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Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
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Wikipedia article
'Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams' is a 2002 American spy action comedy film written, shot, edited and directed by Robert Rodriguez. Rodriguez also produced with Elizabeth Avelln. It stars Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Mike Judge, Ricardo Montalbn, Holland Taylor, Christopher McDonald, and Steve Buscemi.
The second installment in the 'Spy Kids' film series, which began with 2001's 'Spy Kids', the film premiered at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on July 28, 2002. Dimension Films theatrically released the film on August 7, 2002. Upon release, 'Spy Kids 2' received mostly positive reviews from critics and grossed over $119 million worldwide.
Plot
The OSS now has a full child spy section, of which Carmen Cortez and Juni Cortez are now Level 2 agents. Although they were the first of the new Spy Kids Division, they face fierce competition from Gary and Gerti Giggles, the children of Donnagon Giggles (the agent whom Carmen and Juni rescued on their first mission). Carmen defends Gary, as she has a crush on him, straining her relationship with Juni.
At the OSS awards banquet, Donnagon hacks into the president's TelePrompTer, and is named director of the OSS instead of Gregorio Cortez. In his acceptance speech, Donnagon announces his two children are being promoted from Level 3 to Level 1. A fight ensues when a group of Magna Men arrive, rendering all adults unconscious. They are seeking the "Transmooker", a highly coveted device which can shut off all electronic devices around the world. Juni recovers it, but drops it when Gary tries to grab it. Gary blames Juni for the loss, resulting in his being fired.
The next morning Carmen hacks into the database, reinstating Juni as an agent. They take a mission meant for Gary and Gerti to recover the Transmooker. Using some hints from their former arch-nemesis, Alexander Minion, they follow the trail to a mysterious island where no electronics work. Meanwhile, Gary and Gerti are rerouted to the Gobi Desert and while trying to pinpoint their position fall into a pit of camel feces, whereupon they swear revenge.
Shortly after arriving at the island, Carmen and Juni meet Romero, a scientist and sole human inhabitant of the island who has been attempting to create genetically miniaturized animals to sell to kids as "miniature zoos." After creating hybrid animals, Romero accidentally poured a growth concoction over them, greatly increasing their size. He fears being eaten, so is unwilling to leave his lab.
Carmen is captured by a Spork, a flying pig, and dropped into its nest with Gerti, who tells her that Gary is genuinely evil. Her feelings for Gary change after he tries to kill Juni, and she protects him. Romero, encouraged by Juni, leaves his lab and discovers his creatures are much friendlier than he thought. Carmen and Juni eventually find and recover the Transmooker, and are surprised when their family joins them. Donnagon then confronts the group, takes the Transmooker and, after a fight with Gregorio tries to destroy the Cortez family with it, but it malfunctions. Gerti reveals she sabotaged it and threatens Donnagon with telling everything to her mother.
The President and his staff arrive on the island. He and his daughter Alexandra fire Donnagon; Gary is temporarily disavowed, and Alexandra appoints Gregorio as director of the OSS on her father's behalf. Even though offered a promotion to Level 1, Juni resigns due to the impersonal treatment he had received by the OSS after being framed. As the Cortez family leaves the island, Romero gives Juni a miniature spider-monkey as a gift, and the island's inhabitants bid farewell to the Cortez family.
During the credits, Machete hosts a concert featuring Carmen (with a microphone which helps her sing, and a belt that helps her dance), and Juni (with a guitar that plays itself), but realizes too late that he never put any batteries in the devices before they went onstage. Meanwhile, Dinky Winks, the owner of Troublemakers theme park, paddles to Romero's island to offer a business deal.
Cast
* Antonio Banderas as Gregorio Cortez, the father of Juni and Carmen who is now called back to the OSS
* Carla Gugino as Ingrid Cortez, the mother of Juni and Carmen
* Alexa Vega as Carmen Cortez, daughter of Gregorio and Ingrid who is now an OSS member of their spy kid division
* Daryl Sabara as Juni Cortez, son of Gregorio and Ingrid and Carmen's brother
* Mike Judge as Donnagon Giggles, an OSS agent turned director who was previously rescued by Carmen and Juni, but is now seeking world domination
* Ricardo Montalbn as Grandfather Valentin Avellan
* Holland Taylor as Grandmother Helga Avellan
* Christopher McDonald as the President of the United States
* Danny Trejo as Isador "Machete" Cortez, gadget inventor and Juni and Carmen's uncle
* Alan Cumming as Fegan Floop, host of Floop's Fooglies
* Tony Shalhoub as Alexander Minion, Floop's assistant
* Matt O'Leary as Gary Giggles, the son of Donnagon Giggles and a rival OSS agent of Juni and Carmen's love interest
* Taylor Momsen as Alexandra, the President's daughter
* Emily Osment as Gerti Giggles, daughter of Donnagon Giggles and a rival OSS agent of Carmen
* Cheech Marin as Felix Gumm, an OSS agent
* Steve Buscemi as Romero
Additionally, Bill Paxton appears as Dinky Winks, a theme park owner.
