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Nintendo’s newest collaboration with Illumination took form in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie this Wednesday, the sequel to 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie that’s already taken the record for best opening night of 2026. For a series that doesn’t often focus on characters’ feelings beyond a surface level, I thought the first movie was better than expected. Though there was room for improvement, my expectations for a new and improved sequel were very high (along with many others) when Nintendo announced its title in a direct presentation last September. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was unveiled as the centerpiece of the Super Mario Bros. series’ 40th anniversary, named after one of the most celebrated titles in the Mario series, one of the highest-rated games for the Nintendo Wii, and a favorite title from gamers the world over.

When choosing to name a video game adaptation movie after a specific entry in its respective series, there’s a level of expectations people want met. In most cases, it’s been a numbered sequel that fans argue needs to incorporate what that sequel to the original game added. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 adapted the rest of the games from the original trilogy, with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 focusing on the fan favorite Sonic Adventure duology. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 may not have been everything everyone wanted, but it at least remained focal to the second game in the Five Nights at Freddy’s series with toy animatronics and the exploration of the Afton family tree. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie leads with Rosalina and the Lumas, but wanes off pretty quickly in favor of reframing the narrative on the main Mario cast; Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Yoshi, and Bowser.

In this regard, it’s great someone like Luigi finally gets more screen time. I found myself agreeing with many others who felt his presence in The Super Mario Bros. Movie was surprisingly sparse given the “Bros” in the name. But even though Mario and Luigi work together again like with street-level affairs in the first movie, the writing does feel a bit less grounded here. The brothers’ Brooklyn heritage felt key to how they reacted to this new world around them, so seeing them already so comfortable with their surroundings (especially with the fate of the universe now being at stake) does kill the immersion a bit. I also felt this way about Yoshi’s integration with their dynamic, finding the dinosaur in a pile of rubble and soon after living alongside him like he’s a third brother. It’s not like he can’t be that—I think sort of a watchful caretaker role would have worked well given the Yoshi’s Island influence—but I feel we as an audience are thrust into that dynamic way too soon without showing how the brothers got to know Yoshi that well. This is even lampshaded by Toad early on, questioning how Yoshi “just shows up” as a part of the team.

Peach and Toad’s journey across the universe was something I found myself drawn to more than I expected, having an equal balance of urgency and fun easter eggs to spot. Luis Guzmán’s performance as Wart was a highlight for me, and I loved the way the entire sequence recontextualized both the underground levels and the roles the characters from Super Mario Bros. 2 would play in a universe like this as opposed to just a dream like in the original. Though, the impact from a lot of these sequences in Peach and Toad’s plot doesn’t often linger longer than a couple scenes. There is a greater narrative being told that’s ultimately more important to Peach than anything else (and some diehard fans may not like the resolution), and if anything in her plot maintains momentum, it’s that. Even with what’s at stake for her, I felt there probably should have been a more emotional side of the story being told. Peach already tackled a threat with confidence in the last movie, and it would have made much more sense if she took a moment to be vulnerable, like Mario did in the first movie during the final fight in Brooklyn.

There’s plenty of cameos, references, and easter eggs to spot even for Nintendo fans unfocused on the deeper cuts in the Mario series. Many question if this is leading up to a Super Smash Bros. film adaptation, and if you go and see the film, it’s probably just going to reinforce the speculation even more. As inevitable as that sort of thing feels, I personally felt like putting that in the back of my mind during scenes that had that kind of air to them. Super Smash Bros. is a celebration of video games as a whole, and in a way The Super Mario Galaxy Movie feels like another kind of celebration in regards to the medium. Like Sonic the Hedgehog 2, it directly takes inspiration from many more games in the series than the one it’s named after. No matter which Mario game you remember fondly growing up, there’s going to be something for you here.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is now playing in theaters worldwide.