The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Summary

Podcast Summary: Pop Culture Happy Hour – The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Date: April 2, 2026
Host: Stephen Thompson
Guests: Ronald Young Jr., Jordan Morris
Theme: Evaluating whether the new "Super Mario Galaxy Movie" delivers more than nostalgia, and who it's really for—kids, die-hard Nintendo fans, or everyone in between.

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Episode Overview

In this episode, the Pop Culture Happy Hour team dives into the high-anticipated "Super Mario Galaxy Movie," sequel to the billion-dollar "Super Mario Bros. Movie." The conversation centers on whether the film provides genuine entertainment or just an endless string of references for Nintendo fans. Guests Ronald Young Jr. and Jordan Morris, both seasoned pop culture commentators, discuss the film’s strengths, shortcomings, and the nature of adapting video game logic for the big screen.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Who Is This Movie For?

• Jordan Morris’ Take: The film’s primary audiences are children and adult Nintendo superfans, which he humorously describes as "guys who look like me."

  “There are two ideal audiences for this movie. One, one is eight-year-olds. The second is guys who look like me.” – Jordan Morris [03:48]

• Stephen’s Position: Feels the film is less accessible if you’re not deep into Mario/Nintendo lore; many jokes are lost if you’re only "Mario-adjacent."

  “As somebody who's always been more adjacent to the Nintendo universe than immersed in it, it left me cold.” – Stephen Thompson [06:50]

• Ronald’s View: The movie is so packed with joyful references that even casual fans can recognize when something’s significant based on audience reaction.

2. Is It a Movie or Just Easter Eggs?

• The hosts debate whether the film functions as a coherent story or simply a string of game references.
• Jordan’s self-aware appreciation:

  “Is it a movie or is it just a bunch of Easter eggs strung together? Who's to say? But I was yucking it up and laughing the whole time and it all worked on me.” – Jordan Morris [04:03]

• Ronald notes ceiling for artistic merit:

  “That sets a ceiling on how air quote 'good' this movie can be.” – Ronald Young Jr. [05:04]

3. Plot and Structure

• Not a Character-Driven Story: The plot is described as "thin, bordering on non-existent." The focus is straightforward: save Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson), but with much less concern for narrative than visual and auditory references.
• The group credits the movie for not burdening itself with unnecessary exposition—it embraces video game logic where mushrooms make you big, portals just exist, and explanations are unnecessary.

  “I think there's a more studio note-y version of these where you get a 10 minute exposition dump … and I think they did the smart thing of just saying if you're in this movie, you, you know, a mushroom makes Mario big, so when he gets it, he gets big on with the movie.” – Jordan Morris [09:06]

4. The Value (and Limits) of Fan Service

• While everyone agrees the references are fun, Stephen questions whether a film can "just" be fan service, or if it needs more substance, especially for non-super fans.
• Ronald points out that some criticisms say it isn’t “faithful” enough, but pushes back, noting the source material is simple and whimsical, not deep lore.
• The group laughs acknowledging that demanding more plot or backstory isn't really the point.

  “We're not talking about, like, the origin of like who his father or a mother was ... we're just talking about how he throws the fireballs or why he throws the fireballs. ... No, you just weren't having enough joy in here.” – Ronald Young Jr. [11:30]

5. Characters and Voice Acting

• The hosts praise Jack Black’s Bowser, highlighting his comedic timing and vocal presence.

  “Jack Black as Bowser is so good. He's so funny. You know, he can just juice a line with natural Jack Blackness, and it's great.” – Jordan Morris [12:49]

• Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) is given more agency and fun moments, while Mario is more of a cipher, simply moving from set piece to set piece.
• Benny Safdie as Bowser Jr. is called a "weird choice," but committed.
• Donald Glover as Yoshi and Issa Rae as Honey Queen get shoutouts for memorable but brief vocal roles.
• Ensemble cast for the win: More Luigi, Yoshi, Toad, and more.

6. Music, Score, and Soundtrack

• The music by Brian Tyler is a highlight—not just referencing game motifs, but adding humor and energy, sometimes compensating for thin scripting.

