Spy Kids
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Movie_spy_kids_alexa_vega.jpg
Alexa Vega as Carmen in Spy Kids
Spy Kids is a name of a movie trilogy released from 2001 to 2003. The Spy Kids movies are 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 and grandparents.
Spy Kids was heavily influenced by James Bond. 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, 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. There are often jokes about how routine saving the world is.
The spy organization featured in Spy Kids is called the OSS, presumably named for the Office of Strategic Services. Note there is character named Donagan Giggles, after William Donovan, the director of the real OSS. It is never mentioned what the initials stand for in the Spy Kids OSS.
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 third film was shot partly in high-definition digital video, using an anaglyphic process to create the 3-D effects. Audiences were given red/blue glasses with their ticket purchase. Four set of these glasses were also included in the DVD release.
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Story
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 and Ingrid Avellan met is a classic Romeo and Juliet story, they were enemy spies assigned to kill each other that instead fell in love. After their atypical wedding, they retired from espionage and started a family!
Spy Kids (2001)
After ten years of retirement, Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez were pulled back into duty by a huge assignment, but they were a little rusty and easily captured. Their kids, Carmen and Juni Cortez, discovered the truth of their parents past, which Gregorio and Ingrid had neglecteed to tell them, and decided to rescue them.
Carmen and Juni managed to bring around their father's estranged brother Machete and Juni helped to redeem Fegan Floop. Together, they thwarted Minion's plans to develop an army of robots resembling young children for an evil mastermind by the name of Lisp.
Spy Kids 2: Island Of Lost Dreams (2002)
As agents of the OSS, Carmen and Juni are facing particuarly hard competition with Gary and Gerti Giggles, the children of double-dealing agent Donagan Giggles, whom Carmen and Juni helped to rescue in the previous film. Donagan wants to steal the transmooker, a devise that can shut off all electronic devices, so he can take over the world.
Carmen and Juni follow the trial to a mysterious island, which is home to an eccentric scientist called Romero, who tried to create genetically-miniturized animals, but instead ended up with his island inhabited by mutant monsters, who don't turn out to be so monstrous in the end. Eventually, Donagan is fired and the transmooker is destroyed. In order to take a break from the OSS, Juni retires.
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)
Juni is thrust back into service when the Toymaker, an evil mastermind, creates a video game, approprietly named Game Over, that mesmerizes its users. Carmen was sent on a mission to disable the game, but disappeared on Level 4. Juni is sent after her and with the help of his wheelchair-bound grandfather, Valentin Avellan, helps to disable the game and save the world. However, the Toymaker was the one who disabled Valentin in the first place. Instead of avenging his former partner, Valentin forgives him and Sebastian, alias "the Toymaker," is redeemed.
Film Actors
- Antonio Banderas - Gregorio Cortez
- Carla Gugino - Ingrid Cortez
- Appearances: Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2: Island Of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: The mother of Carmen and Juni, a bit protective about what her children are exposed to
- Alexa Vega - Carmen Cortez
- Appearances: Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2: Island Of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: One of title characters, Juni's older sister and an expert hacker
- Daryl Sabara - Juni Cortez
- Appearances: Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2: Island Of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: One of title characters, Carmen's young brother and a bit naive
- Ricardo Montalban - Grandpa
- Appearances: Spy Kids 2: Island Of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: Ingrid's father, wheelchair bound
- Holland Taylor - Grandma
- Appearances: Spy Kids 2: Island Of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: Igrid's mother, doesn't approve of Gregorio. Her role is a spin on traditional mother-in-law jokes.
- Danny Trejo - Uncle Machete
- Appearances: Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2: Island Of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: Gregorio's older brother, a maker of spy gadgets
- Alan Cumming - Fegan Floop
- Appearances: Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2: Island Of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: Host of children's show called Floop's Fooglies, now called Floop's Fooglie
- Sylvester Stallone - The Toymaker
- Appearances: Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: The maker of the video game Game Over which was secretly made as part of a plan for world domination
- Steve Buscemi - Romero
- Mike Judge - Donagan Giggles
- Appearances: Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2: Island Of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: The father of Gary and Gertie, evil villain who fears only his wife
- Salma Hayek - Cesca Giggles
- Appearances: Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: The mother of Gary and Gertie and wife of Donagan, seems to have great control over her husband, despite being noticably shorter than he is
- Matt O'Leary - Gary Giggles
- Appearances: Spy Kids 2: Island Of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: One of Carmen and Juni's rivals whom Carmen had a temporary romantic interest in
- Emily Osment - Gerti Giggles
- Appearances: Spy Kids 2: Island Of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: One of Carmen and Juni's rivals, eventually turns against her father
- Tony Shalhoub - Alexander Minion
- Appearances: Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2: Island Of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: The man behind Floop who was turned into a Fooglie
- Cheech Marin - Felix
- Appearances: Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2: Island Of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: OSS agent who pretended to be Carmen and Juni's uncle
- Teri Hatcher - Ms. Gradenko
- Appearances: Spy Kids
- Character Description: OSS agent who is secretly a double agent for Floop
- Robert Patrick - Mr. Lisp
- Appearances: Spy Kids
- Character Description: Evil mastermind who pays Floop and Minion to build an army for him
- Taylor Momsen - Alexandra
- Appearances: Spy Kids 2: Island Of Lost Dreams
- Character Description: The president's daughter and Juni's crush
- Courtney Jines - Demetra
- Appearances: Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: "The Deceiver"
- Ryan Pinkston - Arnold
- Appearances: Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: Beta tester for Game Over
- Robert Vito - Rez
- Appearances: Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: Beta tester for Game Over
- Bobby Edner - Francis
- Appearances: Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: Beta tester for Game Over
- Elijah Wood - "The Guy"
- Appearances: Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: The one in the Game Over poster
- Christopher McDonald - The President of the United States
- Appearances: Spy Kids 2: Island Of Lost Dreams
- Character Description: Alexandra's father
- George Clooney - Devlin
- Appearances: Spy Kids and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
- Character Description: The following president, former director of the OSS