Under Wraps

I've seen the 2021 movie "Under Wraps", which apparently was a remake of this 1997 movie, though I didn't know that, as I haven't watched the 1997 version before now in 2024.

Writer Don Rhymer put together an enjoyable script which actually proves wholesome for the entire family. So there is something for everyone to enjoy here, and that made the movie rather enjoyable. I was genuinely entertained throughout the course of the 95 minutes that the movie ran for.

The movie has a good cast, and there are some familiar faces on the cast list, with the likes of Corinne Bohrer, Ken Hudson Campbell, Ed Lauter and Bill Fagerbakke. The young leading cast, which was Adam Wylie, Mario Yedidia and Clara Bryant definitely carried the movie quite well.

Visually then the movie was actually fair. Keep in mind that it is a family movie, so you're not in for a spectacle of ghastly effects. But the mummy was actually quite nicely made.

"Under Wraps" is well-worth sitting down to watch, and it still holds up today. And it could very easy be a movie that the family could sit down and enjoy for Halloween.

My rating of director Greg Beeman's 1997 movie "Under Wraps" lands on a six out of ten stars.

This is a very entertaining movie about 3 sub-teenagers who encounter a mummy who has been awoken from its sleep and must be returned to the crypt before midnight Halloween. The "horror" content is about nil and the movie is suitable for viewers of all ages (I believe it is "G" rated). The mummy's encounters with people in the world are very entertaining, and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It reminded me a lot of "Harry and the Hendersons".

Here we have what's considered to be the first ever DCOM. It's 25 years old at the time of this review, and it shows a bit. While Scream Team is full of clever jokes and fun characters, Under Wraps takes a more slapstick approach with its comedy. With the emphasis being on the mummy's wandering about in the modern world, every other aspect of the storyline feels like a side story. On a positive note, the kids have great chemistry with each other and their acting performances are excellent. But much of what we're given here feels like something we've seen elsewhere. It's just entertaining enough but not too thrilling.

When I first saw a commercial for this TV movie on the Disney Channel, I predicted that it would just be some dumb old thing that I wouldn't like with really bad special effects and a really cheesy plot line. It was quite surprising that I actually LIKED it and that my whole family (that includes my parents, 18-year-old sister, and eight-year-old brother) ended up watching it. We all had our own comments that we shared out loud during several scenes, involuntarily. {For example: My dad said something about how smelly Harold must have been. I remembered (out loud), "Hey! It's that boy from Picket Fences," and then after a few minutes, my sister said he was annoying. I personally thought that his CHARACTER was simply MEANT to be annoying. My mom also asked a lot of questions throughout the movie.}

I really didn't care for the movie at the beginning but I became interested after watching the children break into Mr. Kubat's house and finding a mummy, Harold. It intrigued me that the boy, Marshall, treated the mummy like a dog. The movie made me laugh, but it wasn't factually realistic. If Harold was really walking around somewhere, I'm sure that his stench would have been too smelly for someone to just shrug off. The characters mentioned his smell, but I think that there should have been a more immediate reaction to it. I also think that the doctors included in this movie were really dumb, but that made it funny. I also wondered about other various things, such as how Harold understood English.

Basically, I just liked this movie because it was hilarious. My laughter outweighed my questions, and I don't think that any movie can be flawless. It was a bit predictable, though. On another note, I couldn't stop staring at Harold's teeth.

You wouldn't expect a story like this to work as well as it does. Three friends in middle school named Marshall (Mario Yedidia), Gilbert (Adam Wylie), and Amy (Clara Bryant) find, and accidently reanimate a mummy they dub Harold (Bill Fagerbakke). Harold breaks loose and runs around their small California town and the kids have to find him before Harold is caught by these mobster type villains who want to sell him on the black market. My describing the plot makes it seem like a really lazy set up but it's done surpringly pretty well. It's actually a pretty fun movie. The three main characters were all really enjoyable to watch, almost reminding me of E.T. or The Goonies. They don't swear or do anything like that but they act snarky to each other, they call each other loser, they act like real kids. It's obviously aimed for a child audience but (personally) I think there are things that can appeal to adults as well.