The Mario Bros. are back for another adventure, in the animated sequel The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. As Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) tells her star-like children Lumas a bedtime story about the exploits of a pair of plumber brothers, her Comet Observatory comes under attack, and she is kidnapped by Bowser Jr. (Bennie Safdie), who is looking to carry on his father’s legacy by building a universe-destroying weapon fueled by the princess’ power.

One of the Lumas makes its way to Mushroom Kingdom to seek help for the princess. Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Jpy) appears to recognize Rosalina and takes Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) with her as they head to Gateway Galaxy to set out on the rescue mission. Meanwhile, Mario (Chris Pratt), Luigi (Charlie Day), and their new pet baby dinosaur Yoshi (Donald Glover) are left in charge of watching over Mushroom Kingdom while the princess is gone. Imprisoned inside a miniaturized castle inside Princess Peach’s castle is Bowser (Jack Black), who claims to be rehabilitated and reformed. While Luigi believes the seemingly-formerly-evil turtle, Mario isn’t so sure. And soon, Bowser Jr. shows up to free his father, taking Peach’s castle into space. Now the brothers and Yoshi find themselves on the same journey across the galaxy to rescue the princesses.

2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie brought the world of the Mushroom Kingdom to life in 3D animation, sparking nostalgia in Nintendo fans of all ages. However, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is even bigger in scope and action than the first film, expanding the universe (literally) and bringing in so many characters and locations from the various Mario games. I am more of just a casual Mario game player, but even I could tell this was something special, with cameos and references busting at the seams.

Like with the first film, at the core of this story is the idea of family. Whether it’s siblings like Mario & Luigi or the princesses, or a parent/child dynamic like Bowser and Bowser Jr. or Rosalina and her Lumas, there’s a bit of heart driving all of the characters and their dynamics. Returning for the second film are Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad, though this time around the group is split up on two separate missions that will ultimately come together. We see early on that Mario has feelings for Peach, but is too shy to say anything. The guys have also made a new friend, a baby dinosaur named Yoshi, who can’t talk, but still has a lot to say. There’s this fun dynamic that quickly forms between Toad and Yoshi. Toad sees Yoshi as the new child who has come in to displace him as the best friend, and so he’s a bit jealous. Also new to this sequel is Rosalina, but the filmmakers have found a creative and inventive way to tie her to Princess Peach (something that was never part of the game mythology), in order to make her feel more of a direct part of the story, and to give Peach more of an emotional arc in the film.

The most fun new addition in this second film is Bowser Jr. In the first film, Bowser was the big villain, who was ultimately captured and shrunk by the Mario Bros. For much of Junior’s life, Bowser was too busy trying to conquer the world to spend time with his son. But when he did get a night off, he would tell Junior a bedtime story, and these were the happiest days for him. Now it’s Junior’s turn to be the big bad. He has a plan to make that bedtime story a reality so that he and his father can spend time together again. Meanwhile, during his captivity, Bowser seems to have changed and wants to be a nicer person, though it’s also easy for him to fall back into his villainous ways at the drop of a dime—such as when he is presented with his son’s evil plan

The film has a lot of great action sequences, such as space battles, or each princess fighting off some big enemy. There’s so many great cameos, Easter eggs and power-ups throughout the film, with lots of fun characters from the games popping up. I’m not sure if it’s a spoiler or not, so I on’t mention the character name, but Glen Powell voices one of these iconic characters that is sure to put a smile on the faces of many fans. This sequel tells a complete story, but also hints in the post-credits at where a third film will go (which seems very likely based on the success of the first two movies).

I think those who enjoyed the first animated film will also enjoy this sequel, especially if they are fans of Mario games. As someone who only played the original Super Mario Bros. and maybe Galaxy once or twice, I was still able to fully enjoy this. However, die hard fans of the games will certainly get even more out of this film, and enjoy it on a whole new level.

Universal has released The Super Mario Galaxy Movie on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital. We were sent the Blu-ray release for review, and it looks and sounds great. I first saw the film in 3D in the theater, but unfortunately there is no 3D disc option (perhaps for Apple Vision Pro?), which is a shame as some of the space sequences looked great in 3D, such as the gravity-diverse casino. The picture looks clean and clear, with bright, beautiful colors, and a solid level of detail throughout. The Dolby Atmos soundtrack provides clear dialogue, quite an immersive experience, and showcases the film’s excellent (and nostalgic) score.

This disc release contains a solid selection of bonus material, including over an hour of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast/crew. The Blu-ray release includes just a single Blu-ray disc, packed in a standard HD keepcase, along with a cardboard slipcover with an embossed title, and redemption instructions for an HD digital copy of the film.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:38:14)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service), Spanish 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, French 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital (code may not be valid after 6/30/2027):

• HD Digital Copy (Movies Anywhere compatible)

Extras:
Play All, or select from:

