What do you do when you have a hit movie on your hand and more stories to tell? Why create a successful franchise of that film of course! And that’s what happens here in the second SPY KIDS film. The surprising thing though is that it doesn’t fall to the usual sequel pattern of not quite living up to the original. This one is equally entertaining.
It seems that Spy Kids are not being integrated into the OSS to be sent out on missions of their own. And as with their adult counterparts, there are rivalries among them as well. In this case, between that of the Cortez family and the Giggles’s.
The movie opens at an amusement park where the daughter of the President (a young Taylor Momsen) puts herself in danger. Alexa and Juni come to the rescue only to find a bit of competition from Gary and Gertie Giggles (Matt O’Leary and Emily Osment). Of course the Cortez’ kids save the day and Juni finds himself taking a liking to the President’s daughter.
At a celebration for all spies of the OSS, the competition continues. First off is the surprise announcement that Donnegan (Mike Judge) Giggles will be placed in charge of the OSS, something everyone thought Gregorio Cortez would be doing. This is followed by an attack on the gathering where the adults are drugged and the spy kids must try to stop the invaders from stealing a special gadget these bad guys want. They fail and now must retrieve it from whoever has stolen it.
This top assignment is given to the Giggles children much to the chagrin of Alex and Juni. What to do? Hijack the assignment of course. With info on hand the duo set out to locate the missing gadget and return it home. And the Giggle’s kids? They’re sent off on a mission of their own that results in their landing in camel dung.
Juni and Alexa travel in their special sub to a hidden island where all electrical items lose power. Faced with no gadgets to aide them they must use their own abilities to find the bad guy. Eventually Gary and Gertie show up and the race is on.
The Cortez children get a boost when they come across Romero (Steve Buscemi), an inventor on the island. It is his gadget they’re searching for with the exception that the one on the island can eliminate electricity around the world. Not only that, they find he’s responsible for the creatures on the island, a group of animals combined to form things like a spider monkey, half spider half monkey and other creatures that are joined. Not wanting the gadget to be used for evil purposes, he gives them aid in recovering it.
As the kids do their best to track down the gadget, their parents are bound and determined to save them. Unfortunately for them, they’re accompanied by Ingrid’s parents (Ricardo Montalban and Holland Taylor), past spies themselves. Who saves who? Come on; look at which characters get top billing in the title.
The movie is filled with all sorts of action and laughs. While the gadgets are tossed aside once the kids get to the island, the special effects team still has plenty to do. In what would seem a homage to the films of Ray Harryhausen, the creatures have that stop motion animation feel to them. In particular there is a group of skeletons that chase after the Cortez kids after Juni lifts a jewel from their hidden cave that reminds us of the classic JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS skeletons.
The story is deep enough that parents will enjoy what follows the opening credits, the kids are entertaining enough for kids their age and the effects are once again well done. Rodriguez has again tapped into the inner child of his mind and made an entertaining flick that brings back memories for the adults who watch as well.
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