Antonio Banderas’ best movies may be in the realm of violent action films like the Zorro movies or NC-17-rated flicks like Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! However, the Spanish actor also does well in the family-friendly genre. With roles in the best kids movies like Shrek 2 and Spy Kids, the Academy Award nominee shares a sweet reason why doing “movies for kids” is still so rewarding.
The first time that I ever heard of Antonio Banderas was when the Spy Kids movies came out. Little did I know that he previously was in critically acclaimed movies like Philadelphia, Desperado and The Mask of Zorro because I wasn’t old enough. But the talented actor being in the Roberto Rodriguez spy movies helped me realize who the Golden Globe nominee was. While being interviewed on the set of Paddington 3, Banderas shared with BAFTA why doing “movies for kids” is still so “rewarding” for him after all of these years, and I feel like I’m gonna cry:
You know, the fact that I have been doing movies for kids for a long time now, with all the Shrek and the Spy Kids, and SpongeBob, it pays off with the years. I have many people now, some of them, they’re even movie critics, they come to me and they say ‘Oh my god, you know, I remember the first time that I saw Spy Kids I was 10 years old, or I was 8 years old. And now I am writing for this magazine, and I have to do a review of you. You are one of my heroes because you were the father in this movie, or you were this character, or Puss in Boots’ or whatever, you know? So, it’s very rewarding.
I can understand why it must be so endearing for Antonio Banderas to have people come up to him to talk about the kids’ movies he did. Since the Evita actor helped these adults take a trip down memory lane due to his movies from their childhoods, it truly must be a “rewarding” feeling to do that for someone. For all we know, those particular adults could be parents of their own who’d like to introduce their kids to their childhood idol through Banderas’ age-appropriate films.
After Spy Kids, Antonio Banderas continued to please the kiddies by taking part in the Shrek movies as Puss in Boots. The adorable cat proved to be a great talking animal companion for the lovable green ogre (next to Donkey, of course). Using inspiration from Banderas’ iconic character Zorro, the anthropomorphic cat is a swashbuckling professional who’s handy with a sword and distracting threats with those adorable big eyes.
Puss’ boots were made for walking with Antonio Banderas voicing the iconic cat in two spinoffs: Puss in Boots which followed the crime-fighting cat’s origin story and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish where the infamous cat is in a race to save eight of his nine lives. For his first time voicing an animated character, Banderas did an amazing job bringing humor and charm into the role, making him memorable for people of all ages. In between the two Puss in Boots movies, Banderas also played the antagonist Burger Beard in Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge Out of Water where he continued to bring humor and flair to the scheming pirate who stole the Krabby Patty secret formula.
The kid-friendly fun for Antonio Banderas wasn’t over yet. He’s in the cast of Paddington 3 playing riverboat captain Hunter Cabot who’s part of Paddington and the Browns’ family journey in Peru. As the threequel adventure comedy continues the impressive streak of the Paddington movies with an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 93%, Banderas seems to be a good luck charm for another kid-friendly franchise. You can watch the Nine actor’s sweet TikTok interview in full below:
@bafta
♬ original sound – BAFTA
It’s no wonder that Antonio Banderas finds doing kids’ movies still so “rewarding” if adults can come up to him and call him their childhood hero. If not for family-friendly movies like Spy Kids and Shrek, kids wouldn’t get the chance to know the stellar actor the Emmy Award nominee is. It’s all the more reason why actors need to star in movies made for adults and kids to appeal to a mass audience. You can see Banderas in Paddington in Peru when it opens January 25th on the 2025 movie schedule.