MOVIE OF THE WEEK (4/1/26): THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE

"Personally, I think I should get my own solo movie – I mean, they've given like three to the minions and they can't even speak English!" Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), Yoshi (Donald Glover) and Luigi (Charlie Day) in a scene from THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE. Credit: © Nintendo & Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

CAST: Chris Pratt | Charlie Day | Anya Taylor-Joy | Keegan-Michael Key | Luis Guzmán | Jack Black | Benny Safdie | Donald Glover | Glen Powell | Brie Larson

WRITER: Matthew Fogel

DIRECTOR: Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic

TRAILER:

 

THE STORY: All is well in the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser (Jack Black) is still imprisoned, but adjusting to living as a miniature, less angry version of his former self - he's even in book club with Luigi (Charlie Day) now! Mario (Chris Pratt), however, doesn't trust him as far as he can throw him ... Which, he now can given his foe's diminished status. In addition to their pal Toad (Keegan Michael-Key), the Marios Bros. have found a new friend in Yoshi (Donald Glover), a small, green and very friendly dinosaur.  

But while all is well in the Mushroom Kingdom, it is not so much over in the land of Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) following her kidnapping by Bowser's son (Benny Safdie). He wants to live out the childhood dream he and his father shared to dominate the universe while making a home on their own planet. That causes her star children to seek out help from someone that might be able to help return their mother home ...

And this journey is likely to scan the entire Super Mario galaxy ...

THE REVIEW: Upon its release in theaters, The Super Mario Bros. Movie – NO, not that one from the 90s starring John Leguizamo alongside the late Bob Hoskins and Dennis Hopper; side note: someone really needs to explore how Leguizamo got to play so many Italian characters in his career – was an instant hit. It delivered a great mix of humor, action and character development, all while maintaining the classic elements of the game from which it drew inspiration. With THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE, the franchise veers a bit from its joke telling to focus on exploring a familiar topic – family and the ties that bind – to deliver a more heartfelt story while retaining plenty of action movie intensity in between.

And in the end, it's exactly what you expect: A solid family film with just a bit of nostalgia and enough gaming thrown in to satisfy audiences young and old alike. 

It's easy to add new characters to a franchise for the sake of adding them. It's also easy to keep trying to mine gold from the same mine until it runs dry. Fortunately, GALAXY doesn't suffer that fate as builds on what is already established to add another installment that will satisfy audiences whether they come for the aforementioned nostalgia or the entertaining animated adventure itself. 

While not as dynamic as its predecessor, GALAXY is sure to help the franchise level up in teaching lessons about family, especially as it draws in families by the gold coin to enjoy it this spring. 

RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):