Guess which characters are the villains.
The Return of Hanuman (previously Hanuman Returns until a few days before its premiere) is a 2007 animated film produced by Percept Picture Company and directed by Anurag Kashyap. The movie is a Spinoff movie of Hanuman, and like its predecessor, the movie is centered on the Hindu god Hanuman.
The story begins as Hanuman watches some children playing at school. Feeling bored of staying in Swarglok for years and looking at how much fun the children are having, Hanuman wants to go back to Earth to play with them. With a few conditions, Hanuman was later reincarnated as Maruti, a young boy who shakes things up in the village of Bajrangpur. At the village, he made friends with the bullies' target named Minku and his two friends Munni and Daddu and defend them from the bullies. He also proved that there are no demons behind the large wall by climbing across it. Then a weird staff crashed on Bajrangpur, and a volcano is turned into a monster. In order to save the village, Maruti must turn back into Hanuman.
Tropes:
- All Love Is Unrequited: There's a squirrel who has a crush on Hanuman, though she is immediately scolded by an older squirrel because she's not allowed to love Hanuman since he's a Celibate Hero.
- The Apocalypse Brings Out the Best in People
- Appease the Volcano God: A monster instead of a god.
- Badass Adorable: Maruti, especially during his fight against the gangsters.
- Balloon Belly: After Maruti ate the whole village's food supply.
- Big Eater: Maruti, he is also thought that he has a Black-Hole Belly.
- Black-Hole Belly: Referenced in the song Peth Hai Ya Black Hole.
- Breaking the Bonds: Maruti did this in a Dream Sequence where he is bonded so he could reach any food. Maruti then became so hungry that he uses his Super-Strength to break the chains.
- Bullet Time: This happened when Maruti was avoiding the bullets during his fight in the gangsters' HQ.
- Cute Bruiser: Maruti/Hanuman
- Defector from Paradise: Hindu God Hanuman descends to Earth as a human boy named Maruti because of his boredom as a result of staying in Swarglok (some Fluffy Cloud Heaven) for many years.
- De-power: One of the conditions for Hanuman to go to Earth is that he should deposit his powers to Brahma's secretary. Despite of this, his reincarnation Maruti still has Super-Strength, Super-Speed, Super-Reflexes, he's pretty much like Hanuman minus the ability to fly and his outfit.
- Detail-Hogging Cover: Compare Maruti on the poster and Maruti in the movie. (And yes, this applies to Maruti only.)
- Deus ex Machina:
- A literal army of monkeys show up to bail Maruti out of prison; from all corners of the world.
- When "Armageddon" appears out of the volcano, Brahma says that no one could stop it, even Hanuman himself... until Hanuman found a temple where Rama tells Hanuman the sollution to bring down the monster which actually did help.
- Disney Death: The people thrown into the volcano were thought to be dead, but they turned out to be alive after Maruti (as Hanuman) get them out of the volcano monster.
- Edible Ammunition: Mangoes were used as Maruti once while defending himself from the gangsters. It really makes them run away, despite that they brought real guns.
- Everybody Do the Endless Loop: Due to an obviously low budget, this occurs many, MANY times, and as the frames don't always match up before they are recycled, the effect is very glaring. A particularly egregious example is a clock to show how much time that passes, that manages to go through two full loops of animation before the scene is over.
- Everything's Better with Sparkles: Swarglok and Maruti's Dream Sequence.
- The Exile: Maruti and his mother were not allowed to live in Bajrangpur after Maruti's mega-Midnight Snack.
- Eye Patch Of Power: Subverted: The Dragon of the gangsters wears an eyepatch, but he isn't that badass.
- Green Aesop: The volcano monster formed from litter shouts this. Possibly Brahma's explanation that Earth is dangerous in the modern days as well.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Maruti after he is not allowed to play with his friends because he is considered as being dangerous.
- Limited Wardrobe: The characters of the movie never change their clothes, even when they are sleeping. Maruti's an exception though, but that's only because of the fact that he changes his outfit once he transforms into Hanuman.
- Little Bit Beastly: Maruti/Hanuman is the only one who appears in the movie.
- Midnight Snack: Maruti's only Midnight Snack consists of the fridge's contents, and the village's food supply.
- Morph Weapon: Both Rahu and Ketu's staff and Hanuman's mace are this.
- Mother Nature: Who randomly appears and thanked Maruti/Hanuman for saving her.
- New Transfer Student: Subverted since Maruti hasn't been to school at all. This is required for him in order to help Minku.
- Not the Fall That Kills You…: A lot of people are thrown for considerable distances (in one case right through two walls), but always are completely unhurt.
- Officially Shortened Title: Inverted. Hanuman Returns was lengthened into The Return of Hanuman.
- Parent Service: The cheerleaders, Swarglok nurses, the devas' servants. Yeah...
- Parental Bonus: With its many Shout Outs and Satire.
- People Puppets: Minku and a horse are the victims. Hanuman is the puppeteer.
- Plot-Relevant Age-Up: Unexplained, Maruti grows to be a primary school student age in 3 months.
- Poirot Speak: Hinglish is commonly used in the film. Even the devas speak it.
- Rushmore Refacement: In the movie, this happened with with Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty.
- Satire: One music sequence presents Hanuman catching a character similar to George W. Bush and a group of terrorists in a net while the singer sings something that translates into "Thieves, thugs, ghosts, goons".
- Scaled Up: Happens to Rahu and Ketu's tiny henchmen.
- Scary Stinging Swarm: Maruti and his friends encounter a swarm of bees. He later uses a staff to suck the bees and later shot the bees to another area which blocked a truck driver.
- School Uniforms are the New Black: Applies to the students in the movie.
- Secret Chaser: Subverted, as even though Munni noticed that Maruti looks different, she didn't try to expose his secret that he's actually Hanuman.
- Shapeshifter Mode Lock: According to Brahma, after Maruti the human being changed back into Hanuman, he couldn't change back into his human self anymore. It's much different in The New Adventures of Hanuman, though.
- Smitten Teenage Girl: A squirrel goes nuts for Hanuman, but she is immediately scolded by an older squirrel because Hanuman is a monkey and a bachelor.
- Spontaneous Choreography: In "Aasman Ko Chhukar".
- Two Guys and a Girl: Before Maruti arrives, there was Minku, Munni, and Daddu.
- Unlimited Wardrobe: In the making of the movie feature on DVD, most of names of the people involved in making the movie are accompanied by Maruti in different clothing. Most of them are sports clothes, but there are some that weren't.
- Unnamed Parent: Taken to the near-extreme. Very few people outside of the children and the villains have given names, and Maruti's parents are referred to solely as "Priest" and "Maruti's Mother". Even by their spouse. Maruti's mother was finally named, though. In the synopsis from Percept Picture's website, it turns out that Maruti's mother's name is Shiela.
- Weird Moon: The moon presented in the movie is shaped as a crescent and Hanuman could even pull one of its edges.
