After the success of ‘mummies‘, we can say without fear that Buenos Aires blows for Spanish animated films. That his latest films are perfectly comparable to those that come to us from the big North American studios and from other latitudes, such as Japan or France. That his works are dynamic, fresh, effective, ingenious and virtuous. That to the technical improvement is added a laudable expertise for the construction of plots and characters. That within the good run that our cinema is experiencing, cartoons begin to demand not just an epigraph, but a separate chapter.
As an example, the good artistic and commercial results of ‘Tadeo Jones 3. The Emerald Table’, once again directed by Enrique Gato for Lightbox Animation, based on an exemplary script by Manuel Burque and Josep Gatell. The immediate sympathy aroused by the buzzing co-production with the United Kingdom ‘Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow’, by Julio Soto Gurpide. The animation for adults, hooligan, polyhedral and personal of ‘Unicorn wars’, by Alberto Vázquez, recognized at the Goya. And, why not, even the outsider irreverence of ‘Gora Automatikoa’, by Esau Dharma, David Galán Galindo and Pablo Vara.
The length is signed by Juan Jesus Garcia Galochaartistic director of the ‘Tadeo Jones’ films, with a script written by Jordi Gasull and Javier López Barreira, trusted artists of Enrique Gato. It is natural, therefore, that the lightness and the sense of the spectacle of the films of the emulator of Indiana Jones pervade the new proposal, as well as that the technical virtuosity of those is repeated in this one.
‘Momias’ is a co-production made for a broad audience, which does not neglect the elderly, and which aspires to cross borders…in this regard, it is curious that the double meaning of its title, the play on words between “mummies” and “mothers”, is lost in the version for the Spanish market.
Inexhaustible rain of gadgets, references and jokes
The starting story is crazy but it is treated with enough faith in itself, a a good dose of a sense of adventure and an effective use of humor: an Egyptian city of mummies is located in the bowels of the earth and they enter our world when an unscrupulous explorer gets hold of a wedding ring.
The treatment drink a lot of disneyin the outline of the characters and in some musical numbers that may be scarce but that work perfectly and that have wonderful music from the usual Fernando Velazquez. It is worth noting, in this regard, what is undoubtedly the most successful sequence in the film: the fight during the theatrical show.
However, those responsible for ‘Momias’ are also close to the model dreamworks, to the devious and slight naïve irreverence of the sagas of ‘Shrek’, ‘Trolls’, ‘Kung-Fu Panda’, ‘The Croods’ and ‘Boss Baby’. This is especially noticeable in a modernization of the original model without losing respect for the sources and in a care and taste for detail, the use of hilarious gadgets as well as continuous jokes that refer to the mismatch of its protagonists with their new environment and historical anachronisms, always used with brilliance and ingenuity.
Apart from its musical references, the result makes one think of the impeccable Richard Quine musicals written by Blake Edwards, as well as the most joking and psychedelic Vincente Minnelli, all of which went through a blender where two of Hollywood’s Midas kings, Steven Spielberg and Walt Disney seem to play on the same team for the solace and joy of the little ones… and often, for the unexpected amusement of their slightly taller companions.
On the negative side, ‘Momias’ sometimes falls victim to an excessively frenetic pace, which sometimes overwhelms the plot itself and works to patch minor inconsistencies in the script. Similarly, the main characters, while functional, are reduced to mere stick figures and perhaps would have needed some layer of complexity. Its resolution, likewise, is somewhat hasty, but it is also true that it leaves a good taste in the mouth.
In any case, the result works, is always lighter than bulky despite its achieved and sought-after spectacularity, and this is already excellent news for Spanish animation. Just look at the results at the box office: in the week of its premiere, ‘Mummy’ rose to number 1, surpassing ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’, the latest Marvel blockbuster. already considered the best Spanish premiere of the year, in the same way that it is reaching millionaire figures in Australia, Russia, France or Germany. Virtues are not lacking.
In Espinof | The best animated movies of 2022
More in Espinof | The best Spanish films of 2022