A bumbling spider detective must solve his greatest case yet in this fun and witty animated film that could launch a franchise.

Inspector Sun considers himself the world’s greatest insect detectives. However, being a combination of bumbling and unorthodox has caused him to get in trouble with the local police. Despite finally nabbing his archenemy, Red Locust, his antics has caused millions in damages. Forced to take a vacation, Sun is supposed to head on a plane to New York. However, thanks to the annoyingly intern Janey, Sun misses his flight, but thanks to an old friend, Sun is headed for San Francisco.

While on the plane, Sun meets Dr. Spindlethorp and his wife, the black widow Arabella Killtop. Spindlethorp is Arabella’s 13^th husband and when he informs Sun of a threat on his life, the detective decides to assist. When Spindlethorp is in fact, found dead, Arabella is the prime suspect. However, Sun is convinced that Arabella is innocent and sets out to clear her name. He also comes across a shocking discovery to why Spindlethorp was murdered. Can Sun solve the case?

With the rousing success of the recent Inspector Poirot films with Kenneth Branagh playing the role as well as reminiscing about Inspector Clouseau of the Pink Panther franchise, this animated film has a new hero that combines both the charm of a Poirot and the bumbling mannerisms of a Clouseau and yet, he has seven, not eight legs. It’s time to meet Inspector Sun and this is one spider you may want on your side.

Ronny Chieng is perfect as the titular spider sleuth. We see him taking on his arch-nemesis, the Red Locust, in the opening of the film as we later learn thanks to Janey that during a case involving the flying insect, Sun lost his beloved wife. So this became somewhat of a personal vendetta for the detective. However, in a scene that looks like it could come out of Rush Hour, Sun finally catches his man only to have done so in a fireworks factory. Just imagine what happened which forces our hero to take some much-needed R&R.

The whole mood of the film feels like a 1930’s detective story, complete with some great fashions on the insects that fit the era. Those who grew up with these classic tales as well as digging into Agatha Christie’s great adventures of Inspector Hercule Poirot will see Inspector Sun seems to have a look based on that character while having the mindset meshing him with the actions of a Jacques Clouseau. While there is no “Kato”, there is Janey, a sidekick who has this obsession with wanting to be his partner. Sometimes it feels a bit overdramatic, but when she wants to prove her mettle, she does just that in more ways than one, especially with the amazing twists and turns in the story. There are characters in the film that keep you guessing whether they are either innocent or guilty.

Inspector Sun brings a classic brand of hero for a new generation. A great voice cast mixed in with a classic murder mystery with twists and turns? This one is sure to delight fans of all ages.

WFG RATING: B+

VIVA Kids presents a 3 Doubles Producciones/Kapers Animation production in association with Radio Television Espanola (RTVE) and The Thinklab. Director: Julio Soto Gurpide. Producers: Rocco Pucillo, Adriana Malfatti Chen, Karl Richards, Peter Rogers, Dario Sanchez, and Julio Soto Gurpide. Writer: Rocco Pucillo. Editing: Zayra Munoz Dominguez.

Voice Cast: Ronny Chieng, Emily Kleimo, Jennife Childs Greer, Iain Batchelor, Rich Orlow, Scott Geer.

The film will be released in theaters on October 27.