The Super Mario Bros. Movie is one of the highest-grossing animated movies of all time. It was far from a masterpiece, but it was a nostalgia-fueled romp that resonated with audiences. Its sequel, however, looks like it will have a slightly tougher mountain to climb.
Yesterday, reviews of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie dropped, and early impressions have left it with a significantly lower score on both Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Falls Short Of The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s Review Scores
In 2023, The Super Mario Bros. Movie received a score of 46 on Metacritic and 59 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. If these scores were given to a game, it would be considered the end of the world, but I digress. The reviews for the Super Mario Galaxy Movie are somehow far lower than this.
On Metacritic, the movie, which is due to hit theaters today, has opened to a lowly 37, and on Rotten Tomatoes, it has dropped 14 points, opening to a 46 percent score.
In arguably one of the most scathing reviews you’ll ever read, Kevin Maher of The Times said, “The film is torturous to sit through and, for me, provoked periods of actual physical discomfort. I had to stab myself repeatedly in the hand with a pen to distract from the howling distress. It’s that bad, and that offensive.” Unsurprisingly, he gave the movie a score of 0.
The film is torturous to sit through and, for me, provoked periods of actual physical discomfort.
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian was equally unimpressed with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, saying “it looks as if humans, using AI, have tried to copy something that was originally AI-generated, creating a bland, simplistic template that can be sold in all global territories where it can be dubbed by local voice talent,” in his 2/10 review.
On the other end of the scale, Collider scored the movie a 7/10, with reviewer Ross Bonaime saying, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie remains a charming, often hilarious, and playful testament to the greatest video game franchise of all time.”
Looper felt similarly, again scoring it a 7/10. Reuben Baron admitted, “I laughed at more jokes than I expected to in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.”
Without having watched it myself yet, I feel like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is going to be much like The Super Mario Bros. Movie. It’s never going to win awards; it wasn’t made to, it was made to bring fans, new and old, of the franchise together in almost a celebratory fashion. And to make a lot of moolah. I’m just excited to see my boy…
- Release Date
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April 1, 2026
- Runtime
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98 Minutes
- Director
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Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc, Fabien Polack
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Anya Taylor-Joy
Princess Peach
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