Story
In the land of the living-dead, Thut (voice of Óscar Barberán) is a champion chariot racer. One day, his opponents attach spikes to their wheels and send his chariot flying, leaving Thut hurt and afraid to get back into a chariot. Thut’s path crosses with Princess Nefer (Ana Esther Alborg) when she nearly knocks him down on her horse. The two have a heated confrontation. The Princess returns to her palace to find out that her father, the Pharaoh (Sean Bean), has decided it’s time for her to marry. Thut is chosen to be her husband. Neither of the two is happy with the plan but Thut is given the family engagement ring to keep safe until the wedding day.
In the after-world, the lives of the Mummies are seriously disrupted when a nefarious archaeologist, Lord Carnaby (Hugh Bonneville), bulldozes his way into their protected environment looking for treasure. He and his two stooges are excited to find the valuable ring but even more excited to find Nefer herself. They kidnap her and take her into the land of the living, where they keep her locked up in a glass exhibition space. Thut and his younger brother, Sacerdote (Roberto Cuenca Martínez), chase after the villains, mainly to recover the ring. They find themselves in the city of London and are baffled by the present-day experience. In the process of finding the ring, they also rescue Nefer and the three have quite an adventure trying to find their way back home. In the process, Thut and Nefer fall in love.
Themes
Ancient Egypt; mummies; heroes and villains.
Violence
Mummies has some slapstick violence. This is done for laughs. For example:
- The two stooges often fight each other. Carnaby also hits them, bashes their heads together and calls them all sorts of names.
- Sacerdote throws a boomerang that hits the phoenix, which then crash lands into their home.
- Sacerdote has a pet crocodile that bites Thut on the leg.
- In the living world, Thut and Sacerdote are nearly run over by cars on the road. They get inside a jeep and when it stops suddenly, they are sent flying and seen splattered against the wall of the vehicle.
- Sacerdote accidentally drops a heavy metal box on Thut instead of the villains.
- Carnaby’s mother hits him over the head.
- Sacerdote’s pet crocodile bites one of the stooges in the crotch (not actually shown but shown off-screen).
- There is a car chase between a car and a bus, in which the car ends up in the River Thames.
Mummies has some other violence. For example:
- The chariot race is quite violent. One rider gets knocked off his chariot, which overturns. Two nasty characters trap Thut’s chariot on either side and crush him between them. They have spikes on their wheels but Thut manages to get through and the two crash together. Thut’s chariot also overturns and he’s thrown out of it.
- Thut is knocked over by Princess Nefer’s horse. She’s thrown off and lands on top of him.
- Thut is told that if he loses the engagement ring and if he refuses the marriage, he will have his tongue cut off and his eyes plucked out.
- Carnaby shoots Nefer with sleeping darts. He kidnaps her and when she wakes up her vision is blurry and she finds herself chained to a bed.
- Thut and another character called Ed are also shot with sleeping darts.
- Carnaby arrives in the after-world with a bulldozer and crashes into everything. He destroys a lot of property; fires break out; and Carnaby kidnaps the Pharaoh. Nefer jumps through the fire to rescue her dad. She punches Carnaby. Thut comes to the rescue, grabbing Nefer and racing off in his chariot. Carnaby chases after them and pushes into the chariot. Carnaby and Thut physically fight, Carnaby has Thut by the throat when the vehicle goes over a cliff.
Sexual references
Mummies has some sexual references. For example:
- Carnaby has a strange relationship with his mother, whom he calls, ‘Mummy’. She often calls him on the phone and he always comes at her beck and call.
- A woman sits very close to Thut and flirts shamelessly with him.
- Thut and Nefer kiss.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Mummies has some substance use. For example:
- Under the influence of the sleeping darts, Nefer and Thut appear drunk. They tell each other they love each other and kiss.
- Ed also appears drunk after being shot with the darts.
Nudity and sexual activity
There’s no nudity and sexual activity in Mummies.
Product placement
Mummies has some product placement. The following products are displayed or used in this movie: EgyptAir, Star Alliance, ‘Parrots’ (Harrods) and ‘Snackers’ (Snickers).
Coarse language
There is some coarse language in this movie, including ‘shut up’, ‘fart’, and ‘jeez’. Name calling includes ‘nitwits’, ‘genius’, ‘idiots’, ‘stupid’, ‘morons’, ‘blithering idiots’, ‘fools’ and imbeciles.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Mummies is an animated adventure comedy about the real-world colliding with the after-world. It’s quite funny but there are some scary scenes and quite a lot of violence, although most of this is done for laughs. The film is therefore not suitable for children aged under 5 years and parental guidance is recommended for children aged 5–7 years.
The main messages from Mummies are to overcome your fears, and to follow your dreams.
Values in Mummies that you could reinforce with your children are bravery, courage and heroism.
Mummies could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-world attitudes. For example, why some people are so ruthless that they’re prepared to destroy anyone or anything to get fame and recognition.