  “I do really want to shout out Brian Tyler's score because that is a source of a lot of jokes that I think the script maybe isn't strong enough to bother with.” – Stephen Thompson [15:04]

• The film reduces pop "needle drops" compared to the first movie, which the hosts appreciate.

7. Accessibility for Newcomers

• No need to see the first film: Anyone who knows “Mario exists” can follow the plot.

  “If you have not seen the first one, you do not have to see the first one to watch this movie. All you have to do is know who Mario is. And I'd step a level down and say, know that Mario exists and you can watch this and they'll tell you everything you need to know.” – Ronald Young Jr. [17:52]

• The film introduces side characters (like Rob the robot) in ways that newcomers can find funny even if they miss the reference.

8. Final Impressions and Takeaways

• The film’s "ceiling" is set by the limits of what a Mario movie needs to be: engaging, visually fun, and dense with joyful references—not necessarily deep or meaningful.
• The ensemble approach lets various characters get enjoyable moments.
• There’s an acknowledgment that demanding a “serious” or “grown-up” plot from a Mario film may miss the point.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jordan Morris’ playful self-diagnosis:

  “It is someone who wants you to buy something or get out of their comic book store.” [04:03]

• On adapting video game logic:

  “I think it's a pretty bold choice to just say this movie has video game logic and not to try and like ground it in something. ... You just get this weirdo thing that's for nobody and now you have a thing that is for 8-year-olds and Jordan Morris.” – Jordan Morris [09:20]

• On the thin plot:

  “The plot is thin, bordering on non-existent.” – Stephen Thompson [06:27]

• On being a fun fan-service vehicle:

  “When we walk into a Mario movie, we should feel joy and happiness and we shouldn't think too much about the plot.” – Ronald Young Jr. [15:25]

• Joking about possible dark "Duck Hunt Dog" spin-off:

  “Mads Mikkelsen, the voice of the dog.” – Jordan Morris [08:14]
  “Michael Shannon, the voice of one of the ducks.” – Jordan Morris [08:17]

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Important Timestamps

| Time | Segment | |---------|-----------------------------------------------------------| | 02:42 | Recap of cast, plot premise, and recurring characters | | 03:48 | Jordan Morris’ “two audiences” take | | 06:23 | Critique of plot thinness and reliance on nostalgia | | 09:06 | Debating game logic vs. narrative exposition | | 12:49 | Discussion on voice acting, Jack Black/Bowser praise | | 14:46 | Musical choices—less needle drops, great score | | 17:52 | Ronald: “You don’t need to see the first movie!” |

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Conclusion

The hosts agree: the "Super Mario Galaxy Movie" is best judged on entertainment and fun rather than narrative complexity or depth. If you're a lifelong Nintendo fan (or a kid), you'll love it for the references and affectionate details. If you're looking for character development, clever original jokes, or a complex story, you may feel left out. Still, it's a high-energy, joyful treat for the right audience.

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Recommendation:

• Go for the nostalgia, stay for the exuberant voice acting and art direction. Don’t expect a plot-driven or daringly original movie: this is Mario as popcorn entertainment, plain and simple.

Transcript

[NPR Sponsor Announcer]

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[Stephen Thompson]

You are listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour, the podcast that keeps you apprised of the latest and greatest in movies, tv, music and more. If you're a pop culture junkie who's not following the show yet, we are recommending you fix that right right now by following Pop Culture Happy Hour on your favorite podcast app. Now onto the show. The Super Mario Galaxy movie is the ultimate piece of fan service. It's full of references to games, scenes and sounds from various Nintendo properties, which helps make it both a successful brand extension and an exercise in nostalgia for anyone who's plugged in a Mario game. It's a sequel to the Super Mario Bros. Movie, which made more than a billion dollars worldwide. It brings back Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Bowser for a new outer space adventure that brings in other characters from the Nintendo Cinematic Universe, including Yoshi Bowser Jr. And a few surprises. I'm Stephen Thompson and today we are talking about the Super Mario Galaxy Movie on Pop Culture Happy Hour from npr.

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[Ronald Young Jr.]

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[Stephen Thompson]

Joining me today is Ronald Young Jr. He's the host of the film and television review podcast Leaving the Theater. Hey Ronald.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

Hello Stephen Thompson.

