Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002)

The Cortez siblings set out for a mysterious island, where they encounter a genetic scientist and a set of rival spy kids.

Director:

Robert Rodriguez

Writer:

Robert Rodriguez

Stars:

Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Antonio Banderas	...	Gregorio Cortez
Carla Gugino	...	Ingrid Cortez
Alexa Vega	...	Carmen Cortez
Daryl Sabara	...	Juni Cortez
Steve Buscemi	...	Romero
Mike Judge	...	Donnagon
Danny Trejo	...	Machete
Cheech Marin	...	Felix Gumm
Matt O'Leary	...	Gary Giggles
Emily Osment	...	Gerti Giggles
Ricardo Montalban	...	Grandfather
Holland Taylor	...	Grandmother
Alan Cumming	...	Fegan Floop
Taylor Momsen	...	President's Daughter
Christopher McDonald	...	President of the USA

Storyline

Exploring the further adventures of Carmen and Juni Cortez, who have now joined the family spy business as Level 2 OSS agents. Their new mission is to save the world from a mad scientist living on a volcanic island populated by an imaginative menagerie of creatures. On this bizarre island, none of the Cortez's gadgets work and they must rely on their wits--and each other--to survive and save the day.

---

Plot Keywords:

island | spy | scientist | mad scientist | sequel | 

---

Taglines:

Huge New Adventure - Slightly Larger Spies

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for action sequences and brief rude humor

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 August 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Spy Kids 2

Filming Locations:

Arenal Lake, Costa Rica

Box Office

Budget:

$39,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$70,048 (South Africa) (31 January 2003)

Gross:

$198,314 (South Africa) (21 February 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dimension Films, Troublemaker Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Robert Rodriguez, the theme park at the beginning of the film was originally going to be Disneyland, but Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington was used instead.

---

Goofs

When Carmen and Juni are standing on the beach, cables are visible on the ground behind Carmen.

---

Quotes

Gary Giggles: You take her, and I'll take this
[gesturing to devise]
Gary Giggles: . That way we both look good.
Juni: I'm not in this for looks Gary

---

Crazy Credits

The film's MPAA rating appears at the very end of the closing credits - as part of the regular scrolling credits rather than on the screen by itself. What is also unusual is the rating usually appears at the start of a film, not the end.

---

Connections

References The Nutty Professor (1963)

---

Soundtracks

"Isle of Dreams"
Performed by Alexa Vega
Words and Music by Robert Rodriguez
Produced by Robert Rodriguez and Carl Thiel

User Reviews

Bigger, but not better, sequel

To its credit, "Spy Kids 2" does indeed display a lot of creativity and imagination, and that makes it a lot better than most family movies Hollywood makes. However, while the first "Spy Kids" was a fun romp that kids AND adults would enjoy, this sequel isn't as much fun.

I think the biggest flaw is that this sequel is missing heart. We don't feel the warmth between the family members as we previously did. (Yes, the youthful siblings did fight and disagree a lot in the first movie, but you could still sense a solid bond between them.) There's no sense of the characters feeling danger, excitement, and a sense of adventure as they did the first time around. Instead, there is a coldness, a mechanical feeling this time, like they are very familiar (and almost bored with) with what they are experiencing, even with each other. The presence of two snotty and selfish rival child spies just furthers this somewhat sour tone.

While kids might not mind this too much, I think even they will agree with the second problem I found - the story here is VERY confusing at times. For one thing, the movie seems to start at chapter two, jumping ahead of itself before the audience is set and ready. Then after that, there are a number of moments where we keep thinking "Huh? How did (this character) get there all of a sudden?" and "Huh? What on earth happened off-screen to make (what we are now seeing) happen?" Very annoying. It's all made worse by a pace that is MUCH too fast, even for an adventure of this nature.

Note to Robert Rodriguez: I understand you will soon start "Spy Kids 3". Please not only take notice of what I've said above, but take note of Daryl Sabara ("Juni"). Though not a bad actor, there were a number of instances where he didn't enunciate his dialogue clearly enough, which lead me to rewind back a few seconds and use captions. Please take care of this on set, or at the very least, patch it up during post-production looping.