HOLLYWOOD—I absolutely adored “The Super Mario Bros.” movie from 2023. It was my childhood relived as an adult. Why can I say that? I was a gamer and I played every entry in the Mario Bros. franchise from the very first installment released on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) back in 1985, to its sequel, and third installment. I know those games in and out. So the sequel, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is a fantastic time for the entire family.

You might ask, why I discuss those games, they have major important to hint in the movie. The kiddos watching this movie may not pick up on all those subtle hints from the iconic classics, but adults will, especially a focal point for “Super Mario Bros. 2” which is a forgotten gem if we’re being honest.

This sequel is just as satisfying as the original, which finds a new princess, Princess Rosalina (voice of Brie Larson) being captured by Bowser Jr. (voice of Benny Safdie), who is determined to reunite with his father and dominate the world. I loved the introduction of Bowser Jr. as the audience gets a slice of Bowser’s family. You might make the argument why this is important? Well, gamers know that Bowser has more than one child, he actually has 7.

If you ever played “Super Mario Bros. 3” on NES or “Super Mario World” on the SNES you know exactly what I’m talking about. The latter is the catalyst for the audience’s introduction to Yoshi (voice of Donald Glover). Yes, that dinosaur that eats everything that turns to an egg is a big source of comedy for this movie. The backstory we get for Yoshi that comes with the music of Notorious B.I.G. had me in stitches in the theater.

Yoshi joins Mario (voice of Chriss Pratt) and Luigi (voice of Charlie Day), as well as Princess Peach (voice of Anya Taylor-Joy) and Toad (voice of Keegan-Michael Key) on their quest to help the Lumas located Princess Rosalina who has a striking resemblance to Princess Peach.

Bowser is indeed hilarious as a pint-sized threat, who grapples with the notion of being good over evil, with a son hellbent on proving his undying loyalty to his father by creating Planet Bowser. It is quite the treat. What I found so enjoyable about “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is seeing all those iconic characters from the videogames on the big screen, and we have only scratched the surface. There are plenty of laughs that adults will get that kiddos won’t, but they will still enjoy the movie.

And if you think another sequel is possible, I will say it is all but guaranteed with the massive box-office debut the animated film had over the Easter holiday weekend. My head is already thinking with so many directions the next installment in the franchise can go.