Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams

The OSS now has a full child spy section, of which Carmen Cortez and Juni Cortez have become agents. Although they were the first of the new Spy Kids Division, they are not the top spy kids,[5] and they face fierce competition from Gary and Gerti Giggles, OSS agent Donnagon Giggles' children, 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. A fight ensues when a group of Magna Men arrive, rendering all adults unconscious. They seeking the "Transmooker", a highly coveted device which can shut off all electronic devices. 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 mentor, Fegan Floop, and 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 Carmen and Juni meet Romero, the sole human inhabitant of the Island of Leeke Leeke, a scientist who has been attempting to create genetically-miniaturized animals, to sell them to kids in "miniature zoos." An experiment went wrong, created miniaturized hybrid creatures too, then after accidentally pouring growth concoction on them, all of the mutants became bigger. 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, 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, 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 auto-tunes her voice, 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 strike up a business deal.

• Antonio Banderas as Gregorio Cortez
• Carla Gugino as Ingrid Cortez
• Alexa Vega as Carmen Cortez
• Daryl Sabara as Juni Cortez
• Mike Judge as Donnagon Giggles
• Ricardo Montalbán 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
• Alan Cumming as Fegan Floop
• Tony Shalhoub as Alexander Minion
• Matt O'Leary as Gary Giggles
• Taylor Momsen as Alexandra, the President's daughter
• Emily Osment as Gerti Giggles
• Cheech Marin as Felix Gumm
• Steve Buscemi as Romero

Additionally, Bill Paxton appears as Dinky Winks

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.[6]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	Link
Filmtracks	link

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.[12]

All tracks composed by Debney and Rodriguez, and performed by the Texas Philharmonic Orchestra.

1. "The Juggler"
2. "Spy Ballet"
3. "Magna Men"
4. "Treehouse"
5. "R.A.L.P.H."
6. "Floop's Dream" (performed by Alan Cumming)
7. "Escape from Dragon-spy"
8. "Spy-parents"
9. "Island of Lost Dreams"
10. "Donnagon's Big Office"/"The Giggles"
11. "Mysterious Volcano Island"
12. "Romero's Zoo Too"
13. "Mothership"/"SpyGrandparents"
14. "Magna Racers"
15. "Aztec Treasure Room"
16. "Skeletons"
17. "Creature Battle"
18. "Romero's Creatures"/"SpyBeach"
19. "SpyDad vs. SpyDad"/"Romero's Gift"
20. "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).

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.[13] 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.[2]

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 (coincdentally, this movie also takes place in 2011) to coincide with the fourth film.

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."[4] Metacritic reports a 66 out of 100 rating based on reviews from 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14]

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."[15] 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."[16] 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 fiends [sic] and family is extended."[17] 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".[18]

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• Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams at IMDb
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• Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams at Rotten Tomatoes