If you’re looking for a films that’s purely meant to be fun, then The Super Mario Galaxy Movie should be at the top of your list.
The film doesn’t try to sell itself as some deep or profound story, but simply as something that the whole family can enjoy. It’s action-packed from the start, and it keeps the story simple, without much character development. There isn’t much to unpack with this movie, except that it pays homage to the Nintendo video games.
As I said, the story isn’t like most animated films; it mostly focuses on expanding the Super Mario world, or rather worlds in this case. In the movie, Princess Rosalina is kidnapped by Bowser Jr. Princess Peach then decides she has to go save the other princess. Mario and Luigi are then drawn into this quest across the galaxy, and they are joined by Yoshi.
I don’t know if people are still mad that Chris Pratt plays Mario, but I like him in the role. In fact, I now associate the character with his voice. Charlie Day is awesome as Luigi once again, and so are the rest of the cast, including Keegan-Michael Key as Toad. Of course, Anya Taylor-Joy is perfect as Peach. The movie just wouldn’t have worked without Jack Black as Bowser, and I’m glad he’s back.
Benny Safdie stars as Bowser Jr., and honestly, I love what he does with the character’s voice. It comes across as menacing, yet vulnerable and childish at times. Yoshi is voiced by Donald Glover, and although the character doesn’t really say much, I think he was the perfect choice.
Glen Powell stars as Fox McCloud, a role he was born to play. Princess Rosalina is voiced by Brie Larson, who I think fits the role perfectly. She loves the Super Mario and Nintendo games, so it makes sense that she would bring her best to this role.
I know this movie has a stacked cast, but the short runtime doesn’t really leave much space for character development. A part of me understands that they just wanted to give us an entertaining movie, but a little more time with these characters would’ve made me love them more—especially Yoshi. He’s just the cutest.
What the story lacks, it makes up for in visuals. The movie uses various animation styles to showcase different scenes. It also honours the games by adding a few scenes that look like they were pulled straight from a Super Mario Bros. 8-bit video game.
That’s not all—we also get a few 2D animated scenes, which I think were done well. The movie is called The Super Mario Galaxy Movie for a reason, because we get to see worlds in this universe that simply look amazing on the big screen. This all adds to the excitement of the movie, and it also opens the door for new stories set in this film franchise.
Overall, I think the film is simply great entertainment. It’s funny, it’s wholesome, and it definitely brings back a few childhood memories. I will have to subtract some points for the subpar story and the unnecessarily short runtime. I know some film critics will hate this movie, but this movie isn’t for them. It’s for the gamers, the fans of Super Mario, and all the kids who love to have fun at the movies.
