References, Chaos, Turnips: A Review of Super Mario Galaxy

After the 2023 release of The Super Mario Movie, gamers everywhere expected a second–and
the teams at Illumination and Nintendo have not let us down! The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is
a reference-packed wonder of animation that picks up where our beloved Mario Brothers left off
last (plus some new additions to the crew!).
The story picks up with Rosalina and the Lumas, only for Bowser Jr. to show up with a fleet of
airships that knocked our girl down. Instead of just “kidnapping the Princess,” Bowser Jr. literally
uproots Peach’s entire castle and drags it into deep space. Mario is knocked off course and
awakens on a small, grassy planetoid where he meets back with newly-freed Bowser and the
wider cosmos on a wild goose chase to get back to Peach and stop Bowser’s son.
For the gamers in the audience, this movie is a goldmine. The filmmakers perfectly translated
the “gravity-flipping” mechanics of the original Wii games into cinematic action sequences.
Seeing Mario perform a Spin Jump to navigate a planetoid while the iconic Gusty Garden
Galaxy theme swells in the background is enough to give any fan chills. Personally, I was
always more of a Yoshi’s Theme chick, but whatever, it was cool.
We also get some deep-cut cameos. If any of you have parents in the early Millennial/late Gen-X
area (which is most of y’all), they might’ve pointed out Starfox; he was a rather short-lived game
that was included with the NES, though it didn’t catch on nearly as much as our own
mustachioed brotherly duo. Let’s not forget the Pikmin, and a handful of Super Smash Bros.
buddies along the way. Lubba and the Starship Mario make a brief appearance, and there’s a
reference to how they beat Wart in the Super Mario Bros. 2 game–using a turnip, of all things,
that serves as both a plot point and a nod to the mechanics of the games.
The character development–for Bowser in particular–is surprisingly poignant, touching on his
relationship with his son and responsibility without slowing down the frenetic pace of the film. It’s
a love letter to the Mario franchise that manages to feel fresh even after forty years of history.
Be sure to put this on your watchlist, even if you’ve already seen it in theaters; it’s never bad
practice to rewatch movies once they hit streaming services. Let’s A-Go!