The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is quite enjoyable, actually. But the most important scenes happen in the theater seats

I walked out of my solo viewing experience of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie last night as a veteran gamer in their late 30s, growing more cynical by the day. And I had a massive smile on my face. Is it a great film on its own? No, not really. The pacing is pretty bad, the dialogue and story are a step back from the first film, and there's an incessant amount of action scenes strung together one after the other throughout the majority of its 98-minute runtime. But I'll be damned if I didn't enjoy it anyway. Image via Nintendo/Illumination Film critics have been blasting The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in reviews, and I get it. In many ways, it's a mess. But this movie is clearly not for young kids or people like me who are aging and grew up with these characters, and it was evident in my theater experience. I'm a 90s kid, and I have been playing Nintendo games and everything else in between since I can remember. I also vividly remember seeing the original live-action Super Mario Bros. movie, with Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo, when it came out in 1993. I am the target audience for these products, and I think I always have been. And so yesterday, I went to a 6:15pm showing on the movie's first day, and it was absolutely packed to the walls, mostly with young children and their families. Naturally, they had even more fun than I did. And even as a surly old bastard who hates having their sacred movie-going experience ruined by talking or noise, I couldn't help but absorb the joy emanating around me. I sat down early with my popcorn and a young family of four soon sat next to me. Directly to my left was a boy who couldn't have been older than eight or nine, next to him was his father, beyond him was a young girl around five, and then their mother on the end. Somehow, they enhanced my experience. Normally, I'd despise this scenario, but this time, it was special. Image via Nintendo/Illumination The boy and girl (along with basically every other kid in the room) spent the entirety of the movie ranging between silent and enthralled by the images on the screen, to exclaiming in happiness at the characters they saw. A whole new generation of Nintendo kids, just like me, loving these silly plumbers and princesses. "They're more brave than they were in the first movie," the boy noted next to me about Mario and Luigi's demeanor. "They're just like us!" he said to his dad as Bowser and Bowser Jr. had a lovely father/son moment. "That's Super Smash Brothers!" he yelled as Fox McCloud appeared. I couldn't even be annoyed. I saw myself in them, playing Super Smash Bros. at my friend's house on the Nintendo 64 because I didn't have one quite yet. I eventually got one for my birthday one year, along with Hey You! Pikachu, Mario Tennis, and many other games. And as such, I had my own moments in the theater, similar to the kids around me, like when Yoshi appeared on screen. Yoshi! My favorite Nintendo character in all of his goofy glory, brought to life by Illumination with Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto signing off on all of it. The lovable green dino just kind of appeared and joined the crew, no questions asked, which was weird and a little lame. But how can I be mad at it? This is a fun cartoon movie filled with countless Nintendo references (some of which will make specific gamers very happy), and the in-theater experience only enhanced the feel of it all. Screenshot by Destructoid And let's not forget about Fox, either. If Nintendo is truly bringing Star Fox back like a leaker suggests, then this movie just created a whole new legion of fans who may want to pick up the next game on the Switch 2. It's all part of the plan, and partly why Nintendo has been so successful with its first-party characters and games for so long. If I watch the movie again at home not in a room full of happy people enjoying it, then my opinion may be swayed. But for now, I think if you're a fan of Nintendo, Super Mario, or have ever gotten any joy out of these worlds over the past 40 years, it's worth seeing in the theater. You can critique the movie day and night and be right about its myriad of faults, but it's accomplishing everything it set out to do: it tells a Mario storyline on the big screen, it's going to make a bunch of money, and it's embedding a whole new generation of kids into the Nintendo ecosystem, the same way I joined it in the 90s. Screenshot by Destructoid There's now a stark contrast between the movie's critic rating and audience score on Rotten Tomatoes: 42 percent and 91 percent, respectively. But honestly? See it yourself, and form your own opinion. If you're like me, it just may make you feel like a little Nintendo child all over again. The post The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is quite enjoyable, actually. But the most important scenes happen in the theater seats appeared first on Destructoid.

