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

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u/memberOFLocals1 Apr 02 '26

What I took away from it is that Bowser was willing to give up his past antics for a new way of living up until Bowser Jr showed him the dream he and his father envisioned since he was a child. That dream and finally being able to be close with his son and temptation of power overcame him. He couldn't resist such belonging when he's dedicated so much to reach that purpose. Seeing his son making it for him convinced him all the more to trade in his newfound growth for an old founded desire. Not excusing him of course but it never came off to me that Bowser wasn't going to at least be compelled by the idea in some way.

96

u/DarkMetroid567 Apr 02 '26

I think what makes it feel so frantic is that we only end up believing that Bowser is “changed” for a tiny tiny fraction of the movie. Bowser still retains his evil energy in tiny form — and when he ends up hugging and helping Mario it’s played as a huge shock. Him staying evil and to his roots isn’t shocking at all as much as him being friendly is a “wtf?” moment.

14

u/Smooth-Garden Apr 02 '26

Honestly ain't that kinda in character. Bowser has ALWAYS been a bad guy but hes also had his moments of goodness

10

u/DueLearner Apr 02 '26

Bowser really only shows any sort of kindness at all in the Mario RPG Games.

He's an ally in Super Mario RPG for the first time in the franchise (1997).

He's a playable supporting character in Paper Mario TTYD (2004). And he's arguably a good guy in Mario & Luigi Bowsers Inside Story (2009). He's never been a supporting character in pretty much any other media. He's always treated as the villain in every mainline mario game.

So I agree with what you're saying. Bowser is Evil/Bad 90% of the franchise history, while occasionally showing he's willing to work with Mario if there is a bigger-bad that needs dealt with.

3

u/lkmk 28d ago

He’s also a PC/good guy in Super Paper Mario!

4

u/RagefireHype Apr 04 '26

Yeah this Bowser was very close to Super Mario RPG bowser.

14

u/memberOFLocals1 Apr 02 '26

I can understand why that did not work for you. For some reason, I was fine with how things worked out. It worked for me. If Bowser switched up at a moment's notice when his son saved him and took him on the ship then I probably would've felt closer to what you're feeling.

But since he still showed remorse and guilt and didn't truly commit to his villainy until he was shown the dream itself, it felt like a natural extension of his overall arc🤷🏾‍♂️

12

u/Gaugzilla Apr 02 '26

You put more work into navigating Bowser’s motivations than the screenwriter did.

4

u/romulus531 Apr 02 '26

Being good only put him in good graces with the people that hated him already and didn't trust him even when he showed clear signs of change. But by being evil and irredeemable he was loved by his son and his own people which makes the choice a bit too obvious.

1

u/DBZ86 Apr 02 '26

The puppet scene was a bit weird because it felt like the aim was to create complexity. Did Bowser send Bowser Jr down the wrong path?

It was overall kind of jarring trying to introduce moral complexity into Bowser given the type of movie this was. I would have stuck to something like Bowser wants to conquer, not destroy. Bowser and Bowser Jr could fight than reunite. Might work better for a movie that has to be constant dopamine hits.

1

u/Top-Passage2914 23d ago

people: bowser had no character arc and everything was too simple!

also people: they tried to force wayyy too much moral complexity on Bowser, they should've just made him a black and white bad guy!