TAD, the lost explorer and the secret ok Kind Midas

“TAD” is a 25-year-old construction worker in Chicago who dreams of one day becoming what his beloved father –a history teacher who died when Tad was a child- could never but always wanted to be – a field archaeologist.

Always looking for “hidden treasures” in the sites where he works, Tad in fact dreams of being more than an archaeologist: he would love to be a true adventurer, like his favourite hero, Max Mordon, the greatest explorer in the world.

The chance of making his dream come true arises when his friend, Professor HUMBERT, a renowned archaeologist who used to be his father’s mentor, receives one half of a mysterious stone tablet from a colleague who is directing an excavation site at Machu Pichu. Humbert knows that the tablet is the key to the Lost City of Paititi and its legendary treasure, a treasure said to be more valuable than gold, and thinks that his colleague –Professor LAVROF- is on the brink of making a huge archaeological discovery and might be in danger.

But as he rushes to the airport to go to his aid, Professor Humbert has an unfortunate accident. When Tad, who was seeing him off, is suddenly mistaken for Professor Humbert, he sees the chance of taking his place and seizes it.

Full of dreams but not devoid of fears –flying and mummies amongst them- Tad, with his trusty dog JEFF, flies to Cuzco, but as soon as he lands he discovers that not only friends are expecting Professor Humbert…

KOPPONEN –a hulk of a man with a mechanical hand which can be turned into the most deadly of weapons- and his vicious henchmen seem to have different plans for him. They work for a company called Odysseus that ruthlessly tear down and ransack archaeological treasures to build profitable hotels or condos and have kidnapped Professor Lavrof hoping that he will lead them to Lost City of Paititi and its treasure. And they know that Humbert’s envoy is in possession of the other half of the stone tablet necessary to enter Paititi.

A rollercoaster of adventures and thrills beyond Tad’s wildest imagination begin for him and Jeff, as well as for their new friends in Cuzco: SARA –Professor Lavrof’s beautiful daughter and an archaeologist herself-, FREDDY –Lavrof’s local assistant, a man equipped with a “magic” coat full of all sorts of wares for sale- and BELZONI –Lavrof’s mute and sensitive parrot.

Tad, pretending to be an archaeologist, has to find the courage to face his fears and the ability to cover up his shortcomings as an expert in the field, but spurred on by his infatuation with Sara, he rises to the occasion and leads the mission to rescue her father.

With Kopponen and his gunmen hot on their heels, Tad, Sara, Freddy, Jeff and Belzoni cross the country – jumping from speeding trains, riding guanacos, flying in a hot-air balloon and driving bulldozers- and when they finally reach the Machu Pichu archaeological site, where Professor Lavrof is being held captive by Kopponen’s men, Tad discovers that MAX MORDON himself is not only involved in the quest for the Paititi treasure but is also Sara’s fiancé.

Kopponen finally gets hold of the two halves of the stone tablet, which has a hieroglyph in ancient Quechua with the map to the Paititi treasure that only Lavrof can decipher.

At gunpoint, Lavrof leads Mordon, Kopponen and his men to the Lost City of Paititi, a subterranean necropolis full of live mummies. But Tad and Sara are not prepared to let Kopponen get his own way…

It will be there that Tad will have to face his most dreaded fears and where he will prove his father’s lesson to be true: that with self-belief, nothing can stop him from realizing his dreams.

It will also be there that Sara will learn that Mordon is far from being the man she thought he was and that Tad isn’t really an archaeologist. And she will have to choose between the two.

It will also be at Paititi that the breathtaking nature of the legendary treasure will be revealed.

Cast

Crew

Production Notes

Fotogramas por Fausto Fernández
«(…) se podría decir, sin exagerar, que es la mejor película de animación española de la historia».

Metrópoli por Alberto Bermejo
«Entretenida y técnicamente deslumbrante, está a la altura de la mejor animación en 3D de la gran industria».

Cinemanía por David Bernal
«(…) ‘Tadeo Jones’ está pensada para un mercado familiar global que mezcla el clásico cine de aventura con todos los lugares comunes que han encumbrado a la animación comercial norteamericana».

‘Dirigido por’ por Tomás Fernández Valentí
«¿Resulta exagerado afirmar que, dentro de sus limitaciones, Las aventuras de Tadeo Jones se erige, seguramente sin querer, en una de las mejores propuestas del cine español de 2012?».