188. Mummies; movie review

 

MUMMIES

Cert U

85 mins

BBFC advice: Contains very mild comic violence, threat, sex references, language

How old do children have to be before they can truly appreciate a movie such as Mummies?

As a soon-to-be grandad, I mused over this question as I watched Juan Jesús García Galocha's animation.

Set in the Pyramids, it surely would require at least a modicum of knowledge about ancient Egypt.

It goes further in linking the movie to the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb back in the 1920s and the role of the British.

Could young kids recognise the British flag or that England's capital is London?

I digress. Hugely.

Hugh Bonneville voices the bungling villain of Mummies - an Egyptologist called Lord Carnaby, possibly a lampoon on the ill-fated Lord Carnarvon.

During an expedition, he trips on evidence that there is a secret city of living mummies.

There we find Thut (Joe Thomas), a famous chariot racer who has lost his confidence after a crash, and feisty Princess Nefer (Eleanor Tomlinson) who are unexpectedly and reluctantly betrothed.

When the two worlds cross, the action begins and the pair have to work together.

Mummies is a knockabout fun animation with a well-worn recipe of a hero and heroine who gradually fall in love, a dopey villain and ill-equipped henchmen.

Being against a combo of ancient Egypt and modern-day Britain adds an offbeat element.

But will younger kids get it?

It won't be too long before I find out.

Reasons to watch: Knockabout animated fun

Reasons to avoid: Slim storyline

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know?  The belief in a curse on anyone who opens a mummy's tomb was brought to wide attention due to the deaths of a few members of Howard Carter's team and other prominent visitors to the tomb of Tutankhamun after it was discovered in 1922.

The final word. Juan Jesús García Galocha: 'There is a story for children and also another reading for parents, so both will like it."

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