[Stephen Thompson]

Also with us is Jordan Morris. He's a podcaster and the co writer of the upcoming Marvel comic series the Amazing Spider Versity. Hey Jordan.

[Jordan Morris]

Hi, it's a me. Let's a go.

[Stephen Thompson]

One of us had to do it. If you had 1 minute and 30 seconds or however long it's been in the pool. Jordan is the winner. So it took decades for Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. Video game franchise to produce a hit movie spinoff. But in 2023, they finally pulled it off with the Super Mario Bros. Movie. That film starred Chris Pratt as Mario, Jack Black as Bowser, Anya Taylor Joy as Princess Peach, and Charlie Day as Luigi. Now the cast returns for a new movie inspired by the Super Mario Galaxy games. In the Super Mario Galaxy movie, Princess Rosalina, played by Brie Larson, is kidnapped and dispatched to outer. Bowser is at least tentatively reformed, but his journey is complicated by the arrival of his son Bowser Jr. Who's hell bent on following in his father's nefarious footsteps. He's played by Benny Safdie. But the plot is honestly secondary to the many Nintendo references which pop up everywhere on screen and in Brian Tyler's score. It's in theaters now. Jordan, I'm gonna start with you. What did you think of the Super Mario Galaxy movie?

[Jordan Morris]

Yeah, I think there are two ideal audiences for this movie. One, one is eight year olds. The second is guys who look like me. As a guy who looks like me,

[Stephen Thompson]

you do fall into at least one of those categories.

[Jordan Morris]

I was having a blast the whole time. I know you can't see me. This is an audio program. So just to give a little sense of my vibe, it is someone who wants you to buy something or get out of their comic book store. I have played Nintendo basically my whole life. This movie, is it a movie or is it just a bunch of Easter eggs strung together? Who's to say? But I was yucking it up and laughing the whole time and it all worked on me. I understand that this movie has some weak points. Some things that it does well, some things that it does not so well. But fun factor, very high on this one for me.

[Stephen Thompson]

Okay. How about you, Ronald?

[Ronald Young Jr.]

I mean, Jordan, nailed it. Because this movie is hard to critique because I'm having so much fun. I have such joy with the references and the way in which they're depicting the characters. I could just watch Donald Glover make sounds as Yoshi. I could have watched that for another 90 minutes.

[Stephen Thompson]

You may get your chance.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

I probably will, right?

[Jordan Morris]

Everybody's getting a spin off.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

Yeah, you might as well at this point. I mean, like, I feel like I walked into the movie, I wanted to have a good time. I had a good time. I will say that sets a ceiling on how air quote good this movie can be. But I feel like because this movie did not burden itself with a bunch of backstory, we weren't in Brooklyn at all. I don't ever want to be in Brooklyn again for a Mario movie. I only want to be in the Mushroom Kingdom or in the Mario Galaxy, which this was. It jumps us straight into there. We have mushrooms, we have fire, we have all of the things that I want. So I can't really ask for anything else. But I know that the drawback to criticizing a movie like this is that of course there's problems, but I just.

[Stephen Thompson]

I don't.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

This wasn't gonna be Citizen Kane.

[Jordan Morris]

Disagree, disagree.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

But I'm just saying I want it to be the best children's movie. Slash, Ronald and Jordan referential movie that they could make. And I feel like they did that. They're probably gonna make another billion dollars.

[Stephen Thompson]

I mean, I do suspect they will probably make a billion dollars. I suspect they realized somewhere along the way that they were gonna make a billion dollars. Whether this movie was any good or not, as long as they string together enough references. And this movie feeds you references on top of references on top of references while still giving you a basic plot. We're trying to save a princess.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

I mean, the plot is thin. Like, you're right. The plot is very, very thin.

[Stephen Thompson]

The plot is thin, bordering on non existent. And honestly, I mean, there are points in this film where for me, as somebody who has always been more Mario adjacent than Mario immersed, I got a lot of references. My, my kids and my son in particular are Mario obsessives.

[Jordan Morris]

You're more of a Crash Bandicoot guy.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

More of a Sonic guy.

[Jordan Morris]

Oh, yeah, yeah, sure. There's Sonic guys, there's Mario guys.

