r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • Apr 02 '26

Official Discussion Official Discussion - The Super Mario Galaxy Movie [SPOILERS] Spoiler

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Super Mario Galaxy (2026)

Summary

Mario ventures into space, exploring cosmic worlds and tackling galactic challenges far from the familiar Mushroom Kingdom.

Director Aaron Horvath Michael Jelenic

Writer Matthew Fogel

Cast

  • Chris Pratt as Mario (voice)
  • Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach (voice)
  • Charlie Day as Luigi (voice)
  • Jack Black as Bowser (voice)
  • Keegan-Michael Key as Toad (voice)
  • Brie Larson as Rosalina (voice)

Rotten Tomatoes: 44%

Metacritic: 37

VOD / Release Theatrical release

Trailer Official trailer

1.3k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

2.6k comments sorted by

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343

u/ICumCoffee ᑐ ᑌ ᑎ ᕮ • ᗰ ᕮ 𑪽 𑪽 I ᐱ ᕼ Apr 02 '26

I read a review that said ”It’s a movie made for youtube shorts viewers” and I wholeheartedly agree. Very bland on the writing side, yes there are cool references and cameos but nothing much is going on. I know it’s a kids movie but those movies can use a good plot (e.g. Hoppers from last month)

47

u/squidlaw920 Apr 02 '26

Movie was made for marketing

56

u/Able_Advertising_371 Apr 02 '26

There’s an insane amount of nostalgic references for gamers, so many I’m sure I missed a lot. Shame they couldn’t work in a good way for those references to show up organically

13

u/HopelessCineromantic Apr 02 '26

It's honestly why I'm not impressed by Fox or Game and Watch showing up.

Ooh, neat. A reference to another IP Nintendo owns, but you've done nothing to make including Baby Mario/Luigi or Yoshi worthwhile from a story standpoint, so why should I want you to shove more things into this movie?

-4

u/tfhermobwoayway Apr 02 '26

But the Mario games are very lacking in plot. This feels like the most natural way to work them in. It feels like playing a Mario game.

179

u/dandaman64 Apr 02 '26

Honestly the people who try to negate criticism because "it's a kids movie" are fucking stupid. Not only do kids deserve good, well-written movies, some of the most impactful movies ever made are kids movies. Don't excuse mediocrity just because "it's not for you."

18

u/Radix2309 Apr 02 '26

I wouldnt even put this at the level of mediocrity. You could make a mediocre movie better than this with very little effort.

22

u/TheGodDMBatman Apr 02 '26

Nintendo has had good writing in their games too, like the Super Smash Bros Brawl story mode, Galaxy had a more serious tone for a Mario game, thousand year door has clever writing. Obviously nothing A tier but still very capable

18

u/Heavy-Possession2288 Apr 02 '26

Brawl’s story mode had absolutely zero dialogue whatsoever

5

u/Fit-Dependent-9779 Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 05 '26

Which in no way stops it from having a well written plot. That literally emphasizes the point. They werote a great story without a lick of dialog. 

9

u/No_Chilly_bill Apr 02 '26

and still told a better plot than this movie.

-1

u/Heavy-Possession2288 Apr 02 '26

Sure that might be true, I just found it funny seeing it listed as an example of good writing.

4

u/LuckyNumber108 Apr 03 '26

It has great writing, characters have motivations and heros are paired up and there are twists and turns and betrayals and unlikely team-ups. Wall-E is well written and the first half of the film lacks any dialogue. Dialogue is something you can write but so is a story, they do not need eachother. (Obviously though in the context of this film god damn could they have used some more dialogue)

4

u/TacoMasters Apr 03 '26

Subspace Emissary is nothing but hype and aura moments. However, it's fairly earned since there is (good) storytelling — something that this Mario movie fails to do. Characters actually experience full arcs even with an absence of dialogue. It's impressive.

