Super Mario Galaxy MovieCredit: NintendoIt’s pretty common these days to see a critic / audience split on Rotten Tomatoes, where one group adores something and the other doesn’t. We see this a lot with artsier movies. Critics love them. Audiences think they’re too long or boring. Niche stuff could go either way. A lot of times you also see movies or shows with political undertones or overt messaging that might please the bulk of critics, but alienates half the fanbase (see, for example, Disney’s failed Star Wars series, The Acolyte, which somehow managed to get 79% with critics, but just 19% with audiences).Video game movies often fall flat with critics and, quite frankly, a lot of them fall flat with audiences also. There are so many bad adaptations of video games that at one point it was referred to as a “curse.” Some video game adaptations have impressed critics while angering fans, such as Season 2 of The Last Of Us.Season 1 actually got stellar reviews from critics (96%) and fans (86%) despite controversies around casting choices. But Season 2, while only dipping 4% with critics, capsized with fans, crashing to just 37% on RT. I was one of the few critics who really intensely disliked the second season.Now The Super Mario Galaxy movie is out and we have another major critic/fan divide. As of this writing, the film has a very rotten 40% score, while 90% of audiences give it a thumbs up. That’s far from the most massive split we’ve seen – The Acolyte divide was higher – but it’s still a big gap.MORE FOR YOUInterestingly, both critics and fans liked the first Mario movie more, with 59% of critics positive and 95% of audiences.I don’t think there are any political reasons for this one, and I honestly think it’s less about it being a video game movie and more about it being a kids movie that’s made for kids first and foremost. Critics tend to really like cerebral kids movies like Pixar’s Toy Story franchise or animated movies that have enough adult humor to parents invested. That’s a pretty reasonable criteria for adult reviewers, but of course when you take your kid to a movie that they really enjoy, you’re more likely to enjoy it and have positive feelings about it. Like some other big family tentpole films, such as The Minecraft Movie – 47%/84% on RT – this one is a crowdpleaser for its target audience, and ultimately that matters more than pleasing critics.Be sure to check out my streaming guide for all the best new movies and TV shows out this weekend on streaming and in theaters.Have you watched The Super Mario Galaxy Movie yet? What did you and/or your kids think? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.