The difference being, of course, that "Bram Stoker's Dracula" is an excellent movie on its own terms and this one is just blah, but still it's a blatant lie. It could as well have been called "Calvin & Hobbes and the Marble Gang" and it would have exactly as much to do with Calvin & Hobbes as it does with Zipi y Zape, that is, absolutely NOTHING. Which is a term overused when discussing not-so-faithful adaptations, but in this case it's literal. Other than the names of the lead characters, this has nothing in common with Escobar's creation.
What it is, is an evident try to copy the Harry Potter formula, minus the magic. We have a duplicate Harry in Zipi y Zape, a duplicate Ron in Micro and Filo, and Matilde is our Hermione. The Esperanza school stands in for Hogwarts, and the whole search for the Esperanza treasure is a cross between the typical Potter plot and Indiana Jones (Last Crusade, specifically). Even the promotional poster is a Harry Potter ripoff. None of the members of the lenghty supporting cast of the comic (Don Pantuflo, Doña Jaimita, Don Minervo, Peloto, Lechuzo, Don Ángel, El Manitas, Nati and Tina...) appear at all, not even in cameos, and aren't even referenced. And Zipi and Zape themselves speak in modern slang, nothing to do with the educated, somewhat pedantic (but charmingly so) language of the comics which was one of their most recognizable features. It's noticeable that the director was not interested at all in making a Zipi y Zape movie, he just wanted a formula hit and just tacked on the names of the characters for box-office recognition purposes. I wish he hadn't bothered.
The movie itself as a self-contained entity and ignoring the source, well, it's okayish, watchable for the kids to kill 90 minutes if nothing else is playing. But still, it tries way too hard to be Harry Potter and to copy the Hollywood blockbuster formula, down to the primary colors in about every shot being the ubiquitous teal and orange that's so annoyingly overused in modern Hollywood movies today, particularly in posters.
One made exclusively for commercial reasons. It's watchable, so this might rate a 5 or even a 6 from me, but drops down to a 4 due to the false advertising. This is just NOT what they're selling us to be.
I think I'll be skipping "Zipi & Zape and the Chamber of Secrets".
