Premiering on October 25, 1997, Under Wraps was the inaugural Disney Channel Original Movie. The cornerstone of the network’s programming proved to be as close to appointment viewing as it got for ‘90s kids, along with the likes of ABC’s TGIF and Nickelodeon’s SNICK. Moreover, Under Wraps served as a gateway to horror for many millennials. Before the age of streaming, catching a mummy movie on the same channel where you watched Disney cartoons and Boy Meets World reruns could have been your first exposure to the macabre.
Disney attempted to recapture the magic with last year’s Under Wraps remake. The original movie was successful — and continues to hold up 25 years later — for several reasons; relatable kid leads, a great Halloween atmosphere, and a sense of humor chief among them. Director/co-writer Alex Zamm (A Christmas Prince, Inspector Gadget 2) and co-writer William Robertson (Inspector Gadget 2) smartly maintained those elements for the new iteration.
In fact, all the major beats from the original film — written by Don Rhymer (Rio, Big Momma’s House) and directed by Greg Beeman (License to Drive, Smallville) — remain intact in the remake. While both films are innocuous, the original had a bit of an edge to it… as far as ’90s made-for-TV kids movies go, anyway. The remake is sanitized to favor playful hijinks over perceived danger.
12-year-olds Marshall (Malachi Barton, Stuck in the Middle) and Gilbert (Christian J. Simon, Sydney to the Max) are best friends despite being diametrically opposed when it comes to horror movies; Marshall can’t get enough of them, while Gilbert is afraid of his own shadow. When they suspect their creepy neighbor, Kubot (Brent Stait, Andromeda), of stealing an ancient Egyptian mummy, the boys team up with their new classmate, Amy (Sophia Hammons), to sneak into his house, inadvertently bringing the artifact back to life with an amulet.
‘Under Wraps’ (2021)
Like many of fiction’s best monsters, the mummy (Phil Wright) — named Harold, in tribute to Marshall’s hot sauce-loving grandfather — is not as frightening as he looks; he’s merely misunderstood. The kids secretly befriend the lovable oaf, forming a bond reminiscent of The Monster Squad. Upon learning that Harold only wants to be reunited with his love, they help him on his journey. But it’s easier said than done, as Kubot and his goons are on their tail, and they only have until the end of Halloween to return him to his resting place lest he turn to dust.
Most of the tweaks to the material serve to contemporize it. The fish-out-of-water element is played up with Harold encountering modern amenities like an autonomous vacuum and Siri-esque technology. The cast is also more diverse: Marshall is of Hispanic heritage, Gilbert as well as Marshall’s mother’s boyfriend are Black, Amy’s father is gay, and the resident monster expert in whom the kids confide (Melanie Brook) is a young woman.
In addition to the monster in his life, Marshall faces common adolescent problems like struggling to accept his parents’ divorce and conflicts with the school bully. The three child leads are likable and have a natural rapport. Stait, a veteran character actor, chews the scenery appropriately, while Wright utilizes his dance choreographer background to bring the mummy to life. The mummy makeup design by Joel Echallier (1922, Freaks) is standard but effective, featuring an off-set jaw.
Under Wraps doesn’t offer any radical changes to justify its existence; it’s more like Disney dug up the film’s mummified remains and gave its sarcophagus a fresh coat of paint — and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. With the remake’s new sequel, Under Wraps 2, however, Harold and the gang have free reign to take the story in a new direction. Zamm returns to direct, along with the main cast, this time working from a script by Josh A. Cagan (The DUFF).
Under Wraps 2 picks up a year later, with Marshall, Gilbert, and Amy being chauffeured in Buzzy’s hearse to Amy’s hometown of Rockport, a Salem-like town that fully embraces Halloween. Amy is planning a spooky party for her father’s Halloween wedding, but while they’re in town, they decide to pay a visit to Harold and his love, Rose, who are on display in a nearby museum. They use the ancient amulet to bring the couple back to life to experience the finer things (like room service and arcades), but they aren’t the only mummies in town.
Sobek (T.J. Storm, whose motion capture work has brought creatures to life in Deadpool, The Predator, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters) has been inadvertently revived via a meatball mishap. With museum worker Larry (Jordan Conley) hypnotized to carry out his diabolical bidding, Sobek goes on a quest for revenge against his former best friend turned sworn enemy, Harold, for stealing the love of his life.
In addition to his safety and that of his friends (mummified or otherwise), this time around Marshall struggles with being the third wheel to Gilbert and Amy, who have become close while working for the school paper together. It’s also a pleasant surprise to see LGBTQ+ representation — in the form of a same-sex wedding — handled so matter-of-factly, especially after the recent manufactured outrage over Lightyear.
While Under Wraps is the more well-rounded movie, Under Wraps 2 admirably attempts to one-up the Halloween vibes with a huge festival in the holiday’s honor. The addition of an evil mummy as the antagonist rather than a human also pushes it more toward horror movie territory, although Larry is always by Sobek’s side to curb the scares with comedic relief. It’s fun to see Adam Wylie, who starred as Gilbert in the ’97 film, make a cameo as well.
It’s unlikely that the new iteration of Under Wraps will have the same impact as the original — with smart devices and streaming services readily available in virtually every household, most kids have unfettered access to untold horrors at their fingertips — but both the remake and its sequel serve their purpose as fun Halloween treats.
See for yourself when Under Wraps 2 premieres on Disney Channel on September 25 before hitting Disney+ (where you can also catch its predecessor, but sadly not the original) on September 30. I’d be pleased to see the franchise become an annual tradition.
‘Under Wraps’ (1997)