One of the most exciting animated movies released in 2026 is the Super Mario Galaxy movie created by Nintendo and illumination. The movie takes place in the Mario franchise beyond the mushroom kingdom and into outer space, creating a larger and more emotional adventure than the previous memorial films. Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic the story follows Mario Luigi, princess peach and a new ally Rosalina as they travel across galaxies to stop Bowser from controlling the universe with the power of the grand stars.

The movie begins when a strange cosmic event starts tearing apart across the galaxy Mario Luigi, or suddenly launched into speech after Bowser attacks the mushroom kingdom with a massive star powered fleet along their journey. The brother visits colorful planets, floating space stations, and mysterious galaxies filled with dangerous enemies and exciting challenges Rosalina the guardian of the cosmos helps. Mario understands the power of the stars, while the group races against time to save the universe before Bowser destroys the entire galaxy.

The best part of the movie is the incredible animation style, and the visuals that are used. Animators made every single galaxy look unique, colorful, and it made the movie feel even more magical from beginning to end. The space scenes are especially beautiful during the flying sequences and battles between planets. Another thing that stood out to me was the soundtrack because it combined the classic Mario music with more of the emotional like soundtrack that made the adventure meal feel more dramatic. Rosalina is one of the strongest characters in the movie because her personality, mysterious backstory and emotion to the story and the action scenes are fast paced, exciting, especially the final battle against Bowser in space.

Although the movie is entertaining, there are a couple weaknesses. I noticed the story sometimes moves a little too quickly making certain emotional seeds feel rushed, and Luigi and princess peach also do not get as much character development as Rosalina and Mario do.

Overall is an exciting and visually appealing movie that successfully expands the Mario universe into space. The animation music you were in action makes it enjoyable for both longtime Nintendo fans and new audiences even though the plot is shorter. The movie is still worth watching because of/ its creativity and emotional adventure. It has a runtime of about an hour and 45 minutes and is available to watch in select theaters and on-demand at home through Prime Video or Apple TV.