Mummy, The: Quest for the Lost Scrolls

This movie is an animated and more kid-friendly version of the stories in the action-packed thrillers “The Mummy” and “The Mummy Returns” — a Saturday-morning-cartoon-style version of the adventures of intrepid archeologists Rick and Evy O’Connell and their 11-year-old son, Alex.

Rick is a big, brave, dashing, and very gung-ho American who more often ends up destroying mummies while saving the world from ancient curses than studying them. And Evy, his brilliant librarian-turned-archaeologist wife, is as feisty as the men. There’s also Uncle Jonathan, Evy’s brother, providing some comic relief. And Ardeth, the brave Medji warrior, helps the family around the globe with his knowledge of Egypt, and is always a hero without being too flashy.

The plot is pretty much the same video-game version of Pandora’s box as the feature installments. Once again, the western explorers accidentally get themselves involved in an ancient curse and have to save the world, the saving involving a lot of acrobatic fight scenes. Alex, foolishly (but they don’t ever emphasize this in the show, do they?) gets an ancient Egyptian manacle stuck to his wrist, which won’t come off without the power of the “lost scrolls”. Unfortunately, the homicidal mummy Imhotep has again awakened, and he wants the scrolls too, as a way of accessing power over pretty much everything and everyone. Basically, the group must race against the mummy to get to the scrolls, locating clues along the way that point them in the right direction.

Even though the story-line is now animated and the violence is less graphic, it still may be too scary for some children. The mucus-dripping mummy may even be too scary for some adults.

This is better than a lot of what is out there for kids who enjoy action/adventure stories with exotic settings. It may even spark some interest in finding out about ancient Egypt and about the real work of archeologists, who, thank goodness, are a lot more careful about excavating the artifacts than the O’Connells are. Use this video to inspire a visit to your local library or museum to learn more about the fascinating culture and the adventures of the 19th and 20th century scholars who have studied it.