# Mortadelo & Filemon: The Big Adventure

Mortadelo & Filemon : The Big Adventure (Spanish: La gran aventura de Mortadelo y Filemón) is a 2003 Spanish-language film based on the popular Spanish comic book series Mortadelo y Filemón by Francisco Ibáñez Talavera. It also included characters from 13, Rue del Percebe, another comic by the same creator. The film was directed by Javier Fesser and stars Benito Pocino and Pepe Viyuela. It became the second highest-grossing Spanish film of all time.

## Plot

The adventure begins when a spy breaks into Professor Bacterio's lab and steals some of his inventions from the T.I.A. headquarters (Técnicos de Investigación Aeroterráquea, "Tía" being the Spanish word for "Aunt", thus a spoof of the CIA). Mortadelo and Filemón who work for the T.I.A. are put on the case, but Fredy, another agent, decides to beat them to it. One of the inventions is a weather control machine which the spy decides to sell to the President of Tirania, a small Eastern European dictatorship. There are numerous clashes between the spy, Fredy, and Mortadelo and Filemón (who Fredy seems to want to kill). Our heroes end up in prison after accidentally beating up the local cop once too often. They escape, Filemon's mother gets kidnapped by Fredy and taken to Tirania. The spy is killed in Fredy's place as Fredy ingratiates himself with the President, while having Filemón's mother tortured. The heroes arrive and there is a big battle where Filemón is apparently killed. Then Mortadelo receives a mortal wound, but Filemón gives him a cup of water, which turns out to be the Holy Grail, Mortadelo drinks it and heals quickly, while Fredy gets his just deserts. Mortadelo and Filemón return home, their mission successfully accomplished.

## Cast

* Benito Pocino as Mortadelo
* Pepe Viyuela as Filemón
* Dominique Pinon as Fredy
* Paco Sagarzazu as The President
* Mariano Venancio as Superintendent Vincente (their boss at T.I.A.)
* Janfri Topera [es] as Professor Bacterio
* Berta Ojea [es] as Ofelia (Vincente's secretary)
* Gustamante as a mosquito (CGI insect)
* María Isbert as Filemón's mother
* Emilio Gavira as Rompetechos
* Germán Montaner [es] as President's servant
* Janusz Ziemniak [es] as The spy who started it all off
* Paco Hidalgo as President's torturer
* Javier Aller as Mickey El Gigante
* José Manuel Moya [es] as Security guard at T.I.A.
* Joan Gadea as a crooked shopkeeper.
* Juan Peiró as someone who keeps getting run over
* Andrés Gasch as Matraca, a very large man who has it in for Filemon
* Manuel Pizarro as a thief
* Coyito Fernández as a cop
* Emiliana Olmedo as Queen Elizabeth II
* The people of Gijón (crowd scene at palace, which was the Universidad Laboral)
* The people of Valencia where much of it was filmed including the final parade and also Madrid.

## Reception
### Box office

The film set an opening weekend record for a Spanish film with a gross of €5.1 million, second only to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It grossed 22.8 million euros in Spain, becoming the second highest-grossing Spanish film of all-time behind Los otros (2001).

## Sequels

There is a second film about the comic duo named Mort & Phil. Mission: Save Earth (2008).