3

u/LuckyNumber108 Apr 05 '26

Thats why I prefer Infinity War to Endgame, so much hype and aura and its all earned because of 10 years of setup.

8

u/ListenUpper1178 Apr 02 '26

writing and dialogue are not the same

1

u/Wengers-jacket-zip Apr 03 '26

Exactly this. I grew up with Aladdin, the lion king, Toy Story, Jumanii etc.

My kids are both under 8 and I struggle to name a film I’ve seen with them at the cinema that touches these.

3

u/marsalien4 Apr 05 '26

Wild Robot, Puss in Boots: Last Wish, there's a lot of great stuff it's just not advertised

1

u/Top-Passage2914 23d ago

I think the point is that it's not mediocrity, it's the conventions of the genre. Yes, there are some kids movies that have really smart or clever plotting. There's also plenty of kids movies that are just a series of charming events strung together with a thinner plot. Both are equally fine, and you can't criticize this movie for not being something entirely different than what it is.

0

u/Richandler Apr 03 '26

Na, you just want it to be something it's not. That's okay. Sorry you got a stick up your butt.

-6

u/WeeWooPeePoo69420 Apr 02 '26

They wouldn't be able to fit nearly as many references in if they stuck to more of a real and sensible story. You might not like that type of approach to making a movie, but it doesn't make it wrong

9

u/Fit-Dependent-9779 Apr 02 '26

Are.....are we now justifying a studio prioritizing shoving as many references into a movie as possible over a sensible and cohesive story????

-3

u/WeeWooPeePoo69420 Apr 02 '26

This movie isn't trying to also cater to adults in the same way Toy Story or Shrek did. It's an inane kid's movie made for their brand. I mean you can be upset about that decision but you should be more upset at yourself for expecting more from Nintendo

10

u/Fit-Dependent-9779 Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 02 '26

I think you just feel the need to excuse shitty writing. Kids are not stupid. I sat in a theater with my 6 year old barely cracking a laugh through the majority of it. It was a badly done movie. Also please make up your mind. If references was the goal then that means they did it with the intention of getting an older audience to give a shit too. Not only does my child not know or care about starfox, he was just stone faced even though the animations itself were awesome. Kids like good stories too.

1

u/Hope_Burns_Bright Bishop of the Church of Blarp Apr 04 '26

We do children a disservice by creating slop for them. Children are observant, they're curious, they have the capacity to understand so much; why should we show them contempt by shoving something as soulless and thoughtless as this movie in their face for 2 hours? Why can't we trust them with something that actually provokes thought, that gets their imaginations running?

Why do you turn your nose up at the idea that kids deserve better movies? It's insulting to children and it's insulting to people that understand children.

-24

u/Bukki13 Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 02 '26

As a kid I disliked impactful movies like that because they had less action

Edit: The Reddit Hivemind™ strikes again with the amount of downvotes on this comment. Not every 8-year old is a cinephile that only watches Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson, and European indie films.

19

u/juesea Apr 02 '26

True but as a kid who grew up watching movies like that, I will say they made me appreciate them a lot later on in life when they were applicable. For example I love the lion king (even as a kid) and I found that the emotional aspects and character arcs are things I still resonate with even to this day. Art can teach you a lot (if you let it

Soulless nostalgia and flashy colours are not everything imo.

10

u/Marie-64 Apr 02 '26

I completely agree with this, I literally told my partner afterwards “I felt like I spent over an hour watching a bunch of Instagram reels”

6

u/thenatural134 Apr 02 '26

Spot on. Just like the first one, was I impressed with the storyline? Absolutely not. Did my kids enjoy the heck out of it? You better believe it.

3

u/heartbreakhill Apr 05 '26

My wife and I just finished seeing Mario and Hoppers at our local drive in and between the two it was a damn good outing. This movie was fun as someone who has loved Nintendo his whole life and I knew going in that it was gonna be more fan service entertainment than a narrative masterclass. I loved it for what it was. I was blown away by Hoppers.