• Next Level: Making The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (15.03)
  The cast and crew talk about expanding the universe and characters in this sequel, integrating elements from the Mario Galaxy, Yoshi’s Island and other games, playing around with the gravity mechanics, the animation styles, mixing up the character relationships, and more. Includes storyboard, concept artwork & behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with producer (Nintendo)/creator of Mario Shigeru Miyamoto, music composer (Nintendo)/score consultant Koji Kondo, directors Aaron Horvath & Michael Jelenic, head of story Ed Skudder, writer Matthew Fogel, character design (Nintendo) Shigehisa Nakaue, composer Brian Tyler, editor Eric Osmond, character effects supervisor Sebastian Stoianov, effects supervisor Simon Pate, co-directors Fabien Polack & Pierre Leduc, art director Matthieu Gosselin, head of computer graphics Milo Riccarand, computer graphics supervisors David Pelle & François Boudaille, character animator Charlotte Mansard, lead lighting artist Sophie Guillois, lighting supervisor Cedric Launay, compositing supervisor Julien Trouchet, and stars Anya Taylor-Jpy (“Princess Peach”), Chris Pratt (“Mario”), Bennie Safdie (“Bowser, Jr.”), Brie Larson (“Rosalina”), Charlie Day (“Luigi”) & Keegan-Michael Key (“Toad”). Some of this is is in Japanese and French, but subtitled in English.
• Cast of Characters (22.28)
  The cast and crew discuss the characters and the actors behind the voices. Includes recording booth footage, and interviews with character design (Nintendo) Shigehisa Nakaue, directors Aaron Horvath & Michael Jelenic, writer Matthew Fogel, editor Eric Osmond, lighting supervisor Cedric Launay, compositing supervisor Julien Trouchet, co-directors Fabien Polack & Pierre Leduc, producer (Nintendo)/creator of Mario Shigeru Miyamoto, head of story Ed Skudder, computer graphics supervisor David Pelle, music composer (Nintendo)/score consultant Koji Kondo, animation director Christophe Delisle, head of computer graphics Milo Riccarand, character animator Charlotte Mansard, and stars Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Brie Larson, Jack Black (“Bowser”), Bennie Safdie & Keegan-Michael Key. Some of this is is in Japanese and French, but subtitled in English. Play All, or select from:
  • Mario &Luigi (5:46)
  • Parch & Rosaline (5:48)
  • Bowser & Bowser Jr. (6:04)
  • Toad & Yoshi (4:47)
• Exploring the Galaxy (10.28)
  The cast and crew discuss the various locations and worlds in the movie. Includes interviews with art director Matthieu Gosselin, layout cinematophraphy supervisor Lorenzo Varacini, editor Eric Osmond, directors Aaron Horvath & Michael Jelenic, lighting supervisor Cedric Launay, compositing supervisor Julien Trouchet, producer (Nintendo)/creator of Mario Shigeru Miyamoto, co-directors Fabien Polack & Pierre Leduc, character design (Nintendo) Shigehisa Nakaue, lead lighting artist Yannik Lecoffre, head of story Ed Skudder, writer Matthew Fogel, music composer (Nintendo)/score consultant Koji Kondo, character effects supervisor Sebastian Stoianov, effects supervisor Simon Pate, animation director Christophe Delisle, head of computer graphics Milo Riccarand, computer graphics supervisors David Pelle & François Boudaille, and stars Keegan-Michael Key, Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy & Brie Larson. Some of this is is in Japanese and French, but subtitled in English.
• Galactic Thematics (5.17)
  The cast and crew discuss the primary themes of the film, the family dynmiac between the characters, and more. Participants include producer (Nintendo)/creator of Mario Shigeru Miyamoto, directors Aaron Horvath & Michael Jelenic, writer Matthew Fogel, head of story Ed Skudder, editor Eric Osmond, character animator Charlotte Mansard, character design (Nintendo) Shigehisa Nakaue, animation director Christophe Delisle, co-directors Fabien Polack & Pierre Leduc, music composer (Nintendo)/score consultant Koji Kondo, and stars Brie Larson, Charlie Day, Keegan-Michael Key, Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy & Benny Safdie. Some of this is is in Japanese and French, but subtitled in English.
• Cosmic Tunes (3.32)
  The cast and crew discuss the film’s score, and integrating original music with the iconic themes from the games. Includes behind-the-scenes footage of the orchestra, and interviews with composer Brian Tyler, editor Eric Osmond, music composer (Nintendo)/score consultant Koji Kondo, and stars Charlie Day & Chris Pratt.
• Power-Ups (2.21)
  The cast and crew talk about the various power-ups used by the characters in the film. Includes interviews with head of story Ed Skudder, animation director Christophe Delisle, head of computer graphics Milo Riccarand, computer graphics supervisors David Pelle & François Boudaille, writer Matthew Fogel, directors Aaron Horvath & Michael Jelenic, and stars Charlie Day, Chris Pratt, Benny Safdie & Anya Taylor-Joy.
• Secrets of the Galaxy (2.45)
  The cast and crew point out some of the many Easter eggs strewn about the film. Participants include music composer (Nintendo)/score consultant Koji Kondo, editor Eric Osmond, directors Aaron Horvath & Michael Jelenic, animation director Christophe Delisle, head of story Ed Skudder, producer (Nintendo)/creator of Mario Shigeru Miyamoto, and stars Brie Larson, Charlie Day, Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy & Keegan-Michael Key.

Final Thoughts:

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is a solid follow-up to the first animated film, expanding the universe and characters. The animation style is beautiful, and Universal’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great and includes a solid assortment of bonus material. Fans of the games/film will definitely want to add this release to their collection. There is so much going on in every scene that there’s always something new to notice during a re-watch.