Tad Stones (Trevor White) is back for another outing and this time he’s causing accidental chaos by destroying a long-lost sarcophagus in Mexico. In doing so, he unleashes an ancient spell on his friend Mummy (Joseph Balderrama), his undead companion, and sets in motion a globe-trotting adventure in a bid to save his friend. In a race against time, Tad travels to Paris and Eqypt with girlfriend Sara (Alex Kelly) in tow to reverse the damage he’s done and save Mummy.
The third instalment in the ‘Tad the Lost Explorer’ series, ‘Tad the Lost Explorer and the Curse of the Mummy’ continues to deliver family-friendly fun that’s not going to change the world and certainly doesn’t reinvent the wheel. Adapted from the Spanish graphic novel ‘Tadeo Jones’ and taking plenty of inspiration from ‘Indiana Jones’, the film presents the hapless and unlucky Tad as a character that kids can laugh at as he goes from one scrape to another.
After getting expelled from his latest dig site, Tad returns home to find Mummy having spent a fortune on useless garbage which is cluttering up his apartment and upsetting the neighbours. Unfortunately for Tad, the discovery he made before being sent home turns out to be very important and it leads him on an epic quest with plenty of peril and shape-shifting villains standing in his way. In order to restore order, and stop the world coming to an end, Tad has to find a sacred emerald tablet.
While ‘Tad the Lost Explorer and the Curse of the Mummy’ isn’t short on big ideas, and it takes plenty of swings to keep the audience invested, it’s let down by rather predictable plot twists and some under par writing. Three films in, kids are likely to be either be invested in the character or not by this point but I can’t help feeling that if the writing were a little stronger, this would have been a riotous adventure.
The film isn’t without its charms. Tad and Mummy are a brilliant duo and supporting characters including a stuck-up mummy called Ra Amon Ah (or Ramona as the characters think she’s called) and Tad’s loveable pets Jeff and Belzoni provide plenty of laughs along the way. Tad’s girlfriend Sara gets less to do and her two-dimensional character leaves plenty to be desired.
‘Tad the Lost Explorer and the Curse of the Mummy’ is entertaining enough but it doesn’t quite have what it takes to rival Pixar and the like. While the film has plenty of charm, and it’ll certainly be a hit with the kids, it doesn’t really bring anything fresh and new to the table. What it does do is showcase the abilities of the animation industry in Spain and there’s no faulting how the film looks. Perhaps with more adventures, the series can truly carve out its own niche.
Cast: Trevor White, Joseph Balderrama, Alex Kelly Director: Enrique Gato Writers: Manuel Burque, Josep Gatell, Neil Landau Certificate: U Duration: 86 minutes Released by: Paramount Pictures UK Release date: 26th December 2022 Buy ‘Tad the Lost Explorer and the Curse of the Mummy’ now
