Daddy, I’m a Zombie (2011) is a 2011 Spanish animated comedy-drama film. The movie was directed by Joan Espinach and Ricardo Ramón. The film premiered 25 November 2011 at the Gijón Film Festival in Spain. Spanish actress Paula Ribó voiced the main character of Dixie and Kim Wharton voiced the character in its English adaptation.
The film follows Dixie Grim, a thirteen-year-old gothic girl. Her father is a recently divorced mortician who tries to connect with his daughter, but she seems to want nothing to do with him. She has a giant crush on Ray, a boy in school who doesn't seem to know she exists. All goes wrong when she witnesses her best friend seemingly flirting with Ray. Heartbroken, she runs away from the scene. During this, a tree falls in a forest and seemingly kills her. Dixie wakes up in a graveyard and discovers she has become a zombie. In there she meets Isis, an Egyptian mummy who helps Dixie and explains her situation and about the zombie world. The two friends go on a quest to find a way to bring her back to life. Along the way they meet Gonner, a zombie pirate who plans to steal Dixie's necklace, which turns out to be a powerful key that can bring the dead back to life. Gonner soon turns his way around and joins the pair.
A sequel titled Mummy, I’m a Zombie, was released in 2014.
This movie provides examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Piroska is head over heels about Gonner, though he hates her.
- All Just a Dream: Both movies reveal the events were dreams of Dixie although the first movie is more ambiguous about it.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Dixie is bullied at school for being a goth and because of her father's job. Even her only friend, Julia, ends their friendship because of peer pressure from Alyssa and Melyssa. At the end of the movie, Dixie has decided not to let any of it bother her, with the implication that she’ll make new friends.
- Armor-Piercing Question: From the sequel; "Who are you really, Dixie Grim?"
- Big Bad: Nebulosa / Negrida is the main antagonist of the film. She intends to turn all the zombies into Slave Mooks and take over the living world.
- Big "NO!": Dixie, when she looks at her decayed hands and realizes she is a zombie.
- Birds of a Feather: Gonner and Dixie bond because both were shunned when alive because of their taste for dark clothes and dark stuff in general.
- Bookends: The movie begins with Phil opening the window of Dixie's room to let the sun enter, as she protests and covers her head with her blanket. Near the end, Dixie herself opens her window and enjoys the sun.
- Brainy Brunette: Isis has black hair and is the most intellectual of the trio.
- Broken Bird: Dixie, because of her parents' divorce and bullying at school. Her mother seems very happy with her new husband, her Bumbling Dad is a source of embarassment, she is ridiculed at school and she finds out her ex-friend is dating the boy she likes.
- Butt-Monkey: Dixie's father, Phil.
- Cool Bike: Vitriol's mode of transport is a tricked-out motorcycle.
- Cool Old Guy: Vitriol, a biker/neohippie that knows a lot about the world of dead.
- Contrived Coincidence: Conveniently, the necklace Dixie was gifted from her mother is the precious Azoth.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Dixie alternates coldness with tantrums at the first part of the film, until Isis makes her laugh.
- Desperately Craves Affection: Isis clings to Dixie after they meet because she is very lonely. Almost all of the other zombies left the graveyard except Piroska, who couldn't care less about her.
- Does Not Like Men: Implied to be the case with Isis, as when she argues against bringing Gonner with the two of them, her first argument is "He's a boy!"
- Dub Name Change: Dixie's parents are known as Ricardo and Sofia in the original while they are Phil and Sophia in the English dub.
- Their last name was changed from 'Malsombra' to 'Grim.'
- Easily Forgiven: Dixie quickly pities Gonner and decides to trust him although he had tried to set fire on her and Isis - who lampshades that.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: As befitting her goth image, Dixie has pale skin and short, dark pink hair that looks purple in certain lighting.
- Fat and Skinny: Alyssa is tall and thin, Melissa is short and plump
- Friendly Zombie: Excepting Nebulosa and Piroska, all the other zombies are basically like this.
- Good Parents: Phil does everything he can to cheer up Dixie, including to buy two tickets so Dixie can go to the carnival with Julie. After learning that Julia is avoiding her, he offers to take Dixie to the carnival, despite being angry because she received an advertence at school.
- Goth: After the divorce, Dixie began wearing dark clothing, dark make-up, and accessorizes with skull motifs.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Isis is very jealous when Dixie pities Gonner and decides to take him with her. Seeing them bonding just makes her grumpier.
- Hate Sink: Alyssa and Melissa. Their only purpose in life seems to give Dixie hell, and neither are shown to have any redeeming qualities, or any levity that makes audiences find their antics amusing.
- Head Crushing: Piroska has an axe driven in the middle of her skull(she is so annoying that it is not hard to guess why someone killed her).
- Holy Ground: Nebulosa's mooks can't enter the graveyard. The zombies that dwelt there were caught only because they decided to migrate after more food, excepting Isis (the smart one) and Piroska ( The Mole).
- Improbable Hairstyle: Both Nebulosa and Piroska have pompadours huger than their heads. Hairspray must be easy to find in the world of dead.
- Karma Houdini: Neither Alyssa or Melyssa are punished for bullying Dixie so cruelly. At best, Alyssa is annoyed because Dixie got over so quickly having her heart broken by the two's scheme.
- Love Interest: Gonner quickly develops a crush on Dixie. The feeling is mutual.
- Love Makes You Evil: Gonner ends up betraying the heroes and aiding Nebulosa in the hopes of protecting Dixie.
- Mad Scientist: Negrida
- Malicious Misnaming: In the dub, Alyssa and Melyssa have nicknamed Dixie "Dead-ie" as a reference to her father’s job as a mortician and her goth appearance.
- New-Age Retro Hippie: Vitriol, man. Round Hippie Shades and all.
- Only the Chosen May Wield: Nebulosa wants to capture Dixie because only the bearer of the Azoth can use it to open the portal to the world of living.
- Scary Teeth: Piroska has small, pointed teeth.
- Shorter Means Smarter: Isis is the shortest, but she is the most intelligent character in the film.
- Tempting Fate: After fleeing from the carnival in heartbreak, Dixie sobs "I wish I was dead!" Moments later, she's crushed beneath a tree and wakes to find herself in the afterlife.
- Our Zombies Are Different: The zombies here resemble traditional zombies but retain their human intelligence. They exist in a Purgatory-like afterlife because they have Unfinished Business (although Isis and Gonner end up on Earth in the sequel). The zombies are killed by sunlight, and water. Oh, and they eat bugs. The sequel reveals any type of light can kill them and they love to eat cats.
