The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Parent Guide

All is well in the Mushroom Kingdom, with Bowser (Jack Black) shrunk to miniature size and doing some much-needed introspection, while Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) help Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) keep the kingdom running smoothly. That is, until a messenger from the sky informs Peach that Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) has been captured by Bowser Jr (Benny Safdie), who intends to use her powers in his quest for galactic domination. With the fate of the kingdom and the galaxy in peril, the group set off into the unknown, discovering planets and creatures beyond their wildest imagination. 

I have the privilege of living with two Nintendo nerds, both of whom know far more about the Mario extended universe than I will ever care to, which has proven to be useful for this film. Though the first installment in this franchise didn’t require much knowledge of the lore in order to follow the story, this sequel depends on the audience having advanced knowledge of Nintendo games, both vintage and new. My nine-year-old, who loves Super Smash Bros, was absolutely delighted with all of the references, character cameos, and power-ups. I, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on for most of the runtime and needed my partner to fill me in on some of the finer details. This is the film’s greatest flaw: it serves as nothing more than a backdrop for countless references. There’s not much of a story, no character development to speak of, and no feel-good message to end on. It’s the cinematic version of trying to make dinner while a little kid tries to explain a video game you’ve never played. 

To give credit where it’s due, the first 15 or so minutes are quite good. The set up is fun, especially the introduction of Rosalina and her kingdom of Lumas. After that the plot just spins its wheels to kill time until the third act. It’s extremely obvious that the script is only about half an hours' worth of story, thereby requiring the characters to amble around for a while, bumbling their way from one pointless action scene to the next. None of our main characters have any sort of growth or learn anything through the course of the story, nor do they really have much agency. They all just kind of wander about, occasionally managing to wind up somewhere that advances the plot or stumble into a deus ex machina moment, of which there are many. There are a handful of funny moments, and a few enjoyable sequences, but for the most part it just feels like a pointless, cynical slog. 

I could almost forgive some of the above-listed sins if there was a point to the story, but there isn’t. This film has no messages, no strong themes, and nothing to say. For children’s entertainment I don’t need anything complicated or nuanced: just give me some generic message about teamwork or family and I’ll be happy. My partner and I had a long conversation on the drive home where we put our two English degrees together and tried to pull out some sort of message from the film and the best we could come up with is “working together is good”, but we both agree it’s a stretch and most young viewers aren’t going to pick up on it. But at least I used my English degree today, so that’s a win for me. 

Parents should be aware that the level of fantasy violence may be high for very young viewers. There is a lot of fighting using a variety of means, both magical and not, and some peril involving beloved characters, including being chased by a ferocious T-Rex and a character becoming a skeleton after being immersed in lava. Older children who loved the original film are sure to enjoy this one, but adults, even hard-core Nintendo fans, may find themselves wishing their princess was in another movie.