Production
'Spy Kids 2' was filmed entirely on High Definition digital video. After seeing George Lucas using digital video for 'Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones', Rodriguez tested the technology during re shoots for the first 'Spy Kids' film. Rodriguez used the cameras unfiltered.
Filming sites
* Arenal Lake, Costa Rica* Austin, Texas, USA
* Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA
* Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
* San Antonio, Texas, USA
* Six Flags Over Texas, Arlington, Texas, USAhttp://www.dallasfilmcommission.com/film-tourism/?doing_wp_cron=1498558564.5050749778747558593750
Special effects
Despite using over twice the amount of special effects than the first film, Rodriguez did not ask the producers for a larger budget; he said "...I told the studio I don't want more money. I just want to be more creative". Rodriguez picked some visual effects companies who were eager and less established, as well as starting up his own Troublemaker Studios, and reemploying Hybrid, who had worked with him on the first film. Gregor Punchatz, the film's lead animator, employed a certain technique to make the movements of the computer generated creatures resemble the stop-motion work of filmmaker Ray Harryhausen, who has a cameo in the film. The scene with the army of live skeletons was shot on a real rock formation, with the two young actors on safety wires, and the computer generated skeletons added later to over three dozen shots.Music
The film score was co-written by director Robert Rodriguez and composer John Debney, who had also co-written the score for 'Spy Kids'. The sound is a mix of rock, pop, and indie rock, and includes songs performed by Alan Cumming and Alexa Vega. Unusually, the orchestral score was recorded in the auditorium of a local high school in Austin, Georgetown High School.
All tracks composed by Debney and Rodriguez, and performed by the Texas Philharmonic Orchestra.
# "The Juggler"
# "Spy Ballet"
# "Magna Men"
# "Treehouse"
# "R.A.L.P.H."
# "Floop's Dream" (performed by Alan Cumming)
# "Escape from Dragon-spy"
# "Spy-parents"
# "Island of Lost Dreams"
# "Donnagon's Big Office"/"The Giggles"
# "Mysterious Volcano Island"
# "Romero's Zoo Too"
# "Mothership"/"SpyGrandparents"
# "Magna Racers"
# "Aztec Treasure Room"
# "Skeletons"
# "Creature Battle"
# "Romero's Creatures"/"SpyBeach"
# "SpyDad vs. SpyDad"/"Romero's Gift"
# "Isle of Dreams" (performed by Alexa Vega)
Additional music not on the soundtrack album includes "Oye Como Spy", which is an adaptation of Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va", performed by Los Lobos (the song is on the soundtrack album from the first 'Spy Kids' film).
Release
'Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams' opened theatrically on August 7, 2002 in 3,307 venues and earned $16,711,716 in its first weekend, ranking third in the North American box office behind 'XXX' and the second weekend of 'Signs'. The film ended its run on January 12, 2003, having grossed $85,846,429 in the United States and Canada, and $33,876,929 overseas for a worldwide total of $119,723,358.
The film was released on VHS and DVD in the United States on February 18, 2003. The film is also available to download on iTunes. A Blu-ray re-release was scheduled for August 2, 2011 to coincide with the fourth film.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, 'Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams' has a 75% approval score based on 136 reviews and an average rating of 6.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Though the concept is no longer fresh, 'Spy Kids 2' is still an agreeable and energetic romp." Metacritic reports a 66 out of 100 rating based on reviews from 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and commented, "With "'Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams'," the 'Spy Kids' franchise establishes itself as a durable part of the movie landscape: a James Bond series for kids." Kenneth Turan of the 'New York Times' gave it 4 out of 5 stars said, "The movie is a gaudy, noisy thrill ride -- hyperactive, slightly out of control and full of kinetic, mischievous charm." Lisa Schwarzbaum of 'Entertainment Weekly' wrote, "The antics are a tad more frantic, and the gizmos work overtime, as if ... Robert Rodriguez felt the hot breath of el diablo on his neck. On the other hand, the inventiveness is still superior and the network of and family is extended." Michael Wilmington of Metro mix Chicago, noting how Rodriguez borrows many elements from television and earlier films, stated that, "Rodriguez recycles and refurbishes all these old movie bits with the opportunistic energy of a man looting his old attic toy chest -- but he also puts some personal feeling into the movie. This is a film about families staying together, children asserting themselves and even, to some degree, Latino power".
Other media
Sequels
It was followed up in 2003 by a third film in the series, 'Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over,' and in 2011 by a fourth film, 'Spy Kids: All the Time in the World'.Novelization
Talk Miramax Books released a novelization of the movie in June/July 2002. The novel was written by children's book author Kiki Thorpe. The posters and end of the credits even say "Read the Talk/Miramax Books", telling the viewers to read the print retelling.References
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