If you were to listen to most of the “professional” critics, you would be told that The Super Mario Galaxy movie is a bland, boring movie. However, I thought that this was fantastic, better than the first movie, and just an absolute ton of fun. To put this in perspective, I am 44 as I write this, got my first NES, with Super Mario Bros 2 for Christmas of 1990, and I have been a Super Mario fan ever since!
Where to Watch The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was released on April 1, 2026. You can expect to be able to stream it from Peacock several months after its theatrical release..
The Movie Review
Story and Gameplay Inspirations
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was pretty much everything I wanted it to be. I have no idea where the negativity is coming from. What the heck did people expect from this? My biggest gripe that I have is that they spoiled the fact that Fox McCloud was in the movie with the promotional stuff! I would have freaked out big time if Fox just appeared on my screen out of nowhere, although I was a little shocked at how big a part of things he played.
I legit do not see how you could be a fan of the Mario series or video games in general and not enjoy this movie. It takes place after the events of the first movie, and Bowser Jr has kidnapped Princess Rosalina, and he is going to use her power to help him get back his dad and breathe life into Planet Bowser, which he has created. It is a really fun premise, and I would as say that this is much more of a Bowser Jr movie than it is anything else.
No spoilers here, but when I saw the trailers, I was wondering why this was called The Super Mario Galaxy movie, as it looked far more like a Mario Odyssey movie. Not that, using Super Mario Odyssey as the main inspiration would have been a bad thing. However, I can happily say that the title of Mario Galaxy is very fitting, but there are many other Mario game references here. I felt that this was what the story of Mario Galaxy could have been if it had been fleshed out far more.
Fan Service and Characters
By the way, one of the complaints that I regularly read was about how the plot was thin, was too fast paced, blah, blah, blah, it is all garbage, and it seems like people were determined not to have fun with this before they saw it! I did not think that was the case at all. Yes, they introduce four main new characters in Rosalina, Bowser Jr, Yoshi, and Fox, but the movie is not hard to follow.
It jumps from one fun scene to the next, and it is packed to the brim with fan service. I do not think I have seen another movie that has as much fan service as this one does! My biggest complaint is that I was keeping as spoiler free as possible for this, and I missed a massive easter egg in one of the scenes, as I did not know to look for it. Thankfully, I loved this so much that I am going to make the effort to go and see this again, and this time, I will be paying attention to what is going on in the background of each scene!
Visuals and Final Thoughts on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
The movie looks incredible, they brought to life so many iconic locations and characters from the Mario world. Super Mario Bros 2 on the NES is one of my all time favorite games, and seeing the likes of Wart and Mouser make an appearance was so awesome! There are just so many little easter eggs from tons of different Mario and other games that it is nearly impossible to catch them all in one sitting.
I really liked the voice cast here, too. I felt that the movie was much more rounded with the character screen time. Clearly, Mario is the star and the face of the franchise and this movie. However, I felt that there were several characters who all got a chance to shine in this movie. The teased bromance between Luigi and Bowser was freaking awesome. You just know that if this movie had come out 20 years ago, the DVD would have had some fun extra scenes on it of the two of them hanging out.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was an absolute 10/10 for me! I loved and I mean loved this movie, it was just so much fun. If you like Nintendo and Mario, you will have a lot of fun with this movie; if you do not like either of those things…. Why would you even go and see it??? My only negative is that I did manage to get one of those awesome Yoshi popcorn buckets; however, I am embarrassed to say how much money I spent on the other stuff my theatre was selling! I may or may not have also gotten one of the regular popcorn buckets and a cup as well!
