The Super Mario Galaxy Movie finally has an official runtime that breaks an Illumination record, and yet spells trouble for the sequel. Only three years after the Universal-owned animation studio brought the Mushroom Kingdom to life in its highest-grossing movie to this day, the beloved Nintendo franchise is back. Chris Pratt's Mario and Charlie Day's Luigi will finally befriend Yoshi and reunite with Anya Taylor-Joy's Princess Peach and Keegan-Michael Key's Toad for an adventure into outer space, where they face off with Bowser Jr., almost meeting Brie Larson's Princess Rosalina along the way.
Two months before The Super Mario Galaxy Movie arrives on April 1, NBCUniversal submitted the sequel to the EIDR (which tracks new entertainment releases) with a record-breaking runtime of 1 hour, 35 minutes (95 minutes).
The sequel's runtime is only three minutes longer than 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which came to theaters with a short and sweet 92-minute duration.
The runtime aligns with Illumination's standard of coming in just under 1.5 hours to appeal to its younger audiences. In fact, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has its third-highest runtime of the last decade, breaking the record for Illumination's longest movie outside the Sing franchise since 2013's Despicable Me 2:
- Despicable Me - 95 minutes
- Hop - 95 minutes
- The Secret Life of Pets - 86 minutes
- Sing - 108 minutes
- Despicable Me 3 - 90 minutes
- The Grinch - 86 minutes
- The Secret Life of Pets 2 - 86 minutes
- Sing 2 - 110 minutes
- Minions: The Rise of Gru - 87 minutes
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie - 92 minutes
- Migration - 83 minutes
- Despicable Me 4 - 94 minutes
- The Super Mario Galaxy Movie - 95 minutes
Why The Super Mario Galaxy Movie's Runtime Is a Risky Choice
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie's runtime is on the higher end for Illumination, landing on par with Despicable Me and Hop. But that's not to say it is anything close to perfect, as the 2023 original was widely criticized for its short runtime and how it limited the storyline, and the sequel is only three minutes longer.
The Mario flick received immense praise for capturing the essence of the over-40-year-old franchise, but many complained about its shallow plot, lack of character development, and constant jumping from scene to scene without time to breathe.
This year's sequel is expected to repeat a similar structure to its predecessor, trading out Mushroom World for a cosmic adventure across multiple familiar worlds. If Illumination isn't careful, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie may suffer the same issues and face criticism for another surface-level plot.
Fortunately, the studio will get another chance with its Nintendo-inspired franchise sooner rather than later, as Illumination is reportedly developing a Donkey Kong spin-off already, perhaps explaining the King of the Jungle's absence this year.
