After Watching The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, It Just Left Me Wishing It Was More Like The Sonic Sequels

Not too long ago, I wrote about how the Sonic movies should be studied. Do you know who I think should study the movies the most? Nintendo and Illumination. Because I'm sorry, but I thought The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was TERRIBLE.

And, before you say, well, what did you expect? Something Oscar-worthy? Of course not! I at least expected it to be as good as the first movie, which I loved, despite what the critics said. But no, all I could think about while watching this sequel was, when will this ever end?

I never once felt that way about any of the Sonic movies, though. So, here's why I wish (and hope) that future Mario movies are more like the Sonic sequels.

The Sonic Sequels Are A Lot More Focused, Plot-wise

In our review for the first movie, our very own Eric Eisenberg thought that The Super Mario Bros. Movie was pretty thin on plot, and was nothing more than Easter eggs, and…he wasn't entirely wrong. In fact, I liked that about the first movie. We got an introduction to the Mario Bros. and the Mushroom Kingdom, and I really enjoyed the Easter eggs. So, I didn't particularly agree with Eric’s feelings on that film.

However, I do agree with him in his review of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, as the plot feels even more like the characters are just going from Easter egg to Easter egg, and Illumination and Nintendo really didn't put much effort into developing these characters. For example, I genuinely feel like Yoshi doesn't even need to be here, and Mario almost becomes a secondary character in his own movie!

I never felt that way about the Sonic sequels. The plots got bigger for each one, but I don't feel like the stories were ever so jam-packed that I considered them a complete mess, as I do with this Mario sequel. And, I think it's because each Sonic movie is trying to tell an individual story - as they should. This Mario sequel, however, feels like it's trying to tell like five different stories, and none of them feel focused.

Again, I turn to the Sonic sequels. Are they the deepest, most engrossing narratives ever put to screen? Of course not! I would easily put at least the first two Sonic movies in a list of the best video game movies of all time with no hesitation, as their stories work. That's not something I can say about The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, though. This story is all over the place!

The Sonic Sequels Also Add In New Characters Gradually, And They Fit Into The Story

Honestly, if I feel bad for anybody when it comes to The Super Mario Galaxy film, it's Rosalina fans, because I'm sorry. Ya’ll got the shaft, because Rosalina is barely even in this film, which makes no sense! Wouldn’t you think that, since Rosalina debuted in Super Mario Galaxy, she would have a heavy presence in this movie? She doesn’t! It’s like she’s just added here for merchandise purposes, which shouldn’t be.

What about Yoshi? Why is he even here? Again, it’s likely for merchandising purposes, since the film would still work without him, which flies in the face of competent storytelling. If you’re going to introduce a new character, they should actually have a purpose for being there. In fact, do you know which character had a bigger role than Yoshi? Fox McCloud, and he’s not even IN the Super Mario universe. As I mentioned in my article about why I was disappointed with the lead-up to this film, I wish they had kept Fox’s cameo a secret. It wasn't JUST a cameo! He actually had a more important role than Yoshi. How?!

But, I digress. The Sonic sequels don’t run into this issue. The second movie added both Tails and Knuckles, and the film wouldn’t work without either of them, which is how it should be. As for the third movie, Shadow is integral to the story, and a lot of it centers around him coming to grips with his purpose in life.

So, why didn’t Illumination and Nintendo do that with this movie? Only Bowser Jr. really has a character arc, so why not just add him in this sequel? It seriously blows my mind.

The Sonic Sequels Also Feel Like They're Building Toward The Next Movie

Amy Rose is going to be in the next Sonic movie, and I’m stoked, because I LOVE Amy. So does my daughter, who literally said, “Finally!” at the post-credit scene to Sonic the Hedgehog 3. I have no worries that they’ll handle her introduction to the series well, because the third movie really built toward her introduction throughout the course of its storyline.

I really love that about the Sonic films, as each of them feels like they’re building toward the next movie. The sequels don’t just feel like cash grabs, but more like a progression of a larger narrative. I can’t say the same for these Mario movies, though, as the leap from the first film to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie doesn’t even make logical sense. Like, shouldn’t this movie have been The Super Mario World Movie? Yoshi’s egg was introduced in the post-credit scene of the first film, and Super Mario World would have been the next natural progression.

But, no. Straight to Galaxy, which still doesn’t make any sense to me. If anything, Galaxy should have been reserved for a third movie (Sonic took it to space in the third film), as there feels like there should have been another, full adventure in the Mushroom Kingdom before jettisoning the audience to space.

Maybe then, Yoshi would have gotten more time to shine rather than feeling like an afterthought. So again, I wish Illumination + Nintendo followed in Sonic’s footsteps and made the second movie feel like a natural progression. Because what’s next now? They obviously can’t go backward.

The Sonic Sequels Also Lean Into Nostalgia, But Not THIS Much

I brought up before how Eric complained about all of the Easter eggs in the first movie, and how I actually liked them. However, they become a real nuisance in this second movie. Before, the Easter eggs were really just in the background, which is fine; in this movie, I feel like it's nothing BUT Easter eggs.

I won’t spoil the film, but one of the characters I was most looking forward to seeing was Wart, since I consider him a deep cut Mario character. That said, his actual purpose in the film felt like it was just there for you to point and say, “Hey, that’s Wart! And there’s Birdo!” rather than him really being there for anything more than nostalgia purposes, which I found to be really annoying this time around.

Once again, the Sonic sequels don’t do this. As far as Easter eggs go, I’d say they’re a lot more tasteful. For example, in a key moment in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the Crush 40 song “Live and Learn” starts blasting, and it just made the moment so much cooler. In a lot of ways, that nostalgia felt EARNED.

This is why I look forward to Sonic the Hedgehog 4, and why I'm less than enthused for another Mario movie - Sonic puts story first, and nostalgia second, while this Mario sequel does the complete opposite. So, I hope the next Mario movie takes notes from the Sonic series. It’d help a lot!