Spy Kids

Spy Kids
Spy Kids poster
Directed by	Robert Rodriguez
Produced by	Elizabeth Avellan Robert Rodriguez
Written by	Robert Rodriguez
Starring	Antonio Banderas Carla Gugino Alan Cumming Teri Hatcher Cheech Marin Danny Trejo Robert Patrick Tony Shalhoub Alexa Vega Daryl Sabara
Cinematography	Guillermo Navarro
Editing by	Robert Rodriguez
Distributed by	Dimension Films Miramax Films (DVD only)
Release date(s)	March 30, 2001 (2001-03-30)
Running time	88 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English, Spanish
Budget	$35 million (est.)
Gross revenue	$112,692,062 (USA)
Followed by	Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams

Spy Kids is the first film of the Spy Kids trilogy. It is directed and written by Robert Rodriguez. It stars Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara and was released in 2001. Rodriguez also produced with Elizabeth Avellan and Guillermo Navarro and was the editor of the film. The film was released in United States theaters on March 30, 2001 and on VHS on September 28, 2001.

Plot

The plot summary in this article is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the content. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. (May 2009)

Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara) live with what they think are boring parents. One night, Carmen asks her mother Ingrid (Carla Gugino) to tell her a story, and with Juni listening, Ingrid recounts the tale of two spies, who though they are on opposing sides and originally supposed to kill each other, end up falling in love and getting married instead. What Carmen and Juni do not know is that this is the true story of their parents Gregorio and Ingrid. The newly married couple makes a big decision. They retire from the OSS (Official Strategic Service), the spy organization they were working for, to raise their family.

Ten years later, the family is facing some problems. Carmen enjoys tormenting her younger brother, who does not have many friends. In fact, the only enjoyment in his life comes from watching "Floop's Fooglies", a children's TV show starring a man named Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming), his sidekick Alexander Minion (Tony Shalhoub), and strange, humanoid Fooglies that speak in gibberish. Ingrid longs to return to spy work, while Gregorio just wants everyone to be happy.

Trouble begins when Gregorio (Antonio Banderas) is called in on a mission to locate some OSS Agents that have gone missing. The latest disappearance was that of Donnagon Giggles, an old fellow agent. The next morning, as Juni watches Floop's show, the strange host introduces a new Fooglie character- "Donnamight." Gregorio and Ingrid become suspicious when they realize that the strange character resembles Donnagon. The camera reveals that Floop is actually working for a villain named Mr. Lisp (Robert Patrick), and was paid quite a lot of money to develop an army to take over the world. Lisp is unhappy with the Fooglies, and is prepared to cut all funding for the project. Floop and Minion quickly present their latest idea - the Spy Kids, child-sized robots that have the athletic prowess and intelligence of the world's best spies. Unfortunately, the robots are currently brainless- but Floop does have a plan...

Back at the house, Gregorio and Ingrid receive a message that the missing spies have been located. They call an old ally, Felix (Cheech Marin), to watch the kids who believe he is their uncle. Unfortunately, the message was a trap - Ingrid and Gregorio are captured and imprisoned at Floop's oceanside castle. When Lisp's allies attack the house, Felix reveals the secrets of their parent's pasts to Carmen and Juni (as well as the fact that he is not really their uncle). Carmen protests-"They're not cool enough!" But when Felix opens the secret passage that leads to the parent's secret spy workshop, the kids are convinced. Felix manages to program a small submarine to take them to a safe house just as he is captured. His last message is "Find the OSS! Tell them the Third Brain lives!"

In Floop's Castle, Ingrid and Gregorio escape their holding cells, staring at the Fooglies that speak desperate gibberish to them. They find Floop in his dining room, where he uses a TV to demonstrate his evil Fooglie technology on Felix. Floop turns a clay version of Felix's head into a disgusting, bald-headed creature and presses a button, transforming him into "the new character for the holiday rush." Gregorio asks why they have been captured, and Floop reveals that he wants the Third Brain. It seems that long ago, Gregorio worked on the "Ten Brains" project for OSS. Its mission was to create extremely life-like brains out of technology. OSS canceled the project because of the potential dangers of enemies utilizing the technology, and most of them were destroyed, but Gregorio decided to keep the one he was working on. Now, Floop plans to use the brain to make his Spy Kids intelligent - and has Carmen and Juni versions ready to recover it.

At the safe house, the kids experiment with gadgets and read a book entitled, "How To Be a Spy; Author Unknown" until a lady appears at the door - Ms. Gradenko (Teri Hatcher). She claims to be with the OSS, and reveals Floop's plots to the kids. She also reveals that the gibberish the Fooglies speak is just a desperate cry for help backwards- "Floop is a mad man, help us, save us!" Carmen gives Gradenko Felix's message, and Ms. Gradenko gives her a bracelet for being a good spy which is revealed later to be a tracking device. She and her men tear the place apart until they find the Third Brain. Carmen and Juni realize that they are actually plotting with Floop, and use the gadgets in the safe house to stop them long enough to recover the brain and escape, but not before sending a jetpack into Gradenko and, while still on, burning off her long hair in the process.

While exploring San Diablo, Carmen and Juni run into the robotic versions of themselves, who manage to steal the Third Brain. Juni removes the Robot Carmen's tag and they discover that hundreds of them are being manufactured. The kids need help, and turn to an old wedding photo of their father and another man for a clue. The man is Machete (Danny Trejo), the children's real uncle. He makes spy gadgets for a living. When the Cortezes beg for help, Machete refuses, as he and Gregorio had a fight years ago, although deep down he still cares for him. Instead, the kids steal some gadgets and sneak off to Floop's castle themselves.

