Movie Time! Critical Rejection: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)

It’s Calcopia’s Movie Time! Podcast! Listen as movie nerds Ethan Brehm and Nate Evans deep dive into their favorite films and cinematic scenes for your listening delight. Timed to celebrate 40 years of Super Mario Bros, we’re booting up Illumination and Nintendo’s The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the sequel to 2023’s blockbuster that signaled there was a new animation champion in Hollywood. For a character who started off in 1981’s Donkey Kong (when he was just a lowly carpenter), that’s quite an adventure. But critical reception has been much more divided this time around, which leads to an epic chat about whether so-so reviews matter for ready-made hits like this. Listen as the two plumb the deepest depths of the Mushroom Kingdom as they take on one of the year’s biggest blockbusters that may signal the arrival the Nintendo Cinematic Universe is upon us. You’ll also learn how Nintendo’s mascot owes most of his existence to Popeye, if Galaxy is really a Princess Peach origin story, if Fox McCloud really is the coolest dude, the undeniable comparisons of Nintendo to Disney (the company), and how even the most beloved franchises may have their limits.