When considering director Robert Rodriguez’s action films which include “Desperado,” “From Dusk Till Dawn,” and “El Mariachi;” one may wonder where the hell his latest work, “Spy Kids,” came from, considering that it is a value-teaching and whimsical family flick.
At a recent interview, Rodriguez labeled himself a “big kid” and a “family guy.” He is the third oldest child in a family ten, and has three children of his own. His sense of the imaginative and of a child’s fantasy world is evident in “Spy Kids.” The film is full of clever gadgets, bright colors, dreamlike landscapes and cute humor, all of which appeal to children and the young at heart. It’s no surprise that Rodriguez cites some of his influences for the film as “Toy Story,” and “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”
“I wanted to feel like a little kid had made it,” Rodriguez said about “Spy Kids.” “There’s something about when you’re a kid — you have this really free, non-critical, creative mind. You think you can do anything and you think anything’s possible. That makes the movie feel authentically childlike and innocent.”
The film tells the story of two children who discover that their parents (Antonio Banderas, “The Mask of Zorro” and Carla Gugino, “Michael”) are international spies, and have to save them after they are captured by a warped-Willy-Wonka-type children’s television show host, Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming, “Company Man”). The children then have to overcome their fears and venture to Floop’s castle before the sinister TV icon mutates his parents into cartooned monsters that star in his show.
The film’s visual effects are stunning. Rodriguez successfully creates a curious fantasy world whether it is underwater or on the exotic landscape. The exact location of the movie is uncertain; however, we can guess that we are placed somewhere in Latin America. Floop’s castle is one of the most creative sets of the film. It is in the style of Barcelona’s Gaudi architecture, and also has a puzzle-piece floor and a “virtual room.”
The children in the film, played by Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara, are absolutely charming. They nail their parts with honesty and are adorable without being overly syrupy or sarcastic as many children are in films today. It took Rodriguez 6 months to find the actors, because he claimed that he did not want typical “Hollywood-type kids.”
“I looked for kids that were quieter, more introspective, and more intuitive so we can believe they were normal kids before they became spies,” said Rodriguez.
The idea of a family film with children spies spawned from Rodriguez’s segment in 1995’s “Four Rooms,” in which the child characters evoke an image of miniature James Bonds.
When comparing “Spy Kids” to his other films, Rodriguez suggested “to see ‘Spy Kids’ first and then see the other ones because then they’ll see what was meant to be humorous in the other movies.” Although Rodriguez’s films are quite eclectic in nature, the director points out that all of them seem to have an imaginative cartoon-esque or comical tone to them. He also tries to incorporate elements from the MGM musical films that he grew up watching. Not only are there musical numbers in “Spy Kids,” but also in the darker “From Dusk Till Dawn” and “Desperado.”
Rodriguez admits that “`Spy Kids’ could be a cool movie and an un-cool movie at the same time.”” Although he definitely puts out a moral lesson and shows how a family can work together, he manages not to pander or preach too much.
Overall, kids will go nuts for this film. However, “Spy Kids” may turn off fans of Rodriguez because it is meant to be a family film. But don’t be fooled – one might find himself or herself caught up in Rodriguez’s adventurous fantasy and become reminiscent of some of their favorite childhood adventure flicks.
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