Don Reviews "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie"

I have been a fan of video games as long as I have been a fan of pro wrestling.  I will always a have a place in my heart from the iconic video games from the 1980s, with memories of growing up and going to my local arcade, Aladdin’s Castle, and blowing my allowance each week.  One of my all time favorite games has to be Donkey Kong, and seeing how that has transformed and branched off into so many other games has been amazing, including the newest release in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic return to direct here with a voice cast that includes Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Donald Glover, Banny Safdie, Brie Larson, and Anya Taylor-Joy.  Browser, Jr. (Safdie) has captured Princess Rosalina (Larson) so he can help his father Browser (Black) escape from captivity and rule the universe together.  Princess Peach (Taylor-Joy) gets wind of this plan and takes off to save her alongside Toad (Keegan Michael Key), pursued by Mario (Pratt), Luigi (Day), and Yoshi (Glover) to help her out.

The animation alone is worth the price admission, with the color palate that makes this video game franchise so popular, especially with kids.  The screening I attended was in an “XL” auditorium, but knowing that it will be available in 3-D makes me wonder how much more that would enhance viewing experience.  At just over an hour and a half, this is the right length for an animated family film and kept me engaged throughout.

The voice cast does well overall, and being intentional in trying not to look at the cast before screening a animated film, I was surprised at how much of the cast I did not recognize until the credits.  The only issues that I honestly had here is that the story may get a bit too complicated for young children and seemed to miss that “something special” that the previous film had.  I am sure that there are a lot of references that went over my head and were meant to those that are more faithful fans of the franchise that I am, but that didn’t necessarily distract me.  Overall, I still liked The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and due to the visuals, I would recommend seeing it in the cheapest way, possibly in 3-D.