In the castle, Floop has become troubled by all of the evil deeds he must perform - all he really cares about is his show. Unfortunately, Minion has bigger plans, and turns on Floop. He traps him in the Virtual Room where the show is filmed, and mutates Gregorio into a Fooglie. While this is happening, Carmen and Juni sneak into the castle and begin to explore. The two are separated, and Juni finds Floop in the Virtual Room. They talk, and Juni angrily yells at Floop for being evil. Floop explains that he is actually just cowardly, and terrified of what stronger people might do to him if he disagrees. Juni inspires him not to give up, and helps him to escape. Inspired, Floop frees Ingrid and turns the captured Fooglies back to their old selves. Juni then uses his amazing ability to mimic voices to lure Minion to the Transforming Room, and the family teams up to transform him.

Floop realizes that the Third Brain has already been copied and ingrained into every robot child's head, and runs off to try to reverse the process before they can leave the castle. The Cortez's team up in the main room and prepare to fight Lisp, Gradenko (with burnt hair from the last encounter with Juni and Carmen), and even Minion, who now has four heads and three hands on each arm. Minion summons the Spy Kids, and the family prepares to fight, even Machete, who appears at the last minute to provide support. Floop is suddenly struck with inspiration thanks to Juni's words. The robot children are programmed to do only evil deeds... so he changes their understanding of right and wrong. The newly happy robots play by tossing Minion, Lisp, and unfortunately Gradenko into the air, and, after watching, the whole family returns home. In the end, Floop uses the Carmen and Juni robots on his show, which prove to be just what it needs, and the chief of the OSS, Devlin (George Clooney), summons Carmen and Juni to another mission. The final quote of the story is "Spywork, that's easy. Keeping a family together, that's difficult. And that's the mission worth fighting for."

Cast

Main

• Alexa Vega as Carmen Cortez
• Daryl Sabara as Juni Cortez
• Antonio Banderas as Gregorio Cortez
• Carla Gugino as Ingrid Cortez

Supporting

• Danny Trejo as Machete
• Cheech Marin as Felix Gumm
• Alan Cumming as Fegan Floop
• Tony Shalhoub as Alexander Minion
• George Clooney as Devlin
• Robert Patrick as Mr. Lisp
• Teri Hatcher as Ms. Gradenko
• Grayson as Patrick

Soundtrack

The film score is written by John Debney and Danny Elfman and also Grayson Lawrence, with contributions from a variety of others, including director Robert Rodriguez and Marcel Rodriguez. Among Elfman's contributions is "Floop's Song (Cruel World)", which is performed by Alan Cumming. Los Lobos covers the Tito Puente song, "Oye Como Va" (adapted as "Oye Como Spy" by David Garza and Robert Rodriguez). The song was nominated for "outstanding song in a motion picture soundtrack" at the 2002 ALMA Awards. The closing theme, "Spy Kids (Save the World)", is performed by the Los Angeles indie pop band, Fonda.

The score won an award at the ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards.

Track listing

1. "Cortez Family" (Gavin Greenaway, Heitor Teixeira Pereira, Harry Gregson-Williams) – 1:39
2. "My Parents Are Spies" (Danny Elfman) – 2:09
3. "Spy Wedding" (Los Lobos, Robert Rodriguez) – 2:11
4. "Spy Kids Demonstration" (John Debney, Robert Rodriguez, Marcel Rodriguez) – 1:06
5. "Parents on Mission" (John Debney, Danny Elfman, Gavin Greenaway, Heitor Teixeira Pereira) – 1:17
6. "Kids Escape House" (Gavin Greenaway, Heitor Teixeira Pereira) – 3:14
7. "Pod Chase" (John Debney, Danny Elfman, Harry Gregson-Williams) – 1:38
8. "The Safehouse" (John Debney, Danny Elfman) – 0:47
9. "The Third Brain" (John Debney, Robert Rodriguez, Marcel Rodriguez) – 1:00
10. "Buddy Pack Escape" (Danny Elfman) – 1:39
11. "Oye Como Spy" (Davíd Garza, Tito Puente, Robert Rodriguez) – 2:59
    • Performed by Los Lobos
12. "Floop's Song (Cruel World)" (Danny Elfman) – 0:59
    • Performed by Alan Cumming
13. "Spy Go Round" (Gavin Greenaway, Heitor Teixeira Pereira, Marcel Rodriguez) – 2:11
14. "Minion" (Chris Boardman, Gavin Greenaway, Heitor Teixeira Pereira, Robert Rodriguez) – 1:03
15. "Sneaking Around Machetes" (Danny Elfman) – 0:35
16. "The Spy Plane" (John Debney, Danny Elfman) – 1:29
17. "Floop's Castle" (Chris Boardman) – 1:29
18. "Final Family Theme" (Harry Gregson-Williams) – 1:44
19. "Spy Kids (Save the World)" (Emily Cook, David Klotz and Dave Newton) – 2:20
    • Performed by Fonda

Filming locations

• Austin, Texas, USA
• Atacama desert, Chile
• Bahamas, USA
• Reñaca, Viña del Mar, Chile
• San Antonio, Texas, USA
• Santiago, Chile
• Dublin, Ireland

Release and reception

The film received very positive reviews when it was released. It received 93% percent of positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

A special edition with deleted scenes was released to theaters on August 8, 2001. There were plans to release the special edition to DVD but it never materialized, despite the fact that a director's commentary and interviews were already recorded for it.^[1]

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Official website
• Spy Kids at Allmovie
• Spy Kids at the Internet Movie Database

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