Mummies

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details of classification and consumer advice lines for Mummies
• a review of Mummies completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 13 January 2023.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare or disturb children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie’s message

A synopsis of the story

In the land of the living-dead, Thut (voice of Óscar Barberán) is a champion chariot racer until one day his opponents, with spikes in their wheels, 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 and 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 is time for her to marry and Thut is chosen to be her husband. Neither of the two is happy with the plan but Thut is entrusted with the family engagement ring to keep safe until the wedding day.

The Mummies’ lives in the after-world 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 as Thut knows the consequences of losing it. 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.

Ancient Egypt; Mummies; Heroes and villains.

There is a lot of comedic violence in this movie, including:

• 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 off screen).
• There is a car chase between a car and a bus, in which the car ends up in the River Thames.

Other violence includes:

• 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.

Material that may scare or disturb children

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

• The movie starts suddenly in the middle of a chariot race. It is loud and quite scary.
• Lord Carnaby is an evil villain with a nasty smile and laugh.
• In a white light (such as a camera flash), the mummies are seen as ghost-like creatures with white faces and black eyes.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

• A ceremony is held to call upon the god of love. The priest stirs up a magic potion with explosions and bright lights. Nefer has to put her hand into what looks like a bowl of burning coals. A phoenix flies out of it and is on fire.
• Sacerdote was worried that Thut had been executed.
• The treasure room, where Thut hides the ring, is a dark and scary place. Loud thumping noises are heard and a crack appears. A robotic camera enters the room and starts causing chaos as the two stooges are fighting over controlling the tablet.
• In the final scene, it appears as though Thut has died when the vehicle goes over the cliff, but he survives.

• Nothing further of concern.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

• Some obvious swap-overs are used such as Parrots for Harrods; Snackers for Snickers.
• EgyptAir and Star Alliance.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

• 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.

Nudity and sexual activity

• None noted.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

• 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.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• Shut up
• Fart
• Jeez
• Name calling such as:
  • Nitwits
  • Genius
  • Idiots
  • Stupid
  • Morons
  • Blithering idiots
  • Fools
  • Imbeciles.

In a nutshell

Mummies is an animated adventure comedy about the real-world colliding with the after-world. It is quite funny but there are some scary scenes and quite a lot of violence, mostly done for laughs. The film is therefore not suitable for under 5’s and parental guidance is recommended for 5–7-year-olds.

The main messages from this movie are overcoming your fears and to follow your dreams.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• Nefer is a strong, determined, independent young woman who wants to make her own choices.
• Bravery
• Courage
• Heroism.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

• Why some people are so ruthless that they are prepared to destroy anyone or anything to get fame and recognition.