Written by: Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Danny Trejo, Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alan Cumming
Rating: [3/5]
Following in the same career path as one’s parents typically has the sweet idea of a generational passing down of talents and something to share. We see this across various positions, even where the parents prepare their children for the eventuality of them taking over. Spy Kids introduced a different type of generational vocation where the kids jump right in and get involved in quite a situation where they must step in as the heroes for their weary parents.
Children of retired spies Gregorio (Antonia Banderas) and Ingrid Cortez (Carla Gugino), Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara) have no knowledge of what their parents have really done in their lives. When villainous thumbs kidnap them, they get thrust into the action to find out why certain spies have gone missing and how it somehow involves a television program Juni really enjoys watching.
Hilariously demented in some ways and cringe in others, Spy Kids has a nostalgic hold on me in the way it presents the fun elements of operating as a secret agent and minimizing the real negatives of it. We have a wide array of gadgets utilized by these kids that carry plenty of utility for these characters. However, the one that still to this day left a mark on me where they could rehydrate a pack of food into something completely edible. On this occasion, the pack turned into a Big Mac and fries and let me tell you, young Josh thought it was the coolest thing in the world and certainly wished it really existed. It plays into this overall wish fulfillment of the perks that come with getting involved with this line of work.
On top of the fund gadgets, this feature has some absolutely crazy CG animation and creature design for these characters involved in the Fooglies television program this film centers around. How in the world the creatives behind this film thought of how these agents would be morphed honestly deserve a prize in a way that could theoretically scare the life of a child while watching a film very much appealing to them as we go through this journey with Carmen and Juni. But before we even see those vile looking creatures, we have to take in those thumbs that serve as henchmen for the bad guys who really look like something out of a nightmare. None of these CG creatures look particularly good when on screen but I have to give them credit for just straight-up getting weird with these creatures.
As these two go on their journey, this feature plays on their sibling dynamic and utilizes that to help them grow in their affection towards each other. The pair are at that age where everything one does feels like an annoyance to the other, which puts them to the test as they need to figure out who has taken their parents and all of these other agents. This feature seeks to flip the typical dynamic of kids being the ones in distress with their parents needing to rescue them, which means these two need to put aside their petty disagreements and work together for the good of everyone. Certainly a good message to have within a film with this target audience, and the way they go about this relationship in the feature brings the sweetness amongst all of the other madness happening.
Writing and directing this feature we have Robert Rodriguez, whose filmography never ceases to amaze me in the way he enjoys crafting so overly violent and sexual films and then those overtly targeted to children like this one and its other sequels. How a man could do From Dusk Til Dawn and then turn around and do this within a span of a few years certainly shows some range, and for the most part it works as he continually oscillates between the two during various points of his career.
Certainly having deficiencies but deserving credit for its efforts to actually go for it in portraying this strange spy world, Spy Kids provides some fun wish fulfillment for kids. It takes all of the positives of what this life could give to kids and also a little bit of the danger. We have a fun familial dynamic not only between Carmen and Juni, but also their parents who deeply care for them as well. While the sequels continue to get progressively worse, at the very least this first one has its charm.
Films with Josh 
