Johannesburg, 18 August 2026: Get ready for a magical journey through history as Tad and The Magic Lamp brings its time-travelling adventure to South African cinemas on Friday, 28 August 2026.

The fourth film in the popular Tad the Lost Explorer franchise sees Tad facing a very different challenge. He and Sara are now parents to fearless two-year-old Oli, who has inherited her parents’ appetite for archaeology and adventure. Tad, however, has become an overprotective dad, while his old friend Mummy is struggling with no longer being the centre of attention.

Things take a spectacular turn when the gang discovers the Magic Lamp in Buckingham Palace, and Mummy uses it to travel back to Paititi, Peru, in 1502. Tad, Sara, and their friends must follow him into the past before his actions change history forever. What follows is a globe-spanning race through time, taking them from Peru across the Atlantic to Greece and deep into the Middle East, all the way to the legendary cave of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

At its heart, the new film combines the franchise's trademark archaeology, fantasy, comedy, and action with a story about family, friendship, and parenthood. Screenwriters Josep Gatell and Manuel Burque describe the adventure as a quest packed with mysteries, chases, ancient traps, and iconic locations, with the Magic Lamp introducing time travel into Tad's world for the first time. Director Enrique Gato returns to the character he first brought to the screen in a short film two decades ago. The franchise has since become an international animation success, with the first feature released in more than 35 countries and later instalments setting new records for Spanish animation.

Tad and The Magic Lamp is directed by Enrique Gato, written by Josep Gatell and Manuel Burque, and produced by Ghislain Barrois, Álvaro Augustin, Nico Matji, Edmon Roch, Marc Sabé, and Javier Ugarte.

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*Currency in South African Rands (ZAR)