Fresh out of the 2023 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Collider is eager to share a new trailer forInspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow, an animated mystery film from Viva Pictures. Appearing amid a stellar lineup that includeda newSpider-VerseshortandChicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, the children and family title starsThe Daily Showsenior correspondentRonny Chiengas the titular Inspector Sun, a huntsman spider and genius detective whose flight aboard a seaplane takes a turn for the murderous. The film is currently slated to hit theaters on October 13.
Inspector Sununfolds in the miniature bug world that exists just beneath our own. Sun, fresh off capturing his arch-rival, boards a flight to San Francisco full of colorful characters including the baroness black widow Arabella Killtop (Jennifer Childs Greer), her new funnel web spider husband Bugsy Spindlethorp (Scott Geer), Sun’s jumping spider assistant Janey (Emily Kleimo), and the conspicuously named bug Mr. Gill Tea (Paul Louis Miller) who insists it isn’t pronounced like “guilty.” A murder occurs mid-flight that draws the inspector into a conspiracy endangering all bugs and humankind. It all plays outlike a classic murder mystery, pulling heavily from theAgatha ChristiewhodunnitMurder on the Orient Expressto tell its tale of bug-on-bug violence.
LikeHercule Poirot and Benoit Blancbefore him, Sun isworld-famous for his detective skills, though he’s hardly prepared for what’s to come aboard his flight. He’s quick to write off a threatening letter toward Bugsy as nothing more than superstition, but a murder soon proves his instincts wrong. The problem is everyone’s a suspect and Sun believes there could be as many as four killers on the loose, much to the panic of the bugs on board. To add to his woes, someone is clearly trying to remove him from the equation. With so many leads to follow and the especially complicated Arabella, who can hardly be trusted as she swings from menacing and manipulative to desperate and pleading for Sun’s help, the inspector will have to pull out all the stops to solve this case and survive all the way to San Francisco.
RELATED:Guillermo del Toro Hopes Animated Box Office Hits Will “Trojan-Horse” Good Stories Into the Animation Wor
Who’s BehindInspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow
Inspector Sunmay be new to Annecy and American audiences, but it was first released in its native Spain back in December. Its roots stretch far beyond 2022, however.Rocco Pucillo, who previously wrote three episodes ofVoltron: Legendary Defenderand served as a production manager forThe Princess and the Frog, took home the Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award for his bug murder mystery script all the way back in 2013. The film earned a solid reception in Spain, even being nominated for Best Animation at the 37th Goya Awards, the country’s native counterpart to the Academy Awards.
Julio Soto Gurpide, best known for directing the animated underwater adventureDeep, helmedInspector Sun. Chieng, Greer, Geer, Kleimo, and Miller make up the English voice cast alongsideWolf HallalumIain Batchelor,Rich Orlow, andJeanette Grace Gonglewski.
Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widowdebuts in theaters on October 13. Check out the exclusive trailer below.
