Spy Kids (franchise)

Spy Kids is an American spy adventure comedy family film series created by Robert Rodriguez. The main series follows the adventures of Carmen and Juni Cortez, two children who become involved in their parents' espionage. The rest of their family are spies as well, including their maternal grandparents, and estranged uncle Machete. The films tend to have a strong Latino theme, as Rodriguez is of Mexican descent.[1]

Spy Kids
DVD box set of the four films
Created by	Robert Rodriguez
Original work	Spy Kids (2001)
Owned by	Troublemaker Studios
Print publications
Book(s)	Junior Novelizations (first three movies) Spy Kids Adventures series
Films and television
Film(s)	Original series Spy Kids (2001) Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002) Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003) Spy Kids: All the Time in the World (2011)
Animated series	Spy Kids: Mission Critical (2018)
Games
Traditional	Spy Kids Challenger (Game Boy Advance) Spy Kids Mega Mission Zone (PC/Mac) Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (Game Boy Advance and PC/Mac) Spy Kids: Learning Adventures series (PC/Mac) Spy Kids: All the Time in the World (Nintendo DS)
Audio
Soundtrack(s)	Spy Kids Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over Spy Kids: All the Time in the World

Background

Influences

Spy Kids was influenced by James Bond films. Director Robert Rodriguez says the first film was "Willy Wonka-meets-James Bond"[2] and the second was the "Mysterious Island and James Bond mix". Technology in the films is portrayed as looking friendly, and a bit cartoonish.

The spy organization featured in the films is called the OSS. The initials seem to have been derived from the Office of Strategic Services, a former U.S. intelligence organization during World War II which later evolved into the CIA. Note there is a character named Donnagon Giggles, after William Joseph Donovan, the director of the real OSS.[3] What the initials stand for in the Spy Kids universe is not specified on screen, but, according to one of the books, they stand for the Organization of Super Spies.

Themes

One of the chief themes of Spy Kids is the unity of family. The films also play with the idea of children having adult responsibilities, and how keeping secrets from family members can have a negative effect on relationships. The first film also deals extensively with sibling rivalry and the responsibility of older children. It also has a strong sense of Latino heritage.

Technical innovations

The other films were shot with High Definition digital video,[4] parts of the third film using an anaglyphic process to create the 3-D effects. Audiences were given red/blue glasses with their ticket purchase in movie theatres. Four sets of these glasses were also included in the DVD release. The third film was also used as a test for a special Texas Instruments digital projector which is supposed to be able to project polarized 3D, a process that does not require the red-blue lenses, which was later reused for The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D (2005).

Films

Spy Kids (2001)

Main article: Spy Kids

After retiring from espionage for ten years, Gregorio and Ingrid (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino) are pulled back into duty for their important assignment despite the fact they were out of practice, and were captured. Their two children, Carmen and Juni (Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara), stay with their uncle Felix Gumm (Cheech Marin) and discover the truth of their parents' past, which they had neglected to tell them because they were afraid that if they knew, they would picture danger at every corner; and decide to rescue them. On their first mission, Carmen and Juni manage to bring around their estranged uncle, Isador "Machete" Cortez (Danny Trejo), a genius gadget inventor and Juni helps to redeem a tv show host named Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming). Together, Carmen and Juni thwart the plan of Floop's notorious second in-command Alexander Minion (Tony Shalhoub) to develop an army of androids resembling young children (including Carmen and Juni themselves) for a mastermind named Mr. Lisp (Robert Patrick) and his partner Ms. Gradenko (Teri Hatcher). The robots based on Carmen and Juni became part of Floop's show.

Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002)

Main article: Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams

As agents of the OSS, Carmen and Juni try to save the daughter (Taylor Momsen) of The President Of The United States (Christopher McDonald) while facing a particularly hard competition with Gary and Gerti Giggles (Matt O'Leary and Emily Osment), the two children of a double-dealing agent Donnagon Giggles (Mike Judge), whom Carmen and Juni helped to rescue them from the first film. Juni gets fired from the OSS after fighting with Gary over a smaller version of the transmooker, a device that can shut off all electronic devices even though it was Gary who started the fight. Juni loses his spot for the best spy kid of the year award, while Donnagon plans to steal the transmooker to take over the world. On their second mission, Carmen and Juni follow the trail to the mysterious island of Leeke Leeke which is home to Romero (Steve Buscemi), an eccentric scientist who attempted to create genetically-miniaturised animals, but instead ended up with his island inhabited by mutant monsters. Eventually, Donnagon is fired and Gary is suspended, and the transmooker is destroyed. Juni is offered his job back, but in order to take a break from the OSS, he retires to start his own private eye agency.

Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)

Main article: Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over

After retiring from the OSS, Juni is thrust back into service when an evil mastermind named Sebastian "The Toymaker" (Sylvester Stallone) creates a fictional video game called Game Over, which hypnotizes its users. Carmen was sent on a mission to disable the game, but disappeared on Level 4. With the help of his maternal grandfather, Valentin Avellan (Ricardo Montalban), who uses a wheelchair, Juni is sent after Carmen and helps her to disable the game in order to save the world. It is revealed that Sebastian was the one who disabled Valentin in the first place. Instead of avenging his former partner, Valentin forgives Sebastian who is redeemed.

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World (2011)

Main article: Spy Kids: All the Time in the World

The OSS has become the world's top spy agency, while the Spy Kids department has become defunct. A retired spy Marissa (Jessica Alba) is thrown back into the action along with her two stepchildren, Rebecca and Cecil (Rowan Blanchard and Mason Cook), when a maniacal Timekeeper (Jeremy Piven) attempts to take over the world. In order to save the world, Rebecca and Cecil must team up with Marissa.

Television

Spy Kids: Mission Critical (2018)

Main article: Spy Kids: Mission Critical

On June 16, 2016, Netflix announced an animated Spy Kids television show entitled Spy Kids: Mission Critical with The Weinstein Company.[5] The first and second seasons will both consist of 10 episodes[6] and is produced by Mainframe Studios.[7]

The series was announced by Mike Fleming Jr and created by Michael Hefferon and Sean Jara on May 6, 2015, with the villains being described “as colorful” as the protagonists, and the series is said to contain “as much comedy as wish fulfillment.” FM DeMarco is the head writer of the series. WOW! Unlimited Media Inc.'s Vancouver-based Mainframe Studios, the TV division of Rainmaker Entertainment, partnered with the Weinstein Company to produce the series, with the series being described as a "multi-season commitment". Robert Rodriguez serves as executive producers due to Bob Weinstein dropping out and Harvey Weinstein getting fired from TWC. It premiered on Netflix worldwide on April 20, 2018.

Cast and crew

Principal cast

List indicator(s)

• A dark grey cell indicates the character did not appear.

