Under Wraps Parent Guide

Kids’ animations seem to have taken on a darker tone in the recent past. Movies like ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and even Toy Story 3 all include perilous situations and some heavier themes. The direct-to-DVD movie Under Wraps doesn’t go there.

This is the story of a clichéd modern-day family, with two distracted working parents, a teenage daughter tethered to her cell phone and a younger brother who can’t stay out of trouble. They temporarily live in a travel trailer on an archaeological site in the Egypt while Mom and Dad study the inside of an ancient tomb. Eleanor has been tasked with watching her younger brother Danny. But she is preoccupied with finding cell phone reception in the middle of the desert. Without any attentive supervision, Danny gives into his inquisitive inclinations and sneaks into the tomb where he makes off with an amulet.

His thievery sets in motion a series of unfortunate events, beginning with the mummification of his parents. Stumbling upon a spell to reverse the ancient curse, Eleanor and Danny discover they only have a short time to learn to work together before their parents will be forced to remain in wraps forever.

To say this script doesn’t have moments of peril would be untrue. Sure, there’s a gigantic mummified Pharaoh that chases the family through the streets of their hometown. And a couple of police officers (the stereotypically stupid kind) threaten the kids as well. But this is sheer Saturday morning cartoon fare—at least the kind of Saturday morning cartoons I grew up with. While the movie does include a bit of name-calling between siblings, an evil assistant and some moments of rude humor, there’s no heavy agenda in this script or deep, menacing messages about the end of the world.

Instead this is a tale about a family that learns to appreciate one another, the importance of obedience and the unexpected delight of occasionally putting down digital devices and living in the real world.

About author

Kerry Bennett

Kerry Bennett is interested in media from both a journalist and parent perspective. Along with authoring articles for several family-oriented publications, she has written for Parent Previews for over 15 years. As a parent herself, she believes parents play a powerful role in teaching media literacy in their homes.