The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is not the first, nor will it be the last, movie to be accused of having an annoying or distracting amount of fan service. It's been criticized in Marvel, DC, and Star Wars to the point we have a fandom specific term for it. The general rule of thumb for most people is that fan service is fine, as long as the person watching is the fan being serviced. To be clear, these moments in this movie are fine, but like the first film they only exist to mask the lack of a story.

I get that this is a family movie and there is more than enough to keep a child entertained, but when did the idea that a movie being for kids means we shouldn't expect much become so mainstream? I'm not saying we should be going into a Mario movie from Illumination expecting some deep exploration of the meaning of life, but the idea that the thing "for adults" who are going to see this movie with their family is a cameo from Wart and an appearance from Star Fox is not nearly enough.

And let's get into the wider cinematic universe aspect of this movie. Clearly this is designed to set off a bunch of spin-offs and side movies, eventually culminating in some kind of crossover that may or may not be Super Smash Bros. related. The question is, why does Star Fox feel more important to a movie based on Super Mario Galaxy than Rosalina? Is the hook for older audiences purely that some day there may be a crossover event? That shouldn't be enough to carry a franchise, we the audience should expect more.

It's not too much to ask that we get a satisfying movie with a cohesive narrative. Not every movie needs to be Citizen Kane or The Godfather Part II, but the fact that a movie or show is designed to be consumed by children and families is not a good enough reason to shaft the narrative portion of filmmaking.

That said, the movie is colorful and the score from Super Mario Galaxy is there, and the sequence where they give Fox's backstory has some cool animation. That doesn't necessarily make it good or worth the price of admission, but it will keep your kids engaged for two hours and you can take a nap in the movie theater. Other than that, just wait for it to be on Peacock and watch it the way the movie was clearly intended to be watched.

★★★

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
Directed by: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic
Written by: Matthew Fogel
Starring: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Donald Glover, Benny Safdie, Brie Larson, and Glen Powell
Rating: PG
Release Date: April 1st, 2026