Characters	Original series				Television series
	Spy Kids	Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams	Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over	Spy Kids: All the Time in the World	Spy Kids: Mission Critical
					Season 1	Season 2
	2001	2002	2003	2011	2018
Carmen Cortez	Alexa Vega Addisyn Fair (infant)	Alexa Vega			Ashley Bornancin
Juni Cortez	Daryl Sabara				Carter Hastings
Gregorio Cortez	Antonio Banderas			Antonio Banderas (archive footage and deleted scene)	Christian Lanz
Ingrid Cortez (née Avellan)	Carla Gugino			Carla Gugino (deleted scene)	Mira Sorvino
Isador Cortez Machete	Danny Trejo				Character is silent
Felix Gumm Padre	Cheech Marin				Cheech Marin
Fegan Floop	Alan Cumming				Christian Lanz
Donnagon Giggles	Mike Judge
Alexander Minion	Tony Shalhoub
Carmenita	Alexa Vega
Junito	Daryl Sabara
Devlin	George Clooney		George Clooney
Ms. Gradenko	Teri Hatcher
Mr. Lisp	Robert Patrick
Helga Avellan		Holland Taylor		Holland Taylor (archive footage)
Gary Giggles		Matt O'Leary
Gerti Giggles		Emily Osment
Romero		Steve Buscemi
Valentin Avellan		Ricardo Montalbán
Dinky Winks		Bill Paxton
President of the United States		Christopher McDonald
Alexandra The President's Daughter		Taylor Momsen
Sebastian The Toymaker			Sylvester Stallone
Arnold			Ryan Pinkston
Francis			Bobby Edner
Rez			Robert Vito
Demetra			Courtney Jines
Francesca "Cesca" Giggles			Salma Hayek
The Guy			Elijah Wood
Marissa Wilson (née Cortez)				Jessica Alba
Rebecca Wilson				Rowan Blanchard
Cecil Wilson				Mason Cook
Wilbur Wilson				Joel McHale
Maria Wilson				Belle and Genny Solorzano
Agent Argonaut				Elmo Ricky Gervais (voice)
Danger D'Amo The Timekeeper Tick-Tock				Jeremy Piven Jett Good (young)
Editor / Cameraman				Wray Krawford
Glitch					Caitlyn Bairstow
Gablet
Ace					Nicholas Coombe
Claudia Floop Scorpion					Nesta Cooper
Sir Awesome					Richard Ian Cox
Peter "PSI" St. Ignatius					Travis Turner
Golden Brain					Tom Kenny
Spurious Visage
Professor Küpkakke
Kopi Vasquez					Candi Milo
Vida Immortata
Desmond "Dez" Vasquez					Yuri Lowenthal
Zedmond "Zed" Vasquez
Jaime Vasquez
Jason Pietranthony "Improv" Improvisario
Bradley Feinstein Mint Condition					Patton Oswalt
Dr. Chad Jericho					Thomas Lennon
JT the Worm					Bobcat Goldthwait
Agent No-One					Terrence Stone	Robert Englund

Crew

Occupation	Film
	Spy Kids	Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams	Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over	Spy Kids: All the Time in the World
	2001	2002	2003	2011
Director	Robert Rodriguez
Producer	Robert Rodriguez and Elizabeth Avellan
Writer	Robert Rodriguez
Composer(s)	Robert Rodriguez and John Debney		Robert Rodriguez	Robert Rodriguez
				Carl Thiel
Editor(s)	Robert Rodriguez			Robert Rodriguez
				Rebecca Rodriguez
Cinematographer(s)	Guillermo Navarro	Robert Rodriguez		Jimmy Lindsey and Robert Rodriguez
Production Company	Troublemaker Studios
	Dimension Films
Distributor(s)	Miramax Films			The Weinstein Company

Reception

Box office performance

The first film was a surprise hit, opening with $26.5 million and grossing a total of $112.7 million USD in North America and $35.2 million over-seas. The second film had a disappointing but still strong opening weekend of $16.7 million and a total of $25 million since its Wednesday launch. Overall, it grossed $85.8 million in North America and $33.8 million overseas. The third film opened with a surprising $33.4 million. In the end, it grossed $111 million in North America and $86 million internationally. The fourth film grossed $85 million at the box office. Altogether, the Spy Kids series grossed over $535 million worldwide.

Critical and public response

The first film received positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, becoming the most critically acclaimed film of the series. The second film, again achieved positive reviews from critics and audiences. The third film in series received more mixed reviews from critics and audiences. It was criticized for the poor 3D visual effects. The fourth and final film, received mostly negative reviews from critics and audiences. The film was panned upon release, being criticized for the plot, acting, visual effects and the 4D Aroma-Scope effect in the film.

Film	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic	CinemaScore
Spy Kids	93% (123 reviews)[8]	71 (27 reviews)	A[9]
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams	75% (129 reviews)[10]	66 (29 reviews)	A-[9]
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over	45% (140 reviews)[11]	57 (30 reviews)	B+[9]
Spy Kids: All the Time in the World	22% (56 reviews)[12]	37 (14 reviews)	B+[9]

