It's about that time. No, not April 1, 2026, the release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. That's a little over a week away. It's time to examine the international age ratings of a film, because sometimes they tell us more than meets the eye.
The British Board of Film Classification has officially marked Mario's second big-screen outing (well, third, but you know) as 'PG', which is exactly where Illumination's 2023 predecessor fits in. The thing about the old BBFC is that they'll often go into details. They will do this in vague terms, rarely if ever citing actual characters. But given the excitement surrounding Rosalina's Hollywood debut, fans are wide-eyed at a few of these ratings leaks.
Laser blasters and displaced sisters
“Mild violence and threats.” This is where the BBFC came down with the hammer. Well, pretty typical stuff. But as the above Twitter user noted (and sites like Go Nintendo also caught wind), some key things stand out here. First, here's this. In the “violence” category, which is a two out of five on the parental awareness scale:
“Fight scenes include kicks, punches, laser shooting and the use of fantastic weapons. The violence is intense at times, but often includes comical moments. A brief verbal mention is decapitation.”
It's “laser shooting” that sticks out at people. This isn't the first time fans have speculated that Star Fox's existence in Mario's blossoming cinematic universe has been suggested; and there's no hard and fast rule that says only the iconic anthropomorphic fox and friends can shoot laser blasters. It's just that it all adds up at this point. And then there's this sad place under “topics” (one of five, if you're curious):
“Frequent very mildly disturbing scenes include flashbacks to the separation of a girl and her younger sister.”
Some are going crazy saying that this is proof that Peach and Rosalina were separated at an early age and that The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will confirm that they are long lost siblings. Hey. Maybe! Others think it's a reference to Mari and Lu, the twin Lumas introduced in last year's Super Mario Galaxy remaster + Super Mario Galaxy 2. That would provide more reasons for the new inclusion of Rosaline's storybook in these versions.
Personally, I'm guessing the latter. But people won't have to wait long to find out. Be that as it may, I want the movie to be decent!
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