The Super Mario Galaxy Movie First Reviews: Flashy, Fun, and Made For Fans

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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