Hey, you not very goo-d! See you next time with a better sequel!
Yes, it’s confirmed that I have “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” a positive review three years ago, despite the fact that I only play Mario Kart at parties and there were some mixed reactions in the original. One of them being Chris Pratt voicing Mario, despite not being of Italian descent. And another because it was a video game movie with Illumination playing it as video game instead of a story.
When it comes to sequels, there are those that can’t be better than the first (The explosions were predictable in the otherwise entertaining “Ready or Not 2,” while Judy Hopps said: “It’s called an arrest, sweetheart” in otherwise charming “Zootopia 2”), those that honor the original and broaden their horizons (“The Godfather Part II,” “Dune: Part 2,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Empire Strikes Back,” etc.), and those that bomb very hard (I never saw “Caddyshack II” or “The Family Plan 2”).
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is the sequel that can’t be better than the first, and I think the reason is that it features so many ideas, Easter eggs, and bright colors, but the levels are too short and manic to keep everything focused. I wanted to like this sequel, especially since Brie Larson is cast as Princess Rosalina, who is the foster mother to many baby stars known as Lumas, and her chemistry with child co-stars (think of “Room” and “Short Term 12”) continues into the world of animation. But this sequel doesn’t give her much to work with and has her only tiptoeing into Anna and Elsa territory.
The plot, this time, involves the evil Bowser (voiced by Jack Black) being freed by his son Bowser, Jr. (voiced by Benny Safdie), who has kidnapped Princess Rosalina so they can, as Darth Vader would suggest: “Rule the Galaxy as Father and Son.” So, it’s up to Mario (voiced by Pratt), Luigi (voiced by Charlie Day), Princess Peach (voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy), Toad (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key), and their new friends: the green dinosaur Yoshi (voiced by Donald Glover) and the fox space explorer Fox McCloud (voiced by Glen Powell) to save her and the universe.
Like a video game, there are levels the heroes must engage themselves in. For example, Peach and Toad travel in a casino- where everyone is playing slots and poker on the walls and ceilings, almost like something out of M.C. Escher-and take on the frog crime lord Wart (voiced by Luis Guzman). And another is when Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi are nearly imprisoned by the Honey Queen (voiced by Issa Rae), but are immediately spared thanks to Bowser temporarily taking their place. Now, you would think this sequel would have his undergoing a chance of heart kind of like Iago in the direct-to-video sequel “The Return of Jafar,” but the heart only applies between him and his son and can’t have any redemption.
Pratt and Day both did credible work voicing Mario and Luigi in the first movie, but here, they voice their characters like they’re trying so hard to keep the Nintendo characters spirits alive. That’s usually a case with animated sequels where they sound like they’re desperate to get back to voicing their characters.
There are more Easter eggs which has some claps in the audience and no messes because the security guards were surveilling last night’s screening, but there are less laughs and less time on the levels, and only Donkey Kong appears like a Sonic cameo in “Wreck-it Ralph,” but without dialogue. The casino looks cool and the Honey Queen looks delightful, but why trivialize and shorten the experience? The first movie, in my defense, made sense in making Mario and Donkey Kong rivals based on how the ape was created before the Italian plumber, and it was colorful and a little more patient with the few worlds it presented.
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is going to have a lot of kids and Nintendo fans in the audience, but “Hoppers” had more adult appeal, energy, and patience. I got to know Mabel, George, and even the council in that film, and I got to see less of Rosalina, the Honey Queen, and Fox McCloud.
