Lately, I’ve found myself knee-deep in the original 151 and Ascended Heroes sets, falling back into the ritual of collecting Pokémon cards. I do not actually play the TCG, but I am aware that these cards are designed for players first. Every time a new set gets clowned for poor pull rates or uninspired art, I try to shift my perspective. A set that feels weak to collectors can be a meta-defining goldmine for competitive players. That same lens is the only way to judge “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” fairly.
If you walk into the theater looking for a lean, prestige narrative, you are the collector complaining about a common energy card. For the actual fans, the players of this franchise, this film lands very differently. The premise expands the 2023 hit into something far more chaotic. Bowser Jr., voiced by Benny Safdie, goes rogue and builds a tech-heavy army to free his father from shrunken imprisonment. The conflict goes cosmic when he abducts Rosalina, played by Brie Larson, setting off an intergalactic rescue mission. Mario and Luigi are pulled along as Princess Peach and Toad lead the charge across bioluminescent galaxies. Along the way, they pick up a perpetually hungry Yoshi, voiced by Donald Glover, and cross paths with an Arwing-flying Fox McCloud, played by Glen Powell.
The film operates as a high-decibel celebration of brand synergy. Every frame is engineered to deliver a quick hit of recognition for Nintendo fans. The structure often feels like a string of game levels stitched together, driven more by momentum than narrative discipline. Even so, the chaos is surprisingly accessible. You do not need to understand the deeper lore to follow the story. The 98-minute runtime moves quickly, even when the script becomes crowded with references.
Technically, the film is impressive. The Comet Observatory is rendered with a level of scale and detail that feels genuinely transportive, and the iridescent textures of the galaxies give the film a constant visual energy. The problem is that spectacle takes priority over character. There is an attempt at emotional grounding through the dynamic between Peach and Rosalina, but it functions more as connective tissue than a fully realized relationship. Most character moments feel designed for recognition rather than development.
The film also struggles with focus. It tries to balance a father-son story for Bowser, a rescue mission, and a broader ensemble adventure. In doing so, it occasionally loses its sense of tension. The constant push for references and cameos undercuts the narrative drive, making parts of the film feel more like a checklist than a story. Still, the energy is hard to ignore. The audience it is built for responds to that excess, and the film leans into it without hesitation.
It’s overstuffed and constantly on the verge of collapsing under its own weight, but it never stops moving long enough for that to matter. Call it excessive, call it unfocused, it doesn’t care, and neither will the people it’s made for.