Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow |Raising Children Network

Story

Legendary huntsman spider detective Inspector Sun (voice of Ronny Chieng) has just captured the evil Red Locust (voice of Rich Orlow). Unfortunately, this lucky arrest led to countless officers being injured, so Inspector Sun finds himself out of a job. He misses a flight to the United States, and an old friend invites him to fly on a plane bound for San Francisco.

When Bugsy (voice of Scott Greer), a former employee of the Red Locust, is brutally murdered and his new wife, a black widow spider named Arabella (voice of Jennifer Childs Greer), is framed, Inspector Sun must get to the bottom of what has happened.

With a plane full of potential suspects, thousands of missing ants and rumours of a monster that can suck the life out of anyone, Inspector Sun needs all the help he can get. A clever jumping spider named Janey (voice of Emily Klemo), desperate to be his assistant, is more useful than she’s given credit for.

Can Sun and Janey work together to stop the Red Locust from creating a swarm of mutant monsters, or will they perish in the process?

Themes

Crime; genetic mutations; greed; power; revenge

Violence

Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow has some animated violence. For example:

Inspector Sun lands on a bird and uses his web to make it fly where he wants. When Inspector Sun lands on a policeman’s hat, the bird poos on Inspector Sun and the policeman.
Red Locust swears that death will come to anyone who stands in his way.
Red Locust asks Inspector Sun about his missing leg and calls him a walking buffet, implying that he was the one who ate Inspector Sun’s leg.
Inspector Sun inadvertently blows up a fireworks factory while arresting Red Locust. Numerous insect officers are injured in the massive explosion. They’re later shown with broken arms and legs.
A character slaps another in the face, and a pen hits someone in the eye.
Arabella punches her husband in the head.
Janey explains that Red Locust’s swarm destroyed her entire family, leaving only her alive.
Bugsy is shown dead, trapped in a web that isn’t his own. He’s missing a leg and has been hollowed out, sucked dry on the inside.
Inspector Sun pours hot tea on a character and then drops his cup and saucer on the character’s head.
A robust, oval-shaped creature with terrible pincers punches, bites and tries to strangle Inspector Sun. Janey intervenes and the creature, later shown to be a glob termite, explodes, leaving gooey remnants all over the cabin.
A character is knocked out and a woman is knocked over.
Arabella bites Inspector Sun and scares Janey with her fangs.
It’s mentioned that Inspector Sun’s wife was killed in a burglary gone wrong.
An assassin bug is sucked out of a room and his brittle shell of a body is tossed aside.
There are rumours of a terrifying monster that sucks the life out of people.
Janey and Arabella are hung out of a window by their necks as a character tries to push them out of the plane. They start falling but manage to cling to the outside of the plane with webs.
A character spins herself into a cocoon and explodes.
A monster bug is about to eat an ant but a web engulfs it. Thousands of ants are shown lying unconscious.
Red Locust tells his monster creation to eat a barking dog.
Arabella bites the monster, but it’s immune to her poison.
Red Locust and his swarm free criminals from Alcatraz. Many of the criminals look sinister and dangerous, with glass eyes and scars.
The captain of the plane is hit with a magazine.
Red Locust kicks Inspector Sun in the face, and Sun and Janey fall through the air.
Red Locust and Inspector Sun fight each other, hitting, wrestling, and knocking each other down. Inspector Sun uses an antenna to cut an S shape into the Red Locust’s bare backside.
Red Locust gets eaten by a fish and then escapes. He’s later swallowed whole.
A seagull tries to eat Inspector Sun and Janey.

Sexual references

Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow has some sexual references. For example:

While sitting in jail, Arabella seductively strokes her leg and puts on lipstick.
Inspector Sun looks longingly at Arabella. She’s a seductive character who has had numerous husbands.
Various male characters repeatedly refer to Arabella as ‘Toots’.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

There’s no use of substances in Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow.

Nudity and sexual activity

Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:

A character and his wife kiss passionately. There’s a lot of moaning and smooching sounds.
Inspector Sun cuts the pants off Red Locust and engraves his initial across his backside.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow.

Coarse language

Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow has some mild coarse language and insults, including ‘jerk’, ‘moron’, ‘Toots’, ‘bozo’ and ‘merde’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow is an animated whodunnit with a diverse cast and a film-noir feel. The story has potential but there are gaps and discrepancies that are never explained, as well as some suggestive content. Although this seems to be a movie for children, it’s better suited to pre-teens and above.

The main messages from Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow are to believe in yourself and live up to your individual potential.

Values in Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow that you could reinforce with your children include teamwork, creativity, helpfulness, justice and persistence.

Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the importance of looking deeply at issues and not jumping to conclusions based on first impressions.