The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026) Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA9ohTuGl4Q

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

When Illumination adapted Nintendo’s The Super Mario Bros Movie, it was a gamble worth taking because apart from becoming a billion dollar success, the route of animation was the best way to do right by the source material. With that being said, I was easily onboard for a sequel.


PLOT


2026’s The Super Mario Galaxy Movie continues after the events of the preceding movie. Mario & Luigi continue to be protectors of Mushroom Kingdom with all the various power ups they collect, under the service of Princess Peach. They are called to inspect Tostarena Town and end up finding the dinosaur Yoshi, who hatched around the time Bowser was defeated and found his way to another warp pipe after accidental property damage he caused in Brooklyn. Once the dinosaur settles in, a luma contacts Peach that Princess Rosalina of the Comet Observatory has been taken by Bowser’s son, Bowser Junior who intends to drain her power for a universe destroying cannon in honor of his father. The princess travels with Toad to find her while the Mario Bros hold down the fort until Jr tries taking his dad back. He goes as far as to drop the castle from space and into Honeyhive Galaxy. Yoshi and the Mario Bros do survive the drop, but Bowser is able to goad into striking him so he can grow back to his large size after being shrunken for so long as punishment for trying to forcefully marry the princess. He seems to show rehabilitation by allowing the protagonists to gain passage to Gateway Galaxy by staying behind for the damage they caused upon crash landing. This only leads to him being picked up by his son as the protagonists depart. As they reunite with Peach & Toad, the latter discovers from casino owner Wart that Rosalina is held at Space Junk Galaxy. They get transportation from skilled pilot Fox McCloud, but Bowser Jr soon finds them thanks to being alerted by the frog not that long apart. He destroys Fox’s Arwing and transforms the Mario Bros into babies as they crash into Fossil Falls. Thankfully, he loses the gun as they crash because the protagonists would use it to survive against a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex. The Lumas would pick up the protagonists thanks to Luigi alerting for help. When regrouping at Comet Observatory, Peach would remember being Rosalina’s long lost sister born out of stardust and was sent away by the latter to be protected from another threat at the time. Once they pilot the Observatory to the newly made Planet Bowser, the protagonists rush to save the older princess. After evading various traps, they confront the Bowsers and almost defeat Sr when he falls into lava moat, only to come back in the skeletal form of Dry Bowser. They then defeat Junior by using his magic paintbrush against him. As peach revives her sister, they’re able to terraform Planet Bowser into a new world, which in turn destroys the Booms-day cannon. When returning to Mushroom Kingdom do the protagonists rebuild Peach’s castle. While a mid credit scene shows Fox drop off the Bowsers to prison, the film ends in a mid credit scene showing Princess Daisy prevent the monkey thief Ukiki from committing another robbery, having already tried to rob Toad earlier.


