A common sentiment about modern cinema is that there’s a lack of fresh ideas, and that sequels, remakes, and works based off of existing intellectual property dominate Hollywood. This is perhaps no better exemplified than by The Super Mario Galaxy Movie becoming the second highest-grossing film of 2026 a week after its release.
Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean the movie’s bad. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was able to put out consistently good movies despite being a whole film series based on already popular characters and stories (though quality has certainly dipped following the end of the Infinity Saga). The right creatives can definitely turn a lazy idea into something great. However, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie takes everything extremely safe.
Still, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was a good time for what it was, and I especially liked all the references to Mario and Nintendo games (such as the scenes set in Mario Odyssey’s Sand and Cascade Kingdoms, and the R.O.B. and StarFox appearances). It goes without saying that easter eggs don’t replace a good story, but it did feel like there was real creative effort into the placing of Nintendo property throughout the film.
That being said, will I remember this movie fondly, or even at all, as time goes by? I don’t think so. For starters, the story feels like it’s following a generic kid’s movie template. I’m not saying I need the movie to be groundbreaking, but there are plenty of ways it could’ve taken inspiration from Mario games in a fun and creative way. For example, Super Mario Sunshine, the debut of the film’s main villain Bowser Jr., finds Junior in a predicament where he believes Peach to be his mother. That already is a more interesting premise than that of the Mario Galaxy Movie. And I myself was hoping for a movie based on the Luigi’s Mansion game series, which follows the same set of characters but opens its own world of possibilities. The writers could even have taken more elements from its namesake game, and not completely sidelined Rosalina despite her being an already compelling character.
Not only that, but even within its own premise, the Mario Galaxy Movie had the potential to be much more interesting. For example, early in the movie, Bowser comes to view Peach, Luigi, and Mario as friends, and shows signs of changing his tune. However, his son pulls him back to his old ways, and after that, there isn’t a single sign of Bowser being the rehabilitated turtle he was teased to be. There would have been, at the very least, an attempt at character development if Bowser had realized the monster he created with Junior and attempted to subvert him. But instead, he’s simply put behind bars as the exact same character he was at the end of the previous movie.
Overall, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was fine. Fun, even. But it’s also a step in the wrong direction. It’s a sign that lazy, uncreative story telling that relies heavily on people’s nostalgia for existing works makes bank, which is good news for movie studios, but not so much for moviegoers, as it will likely trigger more uninspired projects like it.
