The initial cinematic release of Mario, crafted by the renowned animation studio Illumination (known for “Despicable Me” and “Minions”), was met with a massive audience turnout, a predictable success given the franchise’s popularity. However, the film’s widespread acclaim also surprised many.
Despite its commercial triumph, the movie did not resonate with all critics, who offered a largely divided opinion. When the sequel, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” premiered, audiences again flocked to see the Mushroom Kingdom’s adventures. This time, however, critical reactions were even more severe.
Among those taken aback by this turn of events was Mario’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto. In an interview with NDW (as reported by Nintendo Patents Watch), he shared his thoughts:
“The circumstances are quite similar, aren’t they? I actually felt the criticisms of the first film were understandable. But I thought this time would be different… and it was even harsher than the last, which I found quite peculiar (laughs). People from different fields are coming in and working diligently to invigorate the film industry, so it’s truly strange that those trying to do so are met with such passivity.”
While Nintendo may not be overly concerned, given the film’s exceptional box office performance and its trajectory to potentially becoming the first billion-dollar film of 2026, it’s undoubtedly an unusual situation for Mario productions to receive such critical backlash.
English Translation:
Nobody was surprised by the crowds flocking to cinemas for the first Mario movie, produced by animation masters Illumination, who had previously gifted the world “Despicable Me” and the Minions. That said, many were somewhat taken aback by the film’s popularity.
However, it didn’t please everyone; movie critics, in particular, had their say, and opinions were very divided. When the sequel, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” first premiered, people once again rushed to cinemas to follow the Mushroom Kingdom’s adventures, but this time, the critics were even more incensed.
One of the individuals surprised by this situation is Mario’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto. In an interview with NDW (via Nintendo Patents Watch), he stated the following:
“The situations are similar, aren’t they? In fact, I thought the criticisms of the first film were understandable. But I thought this time it would be different… and it was even harsher than the last time, which I found strange (laughs). People from other genres come in and work hard to animate the film industry, so it’s really strange that people who are trying to animate the film industry are so passive.”
Nintendo is likely not too upset by this situation, even though it’s certainly not accustomed to Mario productions receiving low ratings, as the film is performing incredibly well at the box office and is well on its way to becoming the first film to gross over a billion dollars in 2026.