Under Wraps (1997)

The 1997 Disney Channel Original Movie, “Under Wraps,” tells about three friends, Marshall (Mario Yedidia), Gilbert (Adam Wylie), and Amy (Clara Bryant), accidentally awakening a 3,000-year-old mummy. They have to find his sarcophagus before midnight on Halloween or he’ll turn to dust.

Elena Square Eyes said in her blog, “Under Wraps was the first ever Disney Channel Original Movie and while I certainly haven’t watched them all, it started off a lot scarier than I was anticipating.” It starts with Marshall and Gilbert watching a horror movie at the theaters and the film their watching has a moment where despite not seeing any blood, the viewer can think of a very scary movie. Thankfully Gilbert and Marshall’s journey with the mummy (they name him Harold) isn’t so scary.

Actually, Harold, played by Bill Fagerbakke, is somewhat silly and likable even if all his grunting gets old very fast. Elena credited, “Fagerbakke gives a great physical performance and the prosthetics on his face and teeth still look really good.” The relationship between Marshall and Harold is surprisingly nice and it feels like Marshall sees him almost as a father figure and someone to talk to. Seeing how his parents are divorced and he isn’t sure about his mom’s (Corinne Bohrer) new boyfriend Ted (Fagerbakke). Also, seeing how Fagerbakke plays both Harold the mummy and Ted the boyfriend gives the father/son parallels more meaning.

All three children are pretty great. Marshall loves horror films and all the monsters after the main shock, kind of enjoys having a mummy living with him. Elena said, “I loved how Gilbret was a scaredy cat and openly owned that part of him and while they might’ve made fun of him a bit, Marshall and Amy didn’t think any lesser of him. Amy is a confident preteen and the kind of person who would’ve intimidated me when I was their age. They felt like real friends with all their banter which was great too.”

“Under Wraps” is a nice combination of scary, funny, and adventure with the three kids who have great camaraderie.

This might have been one of the first Disney Channel Original Movies, but no one really talks about it. I guess this movie does have a lot of good moments in it, but I don’t know, maybe you quickly forget about it. Which is sad because I think this movie can be seen and no one would really get annoyed or bored by it. I can understand if this may not be everyone’s type of film, but I wouldn’t say not watch it. If you can, find it somewhere and check it out.

Tomorrow I will be looking at another Disney Channel Original Movie in “Disney Month 2024.”