Malaga-based production company behind Hollywood's most expensive film shoot in Spain

Disney has chosen Spain as the location for the entire shoot of Tangled, the story of Rapunzel and her enviable mane of hair. Filming started three months ago, with the largest Hollywood production budget in Spain's history: over 80 million euros.

Behind this mega production is one of the most sought-after service companies in Spain: the young Malaga-based Anima Stillking.

Behind this reimagining of the Rapunzel story are producer Kristin Burr (Cruella) and director Michael Gracey, the man behind The Greatest Showman. Gracey's role is to bring that grand musical touch to this remake of the original animated film that took the world by storm in 2010, grossing some 600 million euros at the box office.

The new version features a cast led by Teagan Croft (Titans), Milo Manheim (Zombies), Kathryn Hahn (The Studio) and Diego Luna (Andor).

The filming of Tangled began at the end of June at the Ciudad de la Luz in Alicante, where the production team set up its headquarters and will continue filming for a total of seven weeks (not consecutive).

The production has invested 40 million euros in the region of Valencia, as president of the regional government Juanfran Pérez Llorca, who supported the production with a public grant of five million euros, has confirmed.

According to official figures, the studios in Alicante have not only hosted the filming, but also accommodated the offices during the pre-production phase, the construction of sets and rehearsals.

The production has brought a peak in employment of 700 people, including technical crew and extras.

Filming has also taken place in Girona, on the steps of the very same cathedral that features in Game of Thrones.

The financial aspect is a matter that major productions tend to handle discreetly, so it is difficult to cite official figures. However, Profilm (the association of Spanish international audiovisual production companies) has confirmed that, last year, the combined total of foreign TV series and films that chose Spain as a filming location generated a direct investment of 103.9 million euros, which gives an idea of the spectacular budget that Tangled alone is spending.

Tangled is the most expensive production ever shot in Spain, far outstripping other mega projects such as Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014), which generated an economic impact of over 43 million euros, and, more recently, The Snow Society (2023), the co-production between Spain, Uruguay, Argentina and the US with which J. A. Bayona broke the record for Spanish cinema with a budget of 60 million.

Anima Stillking is the driving force behind this Disney film in Spain, with executive producer María Cabello at the helm of the project. This is a real milestone for this company, which is only two and a half years old.

The team behind Anima Stillking, however, have extensive experience in the filming of Hollywood films and series. Their client list includes Amazon Prime Video (they filmed the series The Girlfriend in Malaga, directed by and starring Robin Wright), HBO (House of the Dragon), AMC (The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon) and Lionsgate, for whom they also directed one of last year's major film shoots in Spain: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1, due to be released on 20 November.

Disney and Tangled have now joined that list. The film is proving to be one of the greatest logistical challenges the Perchel-based company has ever faced, both in terms of its duration and its multi-million budget.

The journey has so far involved numerous professionals from Malaga, such as department heads Adriana Prado, head of landscaping for the film, and Irene Manrique, location supervisor, who was nominated in Hollywood just a few weeks ago for the sets of the series Young Sherlock Holmes.

They will all remain on set until October, after which a lengthy post-production phase will follow. We will have to wait until 31 March 2028 to see Rapunzel on the big screen.

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