“What makes this movie so unique and appealing‐ is its amalgamation of the crazy 30s, the world of insects, its Agatha Christie’s‐style of plot, ” says director & producer Julio Soto Gúrpide of the animated Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow, based on an original screenplay by Rocco Pucillo.
“Inspector Sun is a homage, a comical satire almost, of the film noir, “whodunnit” genre, but aimed to a younger audience”‘ says director Julio Soto Gúrpide.
“The film is set in the 1930’s aboard a Pan Am Clipper seaplane during a flight between Shanghai and San Francisco. A crime is committed: powerful Bugsy Spindlethorp is murdered leaving the incredibly beautiful Arabella ‐a Black Widow‐… well… widow. Hard‐boiled Inspector Sun together with young apprentice Janey investigate the crime, dealing with all sorts of critter enemies, including powerful assassin crime lords and a megalomaniac locust‐villain who plans to starve humanity by destroying their crops and other
sources of food, controlling a mutant super swarm.”
“In the world of animation, we have seen insects through the lens of wonderful films like Bugs and
Antz. Zootopia touched slightly the film noir genre, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit was closer
to the genre but it was a life action‐animation hybrid that was not strictly an animated film. So I am
therefore confident to say that the originality and radicalism of our approach, what makes this
movie so unique and appealing is its original designs and its uninhibited sense of humor. We believe that Inspector Sun is a rare gem that will not leave you indifferent,what makes this movie so unique and appealing.”
“Spiders produce fascination and yet, rejection. Therefore, one of the main concerns of the film was
to find a way to make children and parents sympathize with their cause. That is why we paid special
attention to carefully crafted characters, ‐designed by well‐known designers Sylvain Deboissy
(Storks, Rio, Sharktale, Minions, etc) and Max Kostenko (Fantastic Beasts, Artemis Fowl, Kong, etc)‐
to make sure we ended up with some very attractive, hilarious characters that everyone will find
appealing in its “imperfections”.”
“Insects can be intrinsically very attractive and yet the challenge was to give them real personality, expressivity, etc. Art Deco and 1930’s Asian and world designs were also important, to convey the cosmopolitanism of that period, of Shanghai, and of the wonderful Pan Am Clipper flying hotel. Every prop was also designed accordingly to this philosophy of a world manufactured by and for spiders and other bugs, to create a world of insects that we hope will be the first installment of a very successful franchise.”
The bug world’s greatest detective must learn to work hand in hand with a new partner to solve a murder mystery on a seaplane and save both the bug world and the human world from a dangerous villain.
Director & producer Julio Soto Gúrpide
Julio Soto has been working for over 15 years between the US and Spain as a film director, writer and producer. His credits have spanned across all media forms: from films, documentaries, commercials, TV series and music videos. His latest work is the multi-million 3D animated feature “Deep”, sold worldwide including a theatrical release in the USA. He has also just completed the political drama “Palestine” and is developing a slate of animated features including “Evolution”, “Inspector Sun”, a film-noir set in the 1930s and “Metal Heroes”, a rock music comedy.
Other recent films include “Dissection of a Storm”, a short film that qualified for the 84th Oscar Academy Awards, the 2009 feature documentary “My Beautiful Dacia” made in co-production with Channel4, MDR-Arte, SVT, the Media Program, CNC and TVR Romania, and “Radiophobia”, a documentary film that broadcast in over 100 countries in channels such as National Geographic, Aljazeera, History Channel, ARTE, Canal+ and that also screened at the UN headquarters.
– IMDb Mini Biography By: Julio Soto Gurpide