Note: This review contains spoilers for The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
The success of 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, grossing over $1 billion on a $100 million budget, would naturally justify a sequel, announced one year later and released in 2026. Despite animation studio Illumination’s track record for the inconsistent quality of their output, I still enjoyed The Super Mario Bros. Movie (in spite of its flaws) and felt growing hype as the sequel, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, drew closer, enough that I finally played the original game that it was based on, Super Mario Galaxy. Although some skepticism and negative critic reviews popped up during the lead-in to the film’s release, I felt that I should see first-hand how it shaped up compared to the original. Unfortunately, for every enjoyable element, there is something that holds it back from greatness.