Related film series

Isador "Machete" Cortez (played by Danny Trejo), who appeared in all four Spy Kids films as a supporting character, additionally had a series of two stand-alone films: Machete and Machete Kills, also written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. However, the Machete films share little in common with the Spy Kids films thematically and are not considered direct spin-offs, the first film instead being an adult-oriented action exploitation film, with the second film introducing science fiction elements; both films additionally share several cast members and characters with the Spy Kids films.[13] The idea for a Machete film came from a fake trailer promoting the Grindhouse double-feature by Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino.[14] Trejo and Rodriguez have made two conflicting statements regarding its canonicity to the Spy Kids films. Trejo stated that the films depict "what Uncle Machete does when he’s not taking care of the kids",[14] while Rodriguez stated in a Reddit AMA that they are alternate universes.[15] Regardless, Rodriguez has stated he was prompted by an incident on the set of the first Machete film to start envisioning a fourth film in the main Spy Kids series, casting Jessica Alba as Machete's sister Marissa, a different character to the one she portrayed in Machete, with Trejo additionally reprising his role alongside her.[16][17][18][19]

Home media

• September 18, 2001 (Spy Kids) on DVD by Buena Vista Home Entertainment
• February 18, 2003 (Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams) on DVD by Buena Vista Home Entertainment
• February 24, 2004 (Spy Kids 3D: Game Over) on DVD by Buena Vista Home Entertainment
• August 2, 2011 (Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over) on DVD and Blu-ray Disc by Lionsgate (However, all 3 DVDs are still the original Buena Vista Home Entertainment copies.)
• November 22, 2011 (Spy Kids: All the Time in the World) on DVD and Blu-ray by Anchor Bay Entertainment
• December 4, 2012 (Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D 3D Double Feature) on Blu-ray 3D Disc by Lionsgate

Notes

1. ^ The Walt Disney Company had to cut their own share on the fourth film with The Weinstein Company to 5% after the latter party lost their bid to reclaim Miramax Films.[20]

References

1. AFP (October 23, 2013). "'Machete' director Robert Rodriguez doesn't see Oscar future". /gulfnews.com. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
2. "Interview with Mexican director Robert Rodriguez | Film". The Guardian. 2001-04-11. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
3. CIA: Look Back … Gen. William J. Donovan Heads Office of Strategic Services
4. Fred Topel (August 2002). "Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams". Cinefantastique. Vol. 34 no. 5. pp. 46–49. Rodriguez shot SPY KIDS 2 entirely with High Definition digital cameras
5. Brian Steinberg (June 16, 2016). "Netflix Readies Animated 'Spy Kids,' 'Llama Llama' Series (EXCLUSIVE)". Varietyaccessdate=July 1, 2016.
6. "And just like that we are underway on mixing our second season episodes of Spy Kids: Mission Critical #SpyKidsMC18 First up - ep. 3!". November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
7. Pinto, Jordan (March 24, 2017). "Wow! Unlimited inks deal with Weinstein Co, Netflix". Playback. Brunico Communications. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
8. Spy Kids Rotten Tomatoes
9. "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
10. Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams Rotten Tomatoes
11. Spy Kids 3-D - Game Over Rotten Tomatoes
12. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D Rotten Tomatoes
13. Rodriguez, Robert (February 2014). "I am director Robert Rodriguez, here again with El Rey. Let's play". Reddit. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
14. Westel, Bob (April 1, 2011). "A roundtable chat with actor Danny Trejo, aka "Machete"". Premium Hollywood.
15. Rodriguez, Robert (February 2014). "I am director Robert Rodriguez, here again with El Rey. Let's play". Reddit. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
16. Wilson, Lisa (August 15, 2011). "Busy Alba relates to 'Spy Kids' mom". Toronto Sun. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
17. Thompson, Bob (August 14, 2011). "Spy mom, real mom". ottawacitizen.com. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
18. Connelly, Brendon (September 25, 2009). "Dimension Confirm Details of Scream 4, Spy Kids 4, An American Werewolf in London Redux and More". SlashFilm. Archived from the original on October 31, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
19. Connelly, Brendon (December 21, 2009). "Robert Rodriguez Sequel Log-Jam: More Machete, Sin City 2 and Spy Kids Reboot". SlashFilm. Archived from the original on October 7, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
20. "Miramax movies, Harvey and Bob Weinstein, Ron Tutor". NYDailyNews.com. February 3, 2011.