Parents' Guide to

Mummies

Movie PG 2023 88 minutes
Mummies Movie Poster: Animated ancient Egyptian man and woman stand back to back with modern day London behind them

Common Sense Media Review

Tara McNamara By Tara McNamara , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 6+

Logic unravels in animated adventure with Egyptian angle.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 6+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Mummies Movie: Animated Pharaoh stands with a smiling Egyptian princess
  • Mummies Movie: Animated ancient Egyptian child and an ancient Egyptian charioteer hug a baby crocodile
  • Mummies Movie: An animated crocodile wearing bandages looks at a stuffed pig toy

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 5+

Based on 7 parent reviews

Beau S.
Beau S. Parent of 5 and 8-year-old
October 12, 2023
age 6+

Everything

The movie was the best movie i have ever watched In my life good job.
Kjaltc
Kjaltc Parent of 7, 11, 13 and 14-year-old
August 6, 2023
age 4+

Great family movie

This movie is good for the whole family. The movie has a good lesson in not giving into your fears and the main character even helps an old mummy cross the street to avoid being ran over by chariots. There is no use of foul language, sexual content or drugs. Mild animated violence and some use of tranquilizers to take the mummies captive. A good movie overall without all the usual things that ruin a kid's movie.
See all 7 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In an ancient Egyptian afterworld, the pharaoh issues a mandate for his daughter, Princess Nefer (voiced by Eleanor Tomlinson in the English dub and Ana Esther Alborg in the Spanish original), and charioteer Thut (Joe Thomas/Óscar Barberán) to marry -- against their wishes. While the two are working independently to avoid their forced union, a modern-day archaeologist uncovers their intended wedding ring, a royal family heirloom, and declares it the discovery of the century. Accompanied by Thut's younger brother, Sekhem (Santiago Winder/Jaume Solà), the MUMMIES travel to London to recover the ring while keeping a low profile, which gets harder when Nefer becomes London's new princess of pop music.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7 ):
Kids say (1 ):

Bringing ancient Egypt to life will likely appeal to kids, especially when paired with a princess who sings songs that are real scepter-tappers. But it almost feels like something in the English-dubbed version of this animated film (originally produced in Spain) was lost in translation. Parts of the story are flat-out confusing. In the opening scene, champion charioteer Thut crashes and burns in a terrible accident, and the screen goes black. When we next see him, he's wearing bandages and living in Mummy City, talking about his former champion days. Most viewers will assume he died in the big crash, and (spoiler alert) it's not until the end that we learn that wasn't the case. Huh? And when villainous Lord Carnaby (Hugh Bonneville) is introduced, he's wearing what looks like archaeologist gear from the 1920s, while Mummy City exists in an Egyptian era of 3000 years ago. So when Nefer, Thut, and Sekham travel to deal with Carnaby in present-day London, viewers may do a collective head cock -- what year is this? How are all these timelines working together? For that matter, how are the mummies alive? The rule is that when a bright light shines on them, their true nature is revealed, and they appear as skeletons. But Nefer performs under spotlights on several occasions and remains in her human form. Puzzling.

And while the filmmakers clearly made efforts to portray Nefer as a strong, independent, self-sufficient woman, the idea that she doesn't want to rule her people so that she can be a singer is disappointing. Female pharaohs are one of the lasting legacies of ancient Egypt. And Thut feels like a romantic lead from the 1990s -- an athlete with celebrity status who would risk bodily harm rather than marry a princess because he doesn't want to be tied down. The concept of the film is a good one because many kids end up fascinated by ancient Egypt, but dated portrayals like this should stay relics.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about ancient Egypt and how it's portrayed in Mummies. How accurate do you think it is? What elements of today's culture do you think might be featured in movies of the future?

  • How do Nefer, Thut, and Sekham demonstrate courage and teamwork? Why are these important character traits?

  • The movie's Egyptian characters are voiced by Spanish or English actors. Do you think authentic casting is important in animation? Why does positive representation matter?

  • Change the plot so that Lord Carnaby is the hero: How would the movie be different? Would it match how mummies are usually portrayed in movies? In real life, mummies aren't alive to be helpful or hurtful beings, but how can switching perspectives give us a more well-rounded viewpoint, and why is that important?

Movie Details

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