Hmmm... Okay. The sequel to 2023's Super Mario Bros. Movie has come out in theaters. Once again produced by Illumination Studios, this entry expands massively the universe that first got a proper introduction in the previous film. However, for as much as this movie tries to be a continuation, I think its scope reaches too wide, and that hurts it as a result. But! I'm getting ahead of myself.
The Story
The movie opens on Rosalina (Brie Larson), the princess of the cosmos, who takes in her little Lumas for bedtime. However, before she can read them a story, the Comet Observatory they live on is attacked by the Koopa Troop. Despite her best efforts in protecting the Lumas (and showing crazy powerful magic, at that), Rosalina and a lone Luma end up taken away by the attackers.
Meanwhile, Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) have made a name for themselves as plumbers and general problem-solvers across many Kingdoms. One day, while helping in the Desert Kingdom, they find a lone Yoshi (Donald Glover, yes really) that adopts them as friends. The Toads are celebrating the day they found Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), treating it with the same importance as if it were her birthday; and Mario can't seem able to admit that he has feelings for the Princess. The group also kept the miniaturized Bowser (Jack Black), who has taken residence into a mini-castle. The Koopa King tries his best to get along with his captors.
During the celebrations, a rain of Star Bits falls across the Mushroom Kingdom, and a Luma crashes in the mushroom forest. Investigating, Mario and his friends find the poor thing and after recovering, it says that Princess Rosalina is in danger. Without knowledge of what is happening in space, the Bros. first opt not to get involved; but Peach decides to, and leaves to space with Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), using the Luma as a launch star.
The Bros. don't go towards the danger, so it comes to them; a giant spaceship helmed by the Koopa Troop uproots Peach's entire castle, taking it to space. They are attacked by Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), who demands they free his father at once...
Oh, and I can say it because the promotional posters revealed it: Fox McCloud (Glen Powell) gets involved.
The Review
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| I genuinely wonder whether it would have been better to keep Fox's appearance a secret. The rumor mill had been going on, this reveal is basically a spoiler all to itself. |
In short, my fear was that this would become The Nintendo Multiverse Movie ft. Mario, instead of a true Mario movie. That Nintendo would use the fame of the Mario franchise as a way to push their other properties through the door and, potentially, into lucrative movie deals of their own. While, at the same time, building towards the endgame (pun very intended) of such a maneuver: A Smash Bros. movie, akin to an Avengers one. That this new Mario movie would be a stepping stone into speedrunning the Nintendo Cinematic Universe instead of letting it develop organically over many films.
And, well... I was not entirely wrong, but though it's not as bad as I dreaded, it's still a mark against the film in my opinion. I should have expected that the Galaxy movie would be another reference-palooza, like the first one was; because these films are built off a 40+-year franchise with dozens upon dozens of video games, and literally thousands of characters. And 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie at least remained contained within the Mario franchise, with the only other getting significant screentime being Donkey Kong's, itself is an offshoot of Mario's. And it had tons of references to game mechanics, enemies, characters and whatnot; but it was all justifiable.
In The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, it genuinely feels like Illumination tried to pack far too much in terms of references into its 98-minute runtime. The nods to other Nintendo properties (StarFox, Pikmin, R.O.B., etc.) are somewhat tolerable, because they don't overstay their welcome - and though there were fewer than I thought, there's still enough that you can't ignore their presence. They are just... there. It's not a move as shameless, soulless and corporate as what Warner Bros. did with Space Jam: A New Legacy, but those comparisons will happen.
However, if you stick to Mario stuff specifically, this movie homages 5 major games at once: Super Mario Bros. 2 (the one with Birdo and the Shy Guys); Super Mario Sunshine (Bowser Jr. and his magical paintbrush); both Galaxy games (Rosalina, the Lumas, Yoshi, and many other planets/environments from the Wii games are present); and Odyssey (with many more environments being direct references to Kingdoms from that game, whether they are on the starting planet, or elsewhere in that universe; to say nothing of bosses making cameos!). This is all crammed together, and as a result the movie barely ever gives the audience time to breathe between setpieces. Once the main story hits the ground, it runs and never stops, as if it were afraid to lose the kids' attention. If it's not another action scene, then it's a bunch of new cameos and references.
This all has the effect that, if you did not already grow up playing those games, the references will be completely lost on you and what remains is a pretty but confusing mess of elements adding onto each other and clearly expecting you to get them and be on the edge of your seat, pointing excitedly at the screen, like Leonardo DiCaprio in that one meme.
Okay, fine. What about every other aspect? The animation is quite great. So much detail everywhere, so many characters appearing in so many shots. Yes, there's a lot of references, and many of those characters get changed to fit the new narrative of the movies, but design-wise they are all given utmost respect, as well as the necessary glow-up to be in an animated film. Much as I complain about all the locales that felt forced in just so people could see them on the big screen, they are, at the very least, all gorgeous to see. The soundtrack ditches the '80s hits, a debated element of the previous film, to focus almost exclusively on orchestral versions of famous Mario songs, especially from Galaxy and Odyssey. The humor? It's top-notch.
The story? It's... okay, with caveats. It solves a few mysteries that remained from the previous film, showcases the new and important characters in significant ways (Rosalina is an extremely powerful cosmic magician, Bowser Jr. is as much a threat as his dad, and Yoshi is a-do-ra-ble, very agile, and great at using his tongue like a vine or to grab things). Fox, being the only non-Mario character to feature for more than just a cameo, has a full personality and even an arc to himself, so there's at least that.
Otherwise, it suffers from the same issue of packing too many plot threads. Bowser, first treated almost like a pet, and then having a whole arc about reuniting with his son. Mario being shy about his love for Peach. Princess Peach's origins. Toad's rivalry with Yoshi, who has stolen his place in the Bros.' team. Luigi being too trusting of people when they are nice to him (as Bowser is). And I am omitting some that would count as big spoilers. Few of these are given room to develop, thus most of them end up having too little focus put on them, and are either unresolved, or get a quick conclusion.
It's disheartening, because the first movie was very good. And yet, for this one, I can totally see why the review scores are not nearly as high. It isn't the trainwreck I feared, but it definitely went for quantity over quality, and it shows. Here's to hoping that these mistakes were made early enough that the potential third Mario movie (and every Nintendo movie to come afterwards) doesn't repeat them.
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