Apr 2, 2026 - 22:57

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is quite enjoyable, actually. But the most important scenes happen in the theater seats

I walked out of my solo viewing experience of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie last night as a veteran gamer in their late 30s, growing more cynical by the day. And I had a massive smile on my face.

Is it a great film on its own? No, not really. The pacing is pretty bad, the dialogue and story are a step back from the first film, and there's an incessant amount of action scenes strung together one after the other throughout the majority of its 98-minute runtime. But I'll be damned if I didn't enjoy it anyway.

Image via Nintendo/Illumination Film critics have been blasting The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in reviews, and I get it. In many ways, it's a mess. But this movie is clearly not for young kids or people like me who are aging and grew up with these characters, and it was evident in my theater experience.

I'm a 90s kid, and I have been playing Nintendo games and everything else in between since I can remember. I also vividly remember seeing the original live-action Super Mario Bros. movie, with Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo, when it came out in 1993. I am the target audience for these products, and I think I always have been.

And so yesterday, I went to a 6:15pm showing on the movie's first day, and it was absolutely packed to the walls, mostly with young children and their families. Naturally, they had even more fun than I did. And even as a surly old bastard who hates having their sacred movie-going experience ruined by talking or noise, I couldn't help but absorb the joy emanating around me.

I sat down early with my popcorn and a young family of four soon sat next to me. Directly to my left was a boy who couldn't have been older than eight or nine, next to him was his father, beyond him was a young girl around five, and then their mother on the end. Somehow, they enhanced my experience. Normally, I'd despise this scenario, but this time, it was special.

Image via Nintendo/Illumination The boy and girl (along with basically every other kid in the room) spent the entirety of the movie ranging between silent and enthralled by the images on the screen, to exclaiming in happiness at the characters they saw. A whole new generation of Nintendo kids, just like me, loving these silly plumbers and princesses.

"They're more brave than they were in the first movie," the boy noted next to me about Mario and Luigi's demeanor. "They're just like us!" he said to his dad as Bowser and Bowser Jr. had a lovely father/son moment. "That's Super Smash Brothers!" he yelled as Fox McCloud appeared.

I couldn't even be annoyed. I saw myself in them, playing Super Smash Bros. at my friend's house on the Nintendo 64 because I didn't have one quite yet. I eventually got one for my birthday one year, along with Hey You! Pikachu, Mario Tennis, and many other games.

And as such, I had my own moments in the theater, similar to the kids around me, like when Yoshi appeared on screen. Yoshi! My favorite Nintendo character in all of his goofy glory, brought to life by Illumination with Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto signing off on all of it. The lovable green dino just kind of appeared and joined the crew, no questions asked, which was weird and a little lame. But how can I be mad at it? This is a fun cartoon movie filled with countless Nintendo references (some of which will make specific gamers very happy), and the in-theater experience only enhanced the feel of it all.

Screenshot by Destructoid And let's not forget about Fox, either. If Nintendo is truly bringing Star Fox back like a leaker suggests, then this movie just created a whole new legion of fans who may want to pick up the next game on the Switch 2. It's all part of the plan, and partly why Nintendo has been so successful with its first-party characters and games for so long.

If I watch the movie again at home not in a room full of happy people enjoying it, then my opinion may be swayed. But for now, I think if you're a fan of Nintendo, Super Mario, or have ever gotten any joy out of these worlds over the past 40 years, it's worth seeing in the theater.

You can critique the movie day and night and be right about its myriad of faults, but it's accomplishing everything it set out to do: it tells a Mario storyline on the big screen, it's going to make a bunch of money, and it's embedding a whole new generation of kids into the Nintendo ecosystem, the same way I joined it in the 90s.

Screenshot by Destructoid There's now a stark contrast between the movie's critic rating and audience score on Rotten Tomatoes: 42 percent and 91 percent, respectively. But honestly? See it yourself, and form your own opinion. If you're like me, it just may make you feel like a little Nintendo child all over again.

The post The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is quite enjoyable, actually. But the most important scenes happen in the theater seats appeared first on Destructoid.

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