A surprise Spanish delight

Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas (G, 85mins) Directed by David Alonso & Enrique Gato ★★★★

A sequel to a 2012 Spanish animated adventure nobody saw, this knockabout, globetrotting tale is a surprising amount of fun. Juggling freshman archaeological studies with a construction job, Chicago-based Tad Stones is called back into action when renowned explorer Sara Lavrof asks if he’d like to attend her talk on King Midas at Las Vegas’ Luxurious Hotel. It’s a chance he jumps at, especially since he has undeclared romantic intentions towards her to air.

However, there’s no time for such niceties once there, as no sooner has the National Petrographic cover girl delivered her news that she’s discovered the lost papyrus of King Midas than she’s captured by ruthless megalomaniac Jack Rackham. Armed with Sara’s notebook, Tad teams up with fellow student Tiffany to track her down and also discover the whereabouts of three parts of Midas’ collar – the apparent key to his ‘‘golden touch’’.

Clearly inspired by both Indiana Jones and Tintin, as well as Disney’s Aladdin, David Alonso and Enrique Gato’s action-comedy offers plenty of excitement and entertainment for primary schoolaged audiences. Despite being the title character, Tad is a somewhat hapless hero, shown up by both women and exasperated by sidekicks that include a motormouthed, scene-stealing Mummy, a Snowy-esque Dog and a parrot who is a cross between Aladdin‘s Iago and Aardman’s Pirates‘ monkey.

Throw in an effective orchestral score and a couple of genuine surprises, and the result is an unexpected delight. - James Croot