[Stephen Thompson]

I mean, I will say at one point I was working on a script around this, I was referring to visual and Sonic references and realized that I had to change that because it was gonna sound like references to Sonic, who is not in this film. But for me, as somebody who's always been more adjacent to the Nintendo universe than immersed in it, it left me cold. There were many times in this film where it felt like a playthrough more than a movie. I wanted jokes that were not just references to Mario properties. At the same time, several particularly visual gags referring to kind of especially vintage Nintendo made me laugh out loud. There were several points in this film, and I'm not gonna spoil them, where you get some sort of visual callback or just callback in general to some like, kind of obscure Nintendo property 1983. That completely worked on me. And honestly, like, if you've played Super Smash Bros, you're gonna get those references because Nintendo has always been endlessly self referential and has always kind of kept those vintage characters alive. I mean, the duck hunt dog, as far to my knowledge, does not appear in this film. But if he did, you would know who he was.

[Jordan Morris]

He's getting a peacock series.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

It's actually a gritty reboot. I don't know if you saw that, Jordan.

[Jordan Morris]

Yeah, yeah, very gritty.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

Came from the streets.

[Jordan Morris]

Mads Mikkelsen, the voice of the do.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

I can't wait to see it.

[Jordan Morris]

Michael Shannon, the voice of one of the ducks.

[Stephen Thompson]

You degenerates would totally watch that show.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

100%. I'm gonna give it a shot. Watch a couple episodes, Steven. Don't be judgy.

[Jordan Morris]

Not all in one weekend. Let's spread it out. Yeah. I think the thing you're saying is like one of the big strengths of these movies is like they look so cool. And the decision they made not to just try and replicate the look of the games, but the logic of the games, I think that is genius. Like Mario gets a mushroom and he gets big because that' what happens to Mario. I think there's a more studio note y version of these where you get a 10 minute exposition dump on why the mushroom makes him big. And well, you see, there's parallel universes and there's enzymes.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah, we need people to stop and explain the lore.

[Jordan Morris]

Right, Exactly. I think that's the bad version of this movie. And I think they did the smart thing of just saying if you're in this movie, you, you know, a mushroom makes Mario big, so when he gets it, he gets big on with the movie.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

Right.

[Jordan Morris]

I like that about it. I think it's a pretty bold choice to just say this movie has video game logic and not to try and like ground it in something. I think that's how you get the Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo version that we got in the early 90s.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

Yes.

[Jordan Morris]

Trying to like adapt Mario logic to some sort of real world thing. You know, you just get this weirdo thing that's for nobody and now you have a thing that is for 8

[Stephen Thompson]

year olds and Jordan Morris for 8

[Jordan Morris]

year olds and me. Yeah.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

Yeah. You know what though, Steven? Like, I feel like I want to back you up for a second. I think you're right. I think there are criticisms I don't like about this film already, but I feel like yours are valid to say that you walked in and said, oh, it's just all references and I'm only Mario adjacent. I am closer than Mario adjacent. Meaning I've played a large chunk of Mario in my life. Right now, I'm exclusively playing Mario Kart. I have not played through Mario Galaxy. I've not played through Mario Galaxy 2. I don't play Paper Mario, any of those other ones. But I could recognize when a reference is happening based on the audience response to it. And I could say, ah, that's a thing. And kind of see it or not see it. What I would say is there's, like, three levels of that. The first level is people like us who know Mario know what the reference is. The second level is people who are, like, a little bit Mario adjacent but not quite immersed in Mario. Like me, where it's like, I know maybe 70% of these references, right?

[Stephen Thompson]

I got that reference.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

Yeah. But then there was people that recognized a certain weapon in the film. And I remember thinking, I don't know why people are reacting. I don't know what that is. And I just remember at that moment being like, oh, maybe I'm not as immersed in this as I thought until they show what the weapon does. And then I said, oh, that's why y' all all had the reaction that you had. I don't think it's unfair for you to say, who is this movie for? Is it for, like, the hardcore Jordan Morrises? You know what I mean?

[Jordan Morris]

Wait, am I now shorthand for nerd?

[Ronald Young Jr.]

You said it yourself, Jordan.

[Stephen Thompson]

Honestly, Jordan, part of you. Isn't that the dream? Isn't that the dream?

