Super Mario returns: sequel takes adventure into space

After becoming one of the most iconic video games in history (having sold over 945 million copies worldwide since 1985 across the various installments of the franchise), Super Mario Bros, with the adventures of the two plumbers in overalls, Mario and his brother Luigi, has proven it can win over audiences on the big screen as well.

In 2023 (30 years after the unsuccessful live-action adaptation starring Bob Hoskins in 1993), the first CGI animated adaptation, Super Mario Bros – The Movie by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, produced by Illumination (Despicable Me, Minions) with Universal co-producing alongside Nintendo, grossed more than 1.36 billion dollars worldwide, CE Report quotes ANSA.

A triumph that naturally led to a sequel, Super Mario Galaxy – The Movie, directed by the same duo and production team, which has just arrived in Italian and U.S. theaters.

The all-star voice cast returns, including Chris Pratt as Mario (with the Italian voice by Claudio Santamaria), Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, and Jack Black as Bowser. Among the new additions in this second chapter are Brie Larson as Rosalina, Donald Glover as the mischievous green dinosaur Yoshi, and Glen Powell as the pilot Fox McCloud.

“We incorporated many different worlds from various branches of Mario games over the more than 40-year history of the series,” Pratt explained at the film’s premiere in Japan. “This time we go cosmic and head into space.”

The story in the sequel begins with Rosalina, the “space” princess, as kind and gentle as she is a skilled warrior. The adoptive mother of the Lumas (small colorful star-shaped creatures), she is kidnapped by the unstoppable Bowser Jr., son of Bowser, the Koopa king, who had been miniaturized in the first adventure and is now trying to reform and become good.

When news of the kidnapping reaches Princess Peach, on the eve of her birthday, the young noble fighter embarks on a new mission that also leads her to discover her origins. At her side, as always, are Mario and Luigi, along with Toad, the new friend Yoshi, and a new team member from another Nintendo franchise, Star Fox: the brave pilot Fox McCloud.

“I love that Peach is a mix of great compassion and empathy,” said Anya Taylor-Joy, “while at the same time she gets the job done.”