

The film keeps throwing things at you. It’s an orgy of video-game Easter eggs.
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety

Is the action worthy of the source material?

The action is exciting and inventive.
— M.N. Miller, InSession Film

The film’s surplus of action and chase scenes follows the same rigid formula of swooping camera movements and game power-up deus ex machinas that no sequence ever proves particularly exciting.
— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire

Does the movie’s pace seem to have gotten a mushroom boost?

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie doesn’t leave you time to catch your breath.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

Most of the time, the film exists to speed-shuttle audiences to the next visually overwhelming set piece.
— Eli Friedberg, Slant Magazine

If anything, the film only loses energy as it goes on, with the final confrontation proving particularly anemic and rushed, as if the film is hurrying along to avoid having to delve into its storylines with more than a surface skim.
— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire

How is the script?

Matthew Fogel’s screenplay, which mostly pays lavish fan service to its inspiration, also weaves in a few emotional elements.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

It isn’t aiming to be a grand, life-affirming story, but pure escapism. That approach doesn’t always land, but when it does, it delivers a charming, whimsical ride.
— David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel

The sequel’s plot is unusually heartfelt, with the villains being three-dimensional, which is welcome.
— M.N. Miller, InSession Film

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie doesn’t have a story to tell or themes to express so much as stick to a mandate of audience boxes to check.
— Eli Friedberg, Slant Magazine

Does it do a good job adapting the game?

It has a story that embraces the simplicity of the original game.
— David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel

While [it’s] all clearly designed to appeal to young gamers, I don’t mean that the film replicates the experience of playing one of the Super Mario Bros. games. The first movie actually did.
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety

Somehow on screen, it all registers as flat, imagination packaged into the most cleanly corporate and focus-group approved form possible.
— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire

Is it funny?

Most of the jokes land, ranging from cute to amusing to downright funny.
— M.N. Miller, InSession Film

There’s a funny visual gag revolving around Mario’s inability to draw. And there are some amusing lines that seem designed to make us feel like we’re in on the jokes.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

One of the most successful gags in the movie is essentially a reskin of the famous Sloth DMV bit in Zootopia.
— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire

How’s the voice cast?

The voice cast delivers across the board.
— David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel

It’s an embarrassment of vocal riches… Many of the stars’ contributions here, especially those of Black and Glover, are outstanding.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

Is Yoshi a great addition?

Donald Glover taps into a Groot-like tone for Yoshi, and it works surprisingly well.
— David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel

Don’t expect him to get that much to do, though: he’s here because he’s an iconic character rather than as a part of the story.
— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire

Are the villains still the best characters?

I found myself relating to the bratty Bowser Jr. way more than the lead heroes.
— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire

The real standout is Jack Black and Bennie Safdie as Bowser and Bowser Jr.
— David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel

Somehow, two Bowsers add up to less of a wowser than one.
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety

Does it have any other major problems?

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie doesn’t necessarily fix the frustrations that held the first film back. The story still leans thin, certain characters feel underutilized, and those looking for something deeper won’t suddenly find it here.
— David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel

Charlie Day offers nothing to the Luigi character other than, to put it politely, a distinct voice that brings a beloved character down, which is grating.
— M.N. Miller, InSession Film

Will it leave us wanting more?

There’s a distinct romantic vibe between Mario and Princess Peach (which I can’t wait to be explored in the next installment).
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is a fun placeholder while we wait for a Super Mario Bros. film worthy of the titular characters that fans deserve.
— M.N. Miller, InSession Film

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie opens in theaters on April 1, 2026.

Thumbnail image by ©Amazon MGM Studios
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Christopher North, who played keyboards as a founding member of the soft-rock group Ambrosia, died Monday in a hospice in Los Angeles. He was 75.

His death was confirmed by Ambrosia’s Joe Puerta, who said the cause was throat cancer. According to Puerta, North was seriously injured late last year when he was hit by a car as he walked into Fromin’s deli in Santa Monica.

In a post on Ambrosia’s Facebook account, the band described North as “the Hammond B3 King” after his preferred instrument and said his “sonic architecture defined a generation of progressive and soft rock.” North “was a keyboard wizard,” the group added, “who brought an unmatched intensity and emotional depth to every performance” and whose work “created ‘aural landscapes’ that balanced virtuosity with soulful, radio-friendly hooks.”

Purveyors of the breezy, lightly soulful sound that also brought success in the mid-1970s to acts like America and Seals & Crofts (whose Dash Crofts died last week), Ambrosia scored a string of top 40 hits in the second half of that decade, including two that went to No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot 100: “How Much I Feel” and “Biggest Part of Me,” the latter of which was nominated for a Grammy Award for pop performance by a duo or group with vocals.

Today both songs are regarded as key examples of the style that became known retroactively as yacht rock; on Spotify, each has more than 120 million streams.

North was born Jan. 26, 1951, and grew up in San Pedro. He formed Ambrosia in 1970 with Puerta on bass, singer and guitarist David Pack and drummer Burleigh Drummond. The group’s self-titled debut album came out in 1975; at the time, the band had a more ornate sound à la Genesis. Yet it had smoothed out by 1978’s “Life Beyond L.A.,” its first LP for the Warner Bros. label.

“What we didn’t like about progressive rock was that it was too flamboyant without substance,” Pack told The Times in 1999. “Those bands dated themselves by making the arrangements more of the central focus than the quality of songwriting. I think that we were different in that respect.”

The album “One Eighty” came out in 1980 and yielded a second hit after “Biggest Part of Me” in “You’re the Only Woman (You & I),” which peaked at No. 13 on the Hot 100. The next year, Ambrosia’s song “Poor Rich Boy” appeared on the soundtrack of the movie “Arthur” alongside Christopher Cross’ chart-topping “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do).”

Ambrosia broke up in 1982 but reunited in 1989; Pack later left, though the band’s other three founders continued to perform. North’s survivors include a brother and two children.