Caution: Some Spoilers Ahead

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie had some pretty big expectations placed upon it from the second a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie was announced. That first film was an enormous hit, drawing in $1.36 billion from the global box office and untold sums from merchandise and toys, as well. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie needed to land with just as much momentum and impact as its predecessor, and thus far, Nintendo and NBCUniversal have been rewarded with one of the most financially successful films of 2026. Yet, for all the gloating that the mustachioed one can do about his $375.2 million opening weekend, is the movie any good?

The answer is mostly “yes,” but there are caveats. If you’re not a Nintendo fan of any kind then the odds are high that you’ll walk away disappointed with Mario Galaxy. The film is light on plot and moves at a pace makes the early motorcycle scene look like its creeping along at 50cc in a round of Mario Kart. The movie rarely takes a moment to breath, instead intent on delivering a steady barrage of cameo appearances, blink-and-you’ll-miss-them easter eggs, and glorious action sequences that will make your eyes water. But if you’re here for depth, alas, the moat in front of Peach’s Castle is deeper.

As much as I love Super Mario at, as I write this, nearly 40 (and I will cling to that for the next few weeks, thank you), as an adult fan and collector I think it’s important to take a step back sometimes and remember that the brand is for kids and always will be. Nintendo can slap an E rating on the games, and I agree that they are indeed for everyone, but ultimately Mario isn’t for 30-year-old dog moms; it’s a franchise for children. At the same time, however, Pixar in its heyday showed viewers the world over that kids entertainment doesn’t have to be mindless entertainment. And at its best, that’s exactly how Mario games have always played (pardon the pun) out: a game for kids that provides excitement, challenge, and depth for people of all ages.

Thus, it’s a shame that the same can’t quite be said about the movie. Mario Galaxy’s plot revolves around the rescue of Rosalina from Bowser, Jr. and little else for its lean 98-minute runtime. To be clear, I’m not asking for deeper meanings and grand messages from a Mario movie, just, perhaps, a little more story to bite into, or at least stakes that have more weight. Classic kids movies like the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Up balanced the fun antics and action that children love with moments of genuine emotion and grown-up decisions to make.

To be fair, we do see that a bit in Mario Galaxy. Mario is ready to sacrifice himself at the end to fight Bowser and Bowser, Jr. on his own so that Peach can go save Rosalina, for instance. These examples are few and far between, however, and much of the nuance of some of the interactions in the film are left to the viewer’s imagination rather than explored onscreen. For example, the aforementioned scene of Mario sending Peach to rescue Rosalina would have hit harder if the film had spent a moment to show Peach confiding in Mario about recovering the memories of her forgotten sister. It would have added depth to Mario’s sacrifice and also serve as a nice character building moment for Peach. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

One thing that I did appreciate here is that Mario and Luigi are allowed to be heroes without having to defer to Peach or being emasculated. The common trope in modern storytelling is to diminish male characters, usually in an effort to bolster female ones. Rather than allow female characters to shine on their own, there is a concentrated effort to show them as not equal to male counterparts, but better than them. That is never the case in Mario Galaxy. The bros get plenty of moments to shine, save the day, and be the heroes that everyone loves. Rosalina, similarly, is portrayed as a powerful and motherly, nurturing character. Yes, she does get taken captive by Bowser, Jr., but just like Luigi in the first film, her imprisonment is a matter of circumstance and not a mark against her ability or character.

Sadly, as in the first movie, Peach isn’t afforded a rounded portrayal in Mario Galaxy. She is once again depicted as a frowning, aggressive, angry woman for the bulk of her screen time. No Reddit scholar nor Wikipedia historian can argue with 40 years of Princess Peach being depicted as a warm, demure, classically dainty character. I firmly believe that Peach’s portrayal as a testosterone-filled hothead is a concession forced upon Nintendo by Illumination during production. It is a markedly Western trope and sticks out like a mound of dog feces on a bright green, freshly-trimmed lawn.

Yes, there are times when Peach shows some of her true self. She shows genuine affection towards Mario throughout the movie, even showing disappointment when the plumber fumbles an opportunity to hug her. By the end of the movie Illumination (I’m sure begrudgingly) lets Peach give Mario a kiss on the chick as he soars into the sky to send the movie off with a bang. Unfortunately, none of that is quite enough to make up for eye-rolling moments like Peach battering hundreds of Ninjis without taking nary a scratch, or stomping on Wart’s chest and barking at him like Frank Castle battering drug dealers. As Peach and Toad soar through the sky via Warp Star for the first time, Toad looks on in wonder while Peach stares ahead with a dopey smirk on her face—it’s the perfect encapsulation of everything wrong with her portrayal in comparison to the rest of the cast.