This morning, we got the first real trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. We learned that Bowser’s still tiny, his son is coming to save him, and the fight will take Mario and his friends into space. While the movie’s title makes it sound like it’s going to be an adaptation of 2007’s excellent Super Mario Galaxy, the trailer includes several references to other Mario games beyond the cosmic Wii adventure. Let’s break down some of the big takeaways from the first trailer.
Bowser is an unrecognized artistic talent
The king of koopas has had a lot of time to kill while in his tiny confinement, and he’s used all that time to refine his artistic skills. Yes, turning the guy into a small version of himself and sticking him in what is essentially a pet playpen is cruel and unusual punishment; still, the guy seems to have a pretty cushy arrangement. Mario and Luigi have been kind enough to let him be true to himself in decorating his diminutive domicile, and he’s basically made a mini castle in which to spend his shrunken imprisonment. When you’re no longer trying to conquer other kingdoms, you really learn where your true talents lie, and Bowser could have had a lucrative business as an interior designer and painter. Mario tries to crush his spirits by calling his extremely detailed (and embellished) painting of him and Peach “trash,” however, resulting in a tirade from the little guy which reveals that, despite all his attempts at rehabilitation, he’s still an angry despot underneath all that unrecognized talent.
The team might be splitting up?
The first time we see any hint of the “Galaxy” side of Super Mario Galaxy is when a (gorgeous) meteor shower falls over the Mushroom Kingdom. Peach and Toad are then shown taking a Launch Star up into space and reaching a water-based planet full of Bloopers. Mario and Luigi, however, are shown riding motorcycles in a desert area that looks like Tostarena from Super Mario Odyssey, which also looks like a Mad Max homage. We see the inverted pyramid that was a major landmark in Odyssey, which means there’s no mistaking that it is definitely the Sand Kingdom from the Switch game. So it seems like Mario and his friends might be splitting up for at least part of the movie.
There’s a surprising number of Super Mario Sunshine references
Well, maybe it’s not that surprising considering Bowser Jr. is the main villain this time, but The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has some references to divisive GameCube platformer Super Mario Sunshine. We see Peach and Toad fighting a horde of Ninjis in what looks like a planet based on the Casino Delfino stage from Sunshine. Ninjis didn’t appear in Sunshine or Galaxy, so it really just seems like the movie is pulling indiscriminately from all of Mario‘s history, rather than being a more direct adaptation of the Wii game.
Bowser Jr. is also pulling inspiration from multiple games
Benny Safdie’s Bowser Jr. is seemingly taking on the main villain role in this movie, and his design and abilities seem to be a mash-up of references from different games. His base design is the classic one we see him sport in most games, complete with the bandana he wears around his neck that has a drawing of vicious, razor-sharp teeth on the front. He also wields his magic paintbrush from Sunshine and other appearances, but instead of using it to transform into the Shadow Mario from his debut game, he changes into the corrupted form seen in Super Mario Wonder, complete with a new black and purple color scheme and glowing red eyes.
Rosalina is a boss
It wouldn’t be a Super Mario Galaxy movie without Rosalina. Captain Marvel star Brie Larson is voicing the cosmic princess for the film, and in the trailer, we see that her magical powers are a force to be reckoned with. She takes out Megaleg, one of the bosses from the Wii game, like it was nothing, and she serves the whole time. Everyone is kicking ass in this trailer, but Rosalina’s magic is on another level. Love her.
Yoshi is nowhere to be found
I guess Illumination and Nintendo don’t want to show their whole hand, but I don’t see even one reference to Yoshi in this trailer, despite the first movie teasing the dinosaur steed in its post-credits scene. There’s still plenty of time, though, as The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is months away. The sequel is coming to theaters on April 3.
