Shanghai, 1934. In a world of insects parallel to that of humans, the police are the spiders, - probably because if they grab you with their 7 legs they have a hard time escaping. And Inspector Sun is the best of them all. Obviously, like any good policeman, he has a lethal archenemy, the fierce and very evil red lobster. When the inspector decides to retire, he embarks on a flight in which a murder occurs. Veteran Inspector Sun (voiced by Ronny Chieng), a lone spider, leads his final mission against his archenemy Red Lobster, before embarking on a well-deserved retirement. His vacation aboard a Pan Am Clipper plane between Shanghai and San Francisco ends abruptly when millionaire Dr. Spindelthorp is found murdered. Throughout the investigation Sun is accompanied by an admiring young fanatic, he's not thrilled to have a companion in tow, but that's very much in tune with the need to explain things to the audience as we go. And the main suspect is the Black Widow, who is consequently locked up. As a seven-legged spider, Sun has his hands, or rather his legs, busy trying to find out who did it and why. Inspector Sun has his work cut out for him tracking down his archenemy Red Locust, a supervillain who believes in the hive mentality; "Long live the swarm" is his mantra, while Sun prefers a more individual approach when it comes to insect philosophy. What begins as a routine case for Sun will ultimately decide the fate of humanity. Thus the fate of the world of insects remains in the hands - or paws - of the notorious police inspector.
The current interest in detective films has given us some unconventional ones worth watching, so here the kids have their own super-detective: Inspector Sun, being based on the Samuel Goldwyn award-winning screenplay. An original rather than imported premise starring Inspector Sun, a Hercule Poirot type of detective including his mustache and classic clothing, he is an arachnid who is searching for clues in 1934 Shanghai, this animation that originally came from Spain, but which has been picked up and dubbed for family audiences in the U. S. That means we have a lot of precedent; We're remembering the type of storytelling that created Charlie Chan, Sexton Blake, famous writers like Sax Rohmer, Agatha Christie and others, bringing up this colorful film aiming to translate this detective energy to a wide audience of all ages. And even from a childhood point of view, recalling classic cartoon movies like Scooby Doo when it comes to the lost art of solving crimes. Here Sun boards a passenger plane heading to San Francisco and in its cargo a parallel universe of all kinds of insects is created, but when there is a murder, he has to discover which of the various suspicious characters he knows is responsible and, therefore, Of course, there is the ordinary meeting of the main suspects in the crime and finally, after much deliberation, Inspector Sun/Poirot will decide who the murderer is. All of these twisted criminal events lead to a spectacular finale, with a swarm of giant lobsters attacking Alcatraz Island being one of the best parts of the film.
This fun, original and funny family film was nominated for the Goya award for best animation in 2023. It is a Spanish production well and professionally made by director Julio Soto Gurpide, he believes that children should have their own artistic cinema, but keep them away from the usual superheroes and science fiction tropes and this 'Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow (2022)' could be a good start; acceptably directing the film in an atmosphere of a crime novel in the purest style of Agatha Christie that is reminiscent of her most popular novels, and even the inspector himself is a reflection of the mythical Hercule Poirot.
This a cut above most animations in terms of color and character, a mystery film that should entertain young and old alike. And although the adaptation sometimes leaves some practical questions unanswered, it turns out to be an acceptable and passable entry in the 3D animation genre that nevertheless failed at the box office.
