SUPERAGENTS INVOLVED: Cortez Family, every single one of them, including Gregorio, Ingrid, Carmen, Juni and Grandparents

BRIEF: The world is in trouble again and no one can save it except the Cortezes, but only if they all work together.

ANALYSIS: Sure, Carmen and Juni got their parents out of a big jam on their last assignment. And they’ve got awesome spy genetics. But are they ready for the biggest adventure of their lives – for far wilder inventions, even cooler gadgets and much higher stakes? The world’s fate rests on their shoulders, which are only slightly larger than last year. We can only be sure of one thing: this mission will test every spy in the family.

The family espionage adventure returns with SPY KIDS 2: THE ISLAND OF LOST DREAMS, an all-new episode in the lives of the super-spy Cortez family. When last we saw them, the Cortez kids had just joined the “family business” in order to win back their kidnapped parents. Using a mind-boggling assortment of spy gadgets, gizmos and their own considerably clever smarts, they saved the day and proved that kids can be heroes too. Now, Carmen and Juni are Level 2 OSS agents, about to set off on their own solo mission, or so they think. But this time it will take the whole family -- and then some -- to keep the world safe from a mysterious volcanic island populated by a mad scientist and his imaginative menagerie of creatures, an island where none of their gadgets work and they have to rely on their wits . . . and each other to save the day.

Writer, director, producer, editor, production designer, director of photography, re-recording mixer, and composer Robert Rodriguez has created an even bigger and bolder adventure for the Cortez family, jam-packed with even more fun characters, more fantastical, retro-cool inventions and more far-flung creations. SPY KIDS 2: THE ISLAND OF LOST DREAMS is Rodriguez’s ode to the very spirit of exploration, as his young spies set sail in a super-automated Dragon Spy Sub for lands unknown bringing along enough spy paraphernalia – from satellite-linked watches to rocket-powered hover-shoes -- to make James Bond’s Q green with envy. They enter a fairy tale world of Magna Men and mischievously mutated animals, and they find themselves in an all-out rivalry with another pair of Spy Kids. But they also find something else: the spirit of cooperation across generations.

Says Rodriguez: “I called this film ‘THE ISLAND OF LOST DREAMS because I took every dream or imaginative thought I ever had as a kid – the gadgets I wished I could have, the fantastic places I wished I could travel – and the dreams all kids have for adventure and mystery and threw them all into this movie.”

For this second outing into the terrain where the family film meets international intrigue, Rodriguez added a new twist: a mysterious volcanic island filled with such oddities as hilariously hybridized animals and swashbuckling skeletons, where gadgets just don’t work, at least not at first. “Seeing how my own children have become so technologically savvy at an early age, I wanted to overload the Spy kids with gadgets and technology, of which they’ve become overly dependent on. So when they get to this mysterious island, their gadgets don’t work and they have rely on their creativity,” explains Rodriguez. “But of course, by the end their gadgets work again and then we really get to have fun by combining creativity and technology.”

Along with such pop-spy classics as “James Bond” and thrilling family adventures as “Willy Wonka” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” this time Rodriguez was also influenced by the imaginative fantasy worlds created by Ray Harryhausen in such films as “Jason and the Argonauts” and “Clash of the Titans.” “My earliest cinema memories come from watching films about mysterious islands with fantastical creatures running around,” admits Rodriguez. “And this was a chance to update that genre with all the spy gadgets and fun family dynamics of SPY KIDS that families of today can enjoy together the way my family did growing up. It’s a hybrid of ideas – sort of all my dream projects in one. And the fun part is that it always takes the Spy Kids and the audience someplace unexpected.”

In designing SPY KIDS 2, Rodriguez blew past all perceived limits and gave free reign to his gadget-loving, adventure-craving, kid-like imagination. Abandoning all traditional moviemaking techniques, including film, Rodriguez shot in a fast and furious new style, using 2 custom “hot-rodded” hi-definition cameras, and then bringing the whole movie back home to his garage where he edited, worked on effects, and recorded and mixed the final sound. Rodriguez put the priority on bringing his often magical, sometimes mythical, always eye-popping creative vision to life. Like an old-fashioned auteur, he brings his high-energy sense of storytelling fun to every aspect of the moviemaking process. He also brought his passionate feelings about the vital nature of families – and how much they mean to kids – once again to the fore. “I felt that since this was a sequel, in a summer filled with sequels, I wanted the movie to feel special. I decided to make it like you would a giant home movie. The home cooked meal is always best. I involved my family in every aspect of the moviemaking process and wanted to have an extremely hands on approach to the making of it. I’m hoping the audience will notice the difference, an imaginative and hands on link from a moviemaker’s imagination to the audience’s. Doing all these different key jobs is also the most fun you can have in the movie world, and I wanted to be as free as a creative kid making a giant finger-painting.”

“This film is even more based on family – and we meet more of the Cortez family -- because to me the Spy Kids idea is always about showing how exciting and adventurous having a great family life can be,” says Rodriguez. “We created even more action and adventure for this sequel but at the core it remains very much about the mission of family life. That’s where the magic happens. To me, what makes the movie worthwhile for me to make, and for families to spend their time sitting and watching it together, is that it’s not a movie about spies that happen to be in the same family. It’s about a family, that just happen to be spies.”

I must say that I was not as moved by this film as I was by the original. This film didn't have the spark that the first one did. Nonetheless, the theater was packed.

The plot line of this film is typical of family films today: The salvation of the family means the salvation of the world. This same theme can be found in Austin Powers Gold Member, and in Master of Disguise, motion pictures that opened up at about the same time as this film. In this episode the spy kids end up on the Island of Dreams. They need to defeat the corrupt villain in order to save the world from destruction. The story boils down to a very practical and understandable scenario. The evil one needs to destroy the spy kids’ family in order to control the world. The family, once it unites, defeats the enemy. The idea of this film, as with some many others of this kind, suggests that the safety and salvation of the world is directly related to the safety and salvation of the family.

I think it would be wonderful if a family film avoided this theme. It has been overdone. It's almost as if Hollywood believes that a "family film" needs to be about a family coming back together again. Hollywood certainly stresses the importance of family despite the opinion of certain critics to the contrary. The industry does produce strong family films.

There are some very interesting things to note about this film in that it reflects certain changes that have occurred in our postmodern culture:

There is a new era emerging out of the postmodern world that is also reflected in this film. It is the emergence of the Creative era, which can be seen in the following:

In many ways this film chronicles the transition between the Postmodern and Creative eras.

I must say that I missed seeing any strong spiritual connections in this film. As I have stated in earlier reviews, I do not necessarily equate family issues with spiritual issues. It is a good family film, but it has little spirituality, even though the Mexican-American culture is rich in Catholic imagery, signs and symbols. I truly missed that element here. Certainly being trapped on an island with frightening beasts would have prompted even the most devout atheist to pray. And what parent would not utter a prayer if their children were missing?

What is Robert Rodriguez afraid of?
Surely the salvation of the world involves more than just keeping families intact.