When Enrique Gato was an aspiring animator, he created a character to practice the craft. As he was a lover of traditional Spanish comics and classic adventure films, he combined his two passions and the adventurous Tadeo was born, that endearing archaeologist who is now 25 years old. “At that time I was very hooked on Superlópez and, in a way, everyone tells me that I made my own Superlópez, in the sense that Superlópez is to Superman what Tadeo is to Indiana Jones,” says the director from the Madrid digital arts academy Lightbox, part of the animation production company of the same name, on the eve of the premiere this Wednesday of Tadeo Jones and the Wonderful Lamp, with a script by Josep Gatell and Manuel Burque.
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His first creation was a quick test, with potential, but he put it in a drawer. At that time, he had studied computer science and worked in video games. In the early 2000s, he learned that a Superlópez movie was underway and contacted the production company. “I was a total groupie. Like, I don’t even know how or in what way I can help you, but I want to be in this movie.” His contact was Nicolás Matji, who over time became his partner and producer. “When he replied, on one hand it was a cold shower because he guaranteed me that movie was not going to happen, but he had looked at my work and suggested trying to make a short film together.” He took Tadeo out of the drawer, they did what they had to do, and they circulated it through festivals without knowing what would happen.
Matji recalls the huge success it was: “We won 65 national and international awards and imagined someday making a feature film of Tadeo.” Gato remembers that at one point they held the record for the most awarded animated short in Spain. “I think the virtue of that short was that it was for us,” he acknowledges today. With such a debut, they made a second short, Tadeo Jones and the Cursed Basement (2008). And after succeeding again, they ventured into a feature film.
Since then, The Adventures of Tadeo Jones (2012), Tadeo Jones 2: The Secret of King Midas (2017), and Tadeo Jones 3: The Emerald Tablet (2022) have been released in theaters. The years pass and the character has grown with the director. “For me, he is a son, literally. I have one of flesh and blood and another of animation, and I treat him as such.” In this new plot, although he had previously refused to let fatherhood enter Tadeo’s life, he decided it was time and that he had the authority — based on his own experience — to talk about it in a way that was believable. This novelty, which develops the role of men in parenting in a desired and shared fatherhood, adds to other decisions that show the passage and evolution of the times. For example, he has decided to include more female characters, among them, a genie of the lamp. “Tadeo’s character is very inspired by traditional Spanish comics, with that way of seeing the world that comes from another era. They are eminently male comics,” he admits.
But the inclusion of women has not been limited to the screen, because in this new production they have achieved parity within the team. “From our experience, it was a predominantly male sector, with a 70/30 ratio of men to women. It has taken us 15 years, but we have achieved it,” Gato celebrates. Susana Paniagua, production director, agrees: “In teams mostly made up of men, I think the law of the strongest prevails. I think women encourage listening to everyone, regardless of whether they are a supervisor or a junior, and reaching the best agreement.”
The documentation process is essential before starting to design the production. References, archives, and stories from places like Peru, the Alhambra, Turkey, Mexico, France, or Egypt. “For example, in this movie we have Columbus’s caravels in there and a journey across the Atlantic from America to the Greek islands.” With that, they also try to engage adults and build a “family” movie. “We have to make sure that from the smallest child to the grandfather who goes with him have a great time, and that’s why the movie works on many levels, with many narrative lines,” explains Gato. Therefore, in this new movie, there are references to Mad Max, Titanic, Back to the Future, The Fly, or Some Like It Hot. There are also nods to artworks like Portrait of a Man with His Hand on His Chest, Dogs Playing Poker, or the portrait of Henry VIII. They even say that the character of Christopher Columbus is inspired by the well-known Spaniard Javier Gurruchaga.
The saga has attracted between two and three million viewers in Spain with each installment. “The first was an incredible hit, especially in Spain and Latin America, with great importance in Mexico and Brazil,” details executive producer Matji. The same happened in Belgium, with good numbers, and even in China. After that success, Paramount approached with the intention of signing a worldwide distribution deal for the movie, a project that also included another film from the team, Capture the Flag (2015). The key to traveling this whole path, he explains, is the care of the Tadeo Jones brand, so that viewers return to the character again and again. Paniagua adds that, being a small studio, they try to optimize every process and do not indulge in “trial and error.” “Enrique [Gato] works that part very well, we go very much on target, he knows very clearly what he wants,” she says.
National animated cinema has changed in recent decades, according to the perspective of this director who has been in the field for 25 years: “Before, we were only looking outside. It was very hard to see the landscape in Spain, almost without projects.” Now, he says, almost every year the record for animated productions is broken. “Twenty years ago, it was very difficult to find people who even knew how this worked.” A vibrant scene that some fear could be damaged by AI, although Gato does not share that fear. “That is precisely one of the messages of the movie. [Arqueobot] is a character I would never have included. I am very anti-technology because I really like that more analog spirit, but I found it is a perfect moment to talk about this.”
The director believes we must learn to live with artificial intelligence. Although this time they have not used it, they have realized it can make mechanical actions much faster without diminishing creativity and art. “For me, it is like when the transition from hand drawing to using computers was experienced,” he explains. “It is something new that you have there, that you have to know how to grab, use, and put to your advantage, not fight against it.”
Will there be new Tadeos who continue growing with the team and with the advances of the world? “The fact that the first part was so successful set the bar very high for all of us. Literally, the condition I always set to start any new Tadeo project is that there must be an expectation that it can surpass the previous one.” Matji agrees: “We all know we have a very strong brand and we have to give the audience something more. That’s what we try in every movie.” The team takes each installment as the last, and believes that is the key to why Tadeo keeps hitting with every release.
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