THOUGHTS


The best way to discuss this film is through Pros and Cons


PROS: If there is one thing Illumination is more concerned about than any other animation studio, it’s making sure everyone is having fun. Thats the goal when you’re continuing to adapt the Nintendo franchise in its most compelling arc yet. Of the many things it ends up doing better apart from being a visual spectacle for the entire 90 minute runtime and another exciting score from Brian Tyler, it’s gonna be all the Easter eggs that are for more attention grabbing. Respectfully, it’s more in line to Super Mario Odyssey when getting appearances of the T. Rex and Ruined Dragon from said game, or it was as much of a surprise to see Mr Game & Watch from Super Smash Bros Melee emerge from Luigi’s imagination of the paintbrush, I was more stunned of the new characters join the ensemble. Issa Rae was interesting to make the Honey Queen a benevolent leader to Honeyhive Galaxy and Luis Guzman makes Wart just as sleazy as you’d expect from the casino owner who is an actual toad compared to the anthropomorphic mushrooms we all love. Heck, it’s even a surprise to see Pinko from Super Mario Bros 2. It only gets better though Yoshi joins the party and is just as the playful yet adventurous dinosaur. I mean you know he’s gonna make it fun if he can turn anyone like Kamek (Kevin Michael Richardson) into an egg once he swallows them whole. The fact he’s voiced by Donald Glover as well is very impressive because he’s quite unrecognizable and would have guessed him had the marketing not revealed it was him. I even enjoy the irony on how Toad is the only one who finds it random for him to join the group so suddenly, but comes around as time passes and the deliveries by Keegan Michael Key feel priceless to me as the energetic character. Instead of Donkey Kong returning, Fox McCloud from Starfox was a debut I jumped off my seat for because I love those games as well and know that’s a whole other realm of immersive-ness no one is ready for should he get his own spinoff. Glen Powell was also a great choice to voice the character because he nails the charisma and confidence the character is all about. I also liked that Mario chose to accept him quickly rather than have another period of banter like DK because there’s bigger things to worry about. Now apart from all the fan service, I think the main reason I still had a blast because the directing duo of Aaron Horvath & Michael Jelenic still nail the common theme to always a pleasure to persevere rather than focus on validation because its only gonna backfire exponentially when preferring the latter. That is definitely proven when following the father son duo of villains. Jack Black definitely kept the pot stirring as Bowser was shown to be one who tried to find a new lease on life, but he was just too moved that his son never forgot about him. I mean you can’t be surprised if you’re gonna give a cute puppet show about it. Enter Benny Safdie who portrays Junior to be just as cunning if not more since he’s got enough of an armory to be the ruler his father wanted to be. It did somewhat work since his dad was proud of what he’d done, but it’s on them to doubt the resilience of all the protagonists willing to stop them. And since they’re stuck with the same nihilistic Luma being their prison guard, they got a long way to go to try galactic domination again. As for the good guys, I still enjoy Anya Taylor Joy as Peach because she remains an assertive leader and refuses to stand by when she knows she can put an effort to the fight against her. It makes sense for her to feel that way since it turns out to be in her blood. Brie Larson was a great choice as Rosalina because she is able to balance her motherly nature and stoic approach when the fight comes her way. She kept the storybook of her young sister because she knew one day they’d reunite and couldn’t force that for her sake. So it all worked out that despite the circumstances, she found her way back and returned the favor. Last but not least, Chris Pratt & Charlie Day are still solid as the brotherly duo because while Luigi is brave through timidness, Mario is still heads on brave since he was willing to stay behind to finish the fight unsure if he’d get backup. I’m sure he’s grown to like the Princess because he’s moved to see someone who is able to be so capable of a leader even when the world is against her. And if Luigi gets any luck with Daisy should there be another movie after this, I can imagine a double date between them. Having said that, I think Yoshi gets along with them because they help him become comfortable in his surroundings after being trapped in an inverted pyramid for god knows how long. However long will we see these characters again, I’m seated.


CONS: This film is fun, but there were still so many things that confused me upon rewatching. For instance, how is all of New York calm seeing Yoshi roam around? I know it wasn’t that long apart seeing Bowser’s first defeat having brought his castle airship through the warp pipe, but they should still be surprised seeing a dinosaur before the property damage he causes. Next, I was laughing to see Bowser close the door on his tail when small, but if you can grow back to regular size after getting struck, it should’ve happened at that moment. I know Bowser hurt himself on accident, but that should still count anyway. Also, Luigi was way too open minded to trust Bowser when he just painted an artwork of him and Peach as if they’re together. If he’s not gonna get over the Princess, then that’s enough of a sign to still not trust him before he mocks Mario’s failed business venture. If we’re gonna talk about crazy odds, I wouldn’t say Ukiki running into two princesses, it’d be that Fox had enough room for all the protagonists to fit in the Arwing. Imagine how awkward it would’ve been if there was only room for Peach and the others get rejected by others that had bigger ships. It’s even surprising  that the Marios don’t even need a power up to breathe in space or any explanation of the how as if they’re in Jimmy Neutron. If anyone had too much luck, I wouldn’t say Yoshi figuring out how to turn the brothers back to their adult age, but Peach finding the exact storybook Rosalina to confirm their connection. Lastly, it’s totally on Bowser Jr to try escaping with a tunnel through the ground without even trying to cover his tracks and that’s just asking to get caught.
In conclusion, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie still hits its marks in being another general blast for kids and various Nintendo fans alike, earning its billion dollar success. If you dug the first movie, it’s a no brainer you’ll enjoy this one as well.