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Nintendo and Illumination recently released The Super Mario Galaxy Movie to coincide with Super Mario's (the game) 40th anniversary. As a life-long Nintendo fan, I was interested in what the sequel to the 2023 film had to offer.
In my previous article on Iron Lung, I outlined some key aspects which make up a successful game adaptation:
1) The film should explore the game's themes
2) Use in-game mechanics as plot points
3) Preserve the game's silliness and wonder
Let's start with in-game mechanics. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie excels at this. Several shots look like they were directly taken from games such as Super Mario Odyssey and of course Super Mario Galaxy.
The movie also includes characters who are not part of the Super Mario franchise like Star Fox (Glen Powell), the Pikmin, and Mr. Game & Watch. The inclusion of these characters has been exciting for fans (especially since the end credits scene implies a possible Star Fox film). However, I found that like the original film, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie to be a bit overfilled with game references.
Just like the initial The Super Mario Bros. Movie, to me, the new film felt like it was trying to adapt too many games at once. I didn't mind the few short cameos from other Nintendo franchises, but the story seemed to be trying to combine the plots of two games: Super Mario Galaxy, which is where Rosalina's (Brie Larson) story comes from and Super Mario Sunshine, which is where Bowser Jr.'s (Benny Safdie) story comes from.
The combination of two stories could work, but the way the film chooses to combine these elements makes it feel overbloated with plot. This also leaves very little time for the film to develop its characters. Several subplots, like Bowser's (Jack Black) relationship with the Mario Bros. (Chris Pratt and Charlie Day) and Peach's (Anya Taylor-Joy) relationship to Rosalina, feel like they could've used a lot more time to be fleshed out. The film also starts to set up a romantic relationship between Peach and Mario, but it doesn't have the runtime to come to any resolution other than that it's possible.
When it comes to the games' themes and silly vibes, I think that The Super Mario Galaxy Movie captures both aspects well. While I haven't played the two main games which this movie draws from, I've enjoyed several games across the Super Mario franchise like Super Mario Odyssey and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The movie never takes itself too seriously. Generally, Mario games tend to have simple themes of good vs evil and triumph over hardship, both of which can be found in the film.
Overall, while I think that The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is a decent adaptation of the source material, as a film you could take it or leave it. It was certainly a fun watch, but if you want to see something with depth, I'd suggest that you look elsewhere.
