Somewhere on a film set, an actor who has spent a career in swords, shadows and scandal pauses to consider the quieter work that has followed him for decades. Antonio Banderas, speaking as he prepared for Paddington 3, reflects that the animated cats, the spy-family adventures and the cartoon villains he once played for children have returned to him in an unexpected form: grown adults, some of them critics, who approach him as a hero from their childhood. In a film culture that often ranks prestige above play, his remark suggests that the stories we absorb young may be the ones that stay close
Antonio Banderas Says Kids' Movies Like Shrek and Spy Kids Remain Deeply Rewarding Decades On
Kids who saw Spy Kids at 8 now write the reviews
Mark
Why does this small interview comment stick?
Mimi
Because Banderas is known for violent action and NC-17 work, yet he says the kids' films are what people come back to tell him about. Critics say they saw Spy Kids at 8 or 10 and now review him.
Mark
So the reward is the long delay?
Mimi
Yes. He says it pays off with the years. The children grew up and now meet him as adults.
Luke
Worth noting that the quote is Banderas's own account of what people say to him. We have no names of the critics and no count of how often it happens.
Mark
Fair. What about the career list?
Mimi
Spy Kids, Shrek as Puss in Boots, two Puss spinoffs, Burger Beard in SpongeBob, and now Hunter Cabot, a riverboat captain in Paddington in Peru.
Luke
The 93% Rotten Tomatoes score belongs to the Paddington franchise's record. It says nothing yet about this film, and the claim that Banderas is a good luck charm is the writer's opinion.
Mark
And the suggestion that some of those adults are now parents?
Luke
That is speculation in the source, framed as what we cannot know. It is plausible, but unconfirmed.
Mimi
What is confirmed is the date: Paddington in Peru opens January 25.
Der Puls
- Adults who once watched Spy Kids and Shrek as children now stand before Banderas as critics and fans, and the reunion carries a jolt of surprise.
- His career has been built on swordsmen and provocative roles, so his family-film legacy quietly competes with the reputation audiences expected him to have.
- Banderas is moving between franchises, from Puss in Boots and SpongeBob to a riverboat captain in Paddington 3, testing whether his kids-film appeal travels across new worlds.
- Paddington in Peru opens January 25 with a 93% Rotten Tomatoes score, and it lands as a live trial of whether the actor's family-film goodwill can carry a new chapter.
Somewhere on a film set, an actor who has spent a career in swords, shadows and scandal pauses to consider the quieter work that has followed him for decades. Antonio Banderas, speaking as he prepared for Paddington 3, reflects that the animated cats, the spy-family adventures and the cartoon villains he once played for children have returned to him in an unexpected form: grown adults, some of them critics, who approach him as a hero from their childhood. In a film culture that often ranks prestige above play, his remark suggests that the stories we absorb young may be the ones that stay closest to us.
Antonio Banderas was on the set of Paddington 3 when BAFTA asked him about the part of his career people tend to overlook. The Spanish actor, an Academy Award nominee, is best known for the Zorro films and for more adult work. Yet he said the family films are the ones that keep paying him back.
He has been making movies for children for years, through the Shrek films, the Spy Kids films and SpongeBob. Now people approach him as grown adults, some of them movie critics, who saw Spy Kids when they were eight or ten. They tell him he was one of their heroes, whether as the father in that film or as Puss in Boots. For Banderas, that is what makes the work rewarding.
Spy Kids, directed by Robert Rodriguez, was for many viewers their first encounter with him. He then voiced Puss in Boots, a swashbuckling cat drawing on his Zorro persona, and later carried two spinoffs, including his first animated voice role. He also played the scheming pirate Burger Beard in SpongeBob. Now he joins Paddington 3 as riverboat captain Hunter Cabot.
The writer adds a personal note: Spy Kids was how he first learned who Banderas was. Paddington in Peru opens January 25, and its strong early reviews will test whether the actor's family-film appeal still holds.
Antonio Banderas was standing on the set of Paddington 3 when BAFTA put a camera on him and asked about the part of his career that is easiest to overlook. The Spanish actor, an Academy Award nominee, is known for violent action films like the Zorro movies and for NC-17-rated work like Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! But he has also spent years in family films, and in that interview he said those are the roles that keep paying him back.
His explanation was simple. He said he has been making movies for kids for a long time, with the Shrek films, the Spy Kids films and SpongeBob, and that it pays off over the years. People now come up to him, some of them movie critics, and tell him they first saw Spy Kids when they were 8 or 10 years old. Now they write for a magazine and have to review him. He said they tell him he is one of their heroes because he was the father in that movie, or Puss in Boots, or another character. For Banderas, that is what makes the work rewarding.
The filmography behind that remark is long. Spy Kids, directed by Robert Rodriguez, was an early entry, and for some viewers it was the first time they encountered Banderas at all, before they knew of Philadelphia, Desperado or The Mask of Zorro. He then joined the Shrek series as Puss in Boots, a talking cat who works as a swashbuckler, handy with a sword and just as handy at distracting threats with big eyes. The character drew on Zorro, Banderas's best-known swordsman.
Puss later carried two spinoffs with Banderas voicing him: Puss in Boots, which told the cat's origin story, and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, in which the cat races to save the last eight of his nine lives. It was Banderas's first time voicing an animated character. Between those two films he also played the villain Burger Beard in SpongeBob SquarePants: Sponge Out of Water, a scheming pirate who steals the Krabby Patty secret formula.
The streak now continues with Paddington 3, known as Paddington in Peru. Banderas plays Hunter Cabot, a riverboat captain who is part of the journey Paddington and the Browns take through Peru. The Paddington films have a strong record with critics, holding a Rotten Tomatoes score of 93%, and the CinemaBlend writer suggests Banderas may be something of a good luck charm for kid-friendly franchises. That is the writer's view, not a measured fact.
The piece also carries a personal note. The writer says Spy Kids was how he first learned who Banderas was, because he was too young for the actor's earlier, more adult films. He argues that without family movies like Spy Kids and Shrek, children would not get the chance to know the actor at all, and that it helps for actors to work in films for both adults and kids. He also notes that some of the adults who approach Banderas may now be parents introducing their own children to the actor they loved growing up.
Paddington in Peru opens January 25 on the 2025 movie schedule, where its place in the franchise's run of strong reviews will be tested.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Banderas said people, including movie critics, tell him they first saw Spy Kids at 8 or 10 and now consider him one of their heroes, which he finds very rewarding.— Antonio Banderas, in an interview with BAFTA
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