Spy Kids trilogy
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| Spy Kids trilogy | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Produced by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Written by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Starring | Alexa Vega Daryl Sabara Antonio Banderas Carla Gugino |
| Distributed by | Dimension Films Troublemaker Studios |
| Release date(s) | 2001 – 2003 |
| Running time | 272 minutes |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Gross revenue | $463 million |
The Spy Kids trilogy is a trilogy of family/action/adventure films written, produced and directed by Robert Rodriguez and beginning in 2001 and ending in 2003. The plot tells a story about the children of a married spy couple who become involved in their parents' espionage. The rest of their family are also spies as well, including their uncle Machete (who supplies the OSS with gadgets) and grandparents.
Even though all three Spy Kids films are espionage-based, MSN Movies ranks the first film as the ninth best superhero movie to date, behind X-Men, Batman, Spider-Man, The Incredibles, Superman, Darkman, The Super Inframan, and Hellboy.[1] The first film was released on March 30, 2001. McDonalds' released Spy Kids toys in Happy Meals at the time the first movie was released.
Contents |
[edit] Plots
[edit] Prologue
About ten years before the films are set, there was a period of enormous political turmoil. Fearless agents were recruited for espionage, fearing only enemy spies. The way Gregorio Cortez (Antonio Banderas) and Ingrid Avellan (Carla Gugino) met is a classic Romeo and Juliet story, in that they were enemy spies assigned to kill each other that instead married. After their atypical wedding, they retired from espionage and started a family.
[edit] Spy Kids (2001)
After nine years of retirement, Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez are pulled back into duty by a huge assignment, but they are a little out of practice, so they are easily captured. Their kids, Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara), discover the truth of their parents' past, which Gregorio and Ingrid had neglected to tell them, and decide to rescue them.
On their first mission, Carmen and Juni manage to bring around their father's estranged brother Machete (Danny Trejo), a genius gadget inventor and Juni helps to redeem Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming). Together, they thwart the ambitious Alexander Minion's (Tony Shalhoub) plans to develop an army of androids resembling young children for a mastermind named Mr. Lisp (Robert Patrick).
[edit] Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002)
As agents of the OSS, Carmen and Juni face particularly hard competition with Gary (Matt O'Leary) and Gerti Giggles (Emily Osment), the children of double-dealing agent Donnagon Giggles (Mike Judge), whom Carmen and Juni helped to rescue in the previous film. Juni gets fired from the OSS after fighting over a smaller version of the transmooker with Gary and loses his spot as the best kid spy of the year award. Donnagon wants to steal the transmooker, a device that can shut off all electronic devices, so he can take control of the world.
On their next mission, Carmen and Juni follow the trail to a mysterious island, which is home to Romero (Steve Buscemi), an eccentric scientist who tried to create genetically-minaturised animals, but instead ended up with his island inhabited by mutant monsters (who turn out to not be so monstrous in the end). Eventually, Donnagon is fired and Gary suspended, and the transmooker is destroyed. Juni is offered his job back but in order to take a break from the OSS he retires from the OSS to start his own private eye agency which is shown in the third film.
[edit] Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)
Juni is thrust back into service when Sebastian the Toymaker (Sylvester Stallone), an evil mastermind, creates a video game called Game Over that mesmerizes its users. Carmen was sent on a mission to disable the game, but disappeared on Level 4. With the help of his grandfather, Valentin Avellan (Ricardo Montalban), who is a wheelchair user, Juni is sent after his sister and helps to disable the game and save the world. It is revealed the Toymaker was the one who disabled Valentin in the first place. Instead of avenging his former partner, Valentin forgives Sebastian who is redeemed. This 3-D movie was filmed using James Cameron's Fusion Camera system.
[edit] Background/Production
[edit] Influences
Spy Kids was heavily influenced by James Bond films. Director Robert Rodriguez says the first film was the "Willy Wonka and James Bond mix" and the second was the "Mysterious Island and James Bond mix"; by this pattern the third film could be described as the "Tron and James Bond mix". Technology in Spy Kids is almost always portrayed as looking friendly, and a bit cartoonish.
The Spy Kids films are like James Bond films, but with twists which are usually humorous. For instance, in the first film, a robot army is built to conquer the world. The twist is the robots are made to look exactly like children under about the age of 15 (these are the "Spy Kids" that the first movie title refers to: Juni rips off the robot Carmen's dog tags in one scene. There are 500 robot spy kids). There are often jokes about how routine saving the world is.
The spy organization featured in Spy Kids is called the OSS. The initials seem to have been derived from the Office of Strategic Services, a former American intelligence organization. Note there is a character named Donnagon Giggles, after William Joseph Donovan, the director of the real OSS. What the initials stand for in the Spy Kids universe is never specified on screen, but, according to one of the books, they stand for the Organization of Super Spies.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Technical innovations
The second and third films were shot with High Definition digital video, 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. 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.
[edit] Cast & Characters
List indicator(s)
- Italics indicate a cameo.
- A dark grey cell indicates the character did not appear in the film.
| Character | Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spy Kids | Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams | Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over | ||
| Carmen Cortez | Alexa Vega | |||
| Juni Cortez | Daryl Sabara | |||
| Gregorio Cortez | Antonio Banderas | |||
| Ingrid Avellan-Cortez | Carla Gugino | |||
| Uncle Isidor "Machete" Cortez | Danny Trejo | |||
| Felix | Cheech Marin | |||
| Fegan Floop | Alan Cumming | |||
| Alexander Minion | Tony Shalhoub | |||
| Grandpa Valentin Avellan | Ricardo Montalban | |||
| Grandma | Holland Taylor | |||
| Gary Giggles | Matt O'Leary | |||
| Gerti Giggles | Emily Osment | |||
| Donnagon Giggles | Mike Judge | |||
| Romero | Steve Buscemi | |||
| Dinky Winks | Bill Paxton | |||
| Devlin | George Clooney | George Clooney | ||
| Mr. Lisp | Robert Patrick | |||
| Ms. Gradenko | Teri Hatcher | |||
| Alexandra | Taylor Momsen | |||
| President of the United States | Christopher McDonald | |||
| The Toymaker | Sylvester Stallone | |||
| Francesca "Cesca" Giggles | Salma Hayek | |||
| Demetra | Courtney Jines | |||
| Arnold | Ryan Pinkston | |||
| Francis | Bobby Edner | |||
| Rez | Robert Vito | |||
| "The Guy" | Elijah Wood | |||
[edit] Reception
[edit] Box Office
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. Overall, it grossed $85.8 million in North America and $33.8 million overseas. The third and final film opened with a surprising $33.4 million, but didn't quite live up to the first "Spy Kids" total gross. In the end, it grossed $111 million in North America. However, its over-seas gross was double either of the first two "Spy Kids" at $85.3 million. Altogether, the "Spy Kids" trilogy grossed over $450 million worldwide.
[edit] DVD Release(s)
- September 28, 2001 (Spy Kids)
- February 18, 2003 (Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams)
- February 24, 2004 (Spy Kids 3D: Game Over)
[edit] Soundtracks
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