Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow

Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow is a Spanish animated mystery set in a world of insects that runs alongside our own. Inspector Sun, a self-assured spider detective, has just caught his longtime enemy when he is packed off on leave by his uncle, the chief of police. He boards a luxury seaplane bound for San Francisco, but the flight turns into a case when a wealthy passenger is found dead. With a young admirer named Janey at his side, Sun tries to work out who among the travellers is responsible, and the answer matters to more than just the insect world.

Julio Soto Gurpide directed the film, his second feature after Deep (2017) and before Evolution (2026), from a screenplay by Rocco Pucillo, who also produced alongside Peter Rogers and Jason Kaminsky. The voice cast includes Fernando Cabrera as Inspector Sun, Andrea Villaverde as Janey, Catherina Martínez, Ana Jiménez, Txema Moscoso and Vicente Gil. It is a Spanish production from TVE, Particular Crowd, The Thinklab and Kapers Animation, and runs 88 minutes.

Released at the end of 2022, the film took in about 4 million dollars worldwide, a modest return for an animated feature. On IMDb it holds 5.3 out of 10 from roughly 670 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.7 from a much smaller group of around 157 voters, suggesting those who sought it out were more favourable than the wider pool of viewers.