The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Animation is a genre that is flourishing; indeed, animated films are being made much more frequently in recent years. This may be attributed to the increasing popularity of the genre and the appeal of animation for children and adults alike, but just because it is animation does not mean it’s going to be a hit. The film Mission Kathmandu: The Adventures of Simon and Nelly was most definitely not a hit.

The Canadian animated feature is about a nerdy professor Simon (Noel Fisher) and a detective Nelly (Rachelle Lefevre) going on an adventure together in an attempt to discover a mystical creature called the Yeti, which lives in the heart of the Himalayas. For Simon his dream job hangs on the line and for Nelly her next paycheck is at stake. 

Seems interesting enough. However, there was some kind of wall between the audience and actual enjoyment of Mission Kathmandu: The Adventures of Simon and Nelly. It could be that some of the humour and the character traits did not come across in the dubbed version. Maybe the jokes were not as funny as they were intended to be, or maybe the film was too focused on the plot being historical and detailed that the enjoyment came as a low priority for the filmmakers themselves. 

There was also some incoherence in the plot with transitions that were too long, and parts where it seemed as though scenes were missing; it was like the creators were too lazy to film these scenes, and they jumped around much too quickly from idea to idea. Also, most of the film was spent with the characters chasing one another.

The characters in the film had a lot of potential to become lovable and memorable, but the film was not able to muster up enough emotions towards any of them, since they were portrayed in a shallow manner. There was no “Oh poor him” or “She is so cool”, instead the characters were left unexplored and therefore the audience was almost indifferent to them.  

The animation of the film was one of the pluses; it is very attentive to details, it conveys the landscapes of the Himalayas and the cities in Nepal very realistically, and it made sure that characters looked unique and were very much distinguishable.

Overall, Mission Kathmandu: The Adventures of Simon and Nelly missed the mark for kids and adults alike. The animation, the charters and the voice-overs gave it potential, but all these elements combined were not sufficient when it came to making this film a hit.