[Jordan Morris]

I mean, I get it. So you're not wrong.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

You are the proto nerd.

[Jordan Morris]

I'll take it. Honestly, I'll take it.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

I think your concerns are valid, Steven, is all I'm saying.

[Jordan Morris]

Yeah, they are. Yeah.

[Stephen Thompson]

Ronald, can I ask you before we go any further, can I ask you what criticisms of this movie are you hearing?

[Ronald Young Jr.]

Well, yes, because they're basically saying that it's not faithful enough to the source material. And I wouldn't be like, the source material is a plumber who goes to the mushroom kingdom to, like, eat a fire plant and now can shoot fireballs. We're not talking about Marvel here. This isn't like. We're not talking about, like, the origin of, like, who his father or a mother was, any of that. We're just talking about how he throws the fireballs or why he throws the fireballs. But I feel like people were critiquing it and marking it down based on it not being close enough to the source material to that. I'm like, no, you just weren't having enough joy in here. And those are people who are even more sticklers than the Jordan Morrises, you know what I mean? Where even Jordan would be like, hey, that's a little too stringent for me, Fred. Get out of my comic book store. For a different reason.

[Jordan Morris]

Closed. I'm going to lunch. Here's this good sequel choice I think they made. I think they realized that maybe Mario, this Mario is maybe not the most interesting character in this world. I think this movie is maybe more of a Bowser movie or a Peach movie. I think they have the big journeys. They have the coolest set pieces. And, you know, I think this movie's. The voice acting in this movie is all over the map.

[Stephen Thompson]

All over the map. I'm glad you brought this up.

[Jordan Morris]

There's some great performances and some where you can hear the paycheck getting cashed. I think we would all agree. Jack Black as Bowser is so good. He's so funny. You know, he can just juice a line with natural Jack blackness, and it's great. One of the things of this movie, kind of part of Bowser's journey, is he has a little section of the movie where he's reformed and kind of trying not to be evil and kind

[Stephen Thompson]

of a redemption arc for Bowser.

[Jordan Morris]

Yeah. And I think they were really smart in giving the big story stuff to, like, Bowser and Peach, and I think Peach is really cool in this movie. Enya Taylor Joy is one of the going for it voice actors that's doing a nice job. And. Yeah, I don't know. I kind of like that they got so much story and Mario, you know, is there and he bops stuff and he.

[Stephen Thompson]

Mario is a cipher. He's just kind of. You mostly see him just kind of going from place to place, trying not to get killed.

[Jordan Morris]

Yeah. And I think the sweaty stuff from the first movie is like trying to create a character and a journey for Mario. And I think they did an okay job, but in this one, they're just like, yeah, I don't know. He shoots fire. It's fine. And then they kind of give the meatier stuff to Peach and Bowser, who I think are really fun to spend time with. Yeah.

[Stephen Thompson]

I mean, I think it's always tricky when you're trying to kind of graft personalities onto characters who are mostly ciphers in video games. I think that's always a challenge. And Bowser is always going to be a juicier character because Bowser is always playing to the rafters in both the games and in the movies. Plus, it's Jack Black, who can do this kind of stuff in his sleep. I was actually surprised they didn't trust to create a new kind of viral Peaches song.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

The music came on.

[Jordan Morris]

Oh, yeah.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

They set it up and then it stopped. You heard that, like, there's a point where the music comes and you think it's coming and then it just goes away. And I remember thinking, oh, that's. I thought they were gonna do it again and they didn't.

[Jordan Morris]

Yeah. More musical numbers for Bowser in the next one. I think we all want that, right?

[Ronald Young Jr.]

Maybe.

[Stephen Thompson]

But I did appreciate fewer needle drops.

[Jordan Morris]

Me too.

[Stephen Thompson]

This is not a very needle drop movie. Cause I think that took people out of the first film and they clearly took that note.

[Jordan Morris]

Yeah. And I think the music is great. And as you like, just full of little references to the game music again, you know, Is it a soundtrack? Is it a collection of Easter eggs?

[Ronald Young Jr.]

Amazing. Yes.

[Jordan Morris]

Who's to say?

[Stephen Thompson]

But that's a great place to stash Easter eggs. And I do really want to shout out Brian Tyler's score because that is a source of a lot of jokes that I think the script maybe isn't strong enough to bother with. But that really adds a layer of enjoyment for the eight year olds and Jordan Morrises. Yeah.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

I think for me, this movie is. It's not quite Easter egg salad. Yeah, yeah. It's getting there. You know what I mean? It's not far from it. But I think part of that is when we walk into a Mario movie, we should feel joy and happiness and we shouldn't think too much about the plot. Like, I feel like it was a bonus that we went to the Barbie movie and left having joy and happiness and thinking about the plot. But I feel like with this, I don't necessarily want to be thinking about the Mario Galaxy plot later. Which is why I say there's a ceiling to this. Even now when we're saying that the plot is thin, I guess what conversation will we be having if the plot was thicker? You know what I mean? If there was more there, would we be like, oh, my God, it's not just a video game movie. Mario goes and overthrows the Bowser Empire and we have to rise. Like, I don't know if that's what we need for.

[Stephen Thompson]

For this. This film really made me think about infrastructure.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

Exactly. And capitalism.

[Stephen Thompson]

You know what I mean?

[Jordan Morris]

I mean, at its core, it's about trauma.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

It's a movie about grief. Like, we're really talking about grief here. You know what I mean? Like, I don't think we necessarily need that. But I feel like for what we saw, this isn't even one of those things where I turned my brain off to enjoy the movie. My brain was active and I enjoyed the movie. And I think it was all the reasons you said they gave me Less Mario, more Luigi, threw in some Yoshi, which makes them all kind of one mega character where we're getting bits of all of them. More Toad, which is also nice. And then a lot of peach and a lot of Bowser and more Bowser Jr. It's an ensemble movie. What more can you do in a sequel?

[Jordan Morris]

You know, I should say Benny Safdie, part of the A24, directing brothers as Bowser Jr. As Bowser Jr. It is such a weird choice, and I don't know that he's the best choice for this. I will say he went for it. That was a person I would maybe expect to do the phone in one take, paycheck, cash performance. Is there a better person for that out there?

[Stephen Thompson]

Perhaps.

[Jordan Morris]

But I think he really went for it and was there. And I think he and Jack Black were a fun pair together.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah. And as you've already acknowledged, you have Donald Glover as Yoshi, who just says Yoshi.

[Jordan Morris]

I think we should also mention that that is.

[Stephen Thompson]

It's not a ton of line readings.

[Jordan Morris]

Yes.

[Stephen Thompson]

You have Issa Rae turns up as Honey Queen.

[Jordan Morris]

Oh, yeah. She was funny. That was a funny little kind of like one scene. Very chewy performance.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

Yeah.

[Stephen Thompson]

Were there any additions in this film that jumped out at you? I, for one, as an old guy, did appreciate the presence of Rob, a very early Nintendo robot.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

It was funny. I didn't know the Rob reference, but it was still funny. But it kind of brings me to my main point, which is, if you have not seen the first one, you do not have to see the first one to watch this movie. All you have to do is know who Mario is. And I'd step a level down and say, know that Mario exists and you can watch this and they'll tell you everything you need to know.

[Jordan Morris]

Know the title of the film before you see it. Right.

[Stephen Thompson]

You have to know that those flickering images on the screen represent characters that the audience knows.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

Correct. That's it.

[Stephen Thompson]

That's the information you need to have going into this film entire prime. All right, well, that brings us to the end of our show. Jordan Morris, Ronald Young, Jr. Thanks so much for being here.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

Thanks for having me.

[Jordan Morris]

Yeah. This is a blast. Thank you.

[Stephen Thompson]

This episode was produced by Hafsa Fathoma and Mike Katsif and edited by our showrunner Jessica Reedy. Hello. Come in. Provides our theme music. Thank you for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from npr. If you are not already following the show, please do that right now. I'm Stephen Thompson and we will see you all next time.

[Ronald Young Jr.]

This message comes from Great Wolf Lodge, where there's family fun all under one roof, including an indoor water park, attractions, dining and more. With 22 lodges across the country, you're

[Stephen Thompson]

only a short drive away from adventure.

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