Product Details

• Actors: Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alan Cumming
• Directors: Robert Rodriguez
• Writers: Robert Rodriguez
• Producers: Robert Rodriguez, Bill Scott, Bob Weinstein, Cary Granat, Elizabeth Avellan
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Dimension/Disney Home Video
• VHS Release Date: September 18, 2001
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (167 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00003CXWI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #199,784 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Carmen and Juni Cortez will soon find out that their favorite bedtime story, "The Spies Who Fell in Love," is really the story of their parents. So begins this affable fantasy, a James Bond adventure for wee ones with all the trimmings. When Dad and Mom (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino) mess up their first mission after coming out of retirement, their kids must come to the rescue, equipped with some cool gadgets. The Cortez family gets involved in a bizarre plot hatched by a Pee-wee Herman-type entertainer named Fegan Floop (a wonderfully hammy Alan Cumming) that's as giddy as it is ridiculous. Needless to say there is plenty of derring-do concerning long-lost uncles, goofy monsters, double agents, evil robots, look-alikes, and energized chases. Did we mention the gadgets? Although Banderas and Gugino make terrific impressions, the movie is carried (as it should be) by the younger Cortezes, winningly played by Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara. Who would have thought an action/horror studio (Dimension) and writer-director Robert Rodriguez had this pleasing family film up their sleeves? Rodriquez (who produced with his wife Elizabeth Avellán) seemed to be mired in cheesy horror films but here breaks out by capitalizing on the talent that gave him instant status with his debut, El Mariachi (1992). Spy Kids has plenty of verve but never swerves into potty humor (OK, there is one good potty joke) or wicked gunplay. All 7-year-olds should have a film as fun as this in their movie-going lives. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful mix of action and whimsy; a gem!, July 22, 2002

By 

Beau Yarbrough (Hesperia, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Spy Kids (DVD)

I've been a fan of Robert Rodriguez from the first moment I saw "El Mariachi," and each successive film has just given me more reason to be a fan. With "Spy Kids," Rodriguez changes gears, giving us his first film for kids, and the first film where he finally gives free rein to the sense of whimsy and fantasy hinted at in previous films.

While the film is nominally a kid's film -- a surreal children's television show that makes the Teletubbies look mundane features prominently in the story -- the humor and action is genuinely good for all ages. At one point, pre-teen heroine Carmen Cortez says that no one knows what her uncle does for a living, and he moves around a lot, and is generally mysterious. To which her uncle replies "doesn't everyone have an uncle like that?" Well, yes, we do. :)

Beyond Antonio Banderas' star power -- and he does a very knowing self-parody of his own traditional parts in the movie -- other strong performances by "name" actors pepper the film, including Teri Hatcher, Tony Shaloub, Robert Patrick, Cheech Marin and -- one of those actors viewers know by sight, if not by name -- Danny Trejo.

Overall, the action is kinetic, the message sweet, the kids believable and not in the least cloying (a true rarity in film), and overall, the film is a great treat for Rodriguez fans who have been watching his evolution towards more and more fantastic material (something that seemed obviously in his blood ever since the climax of "Desperado").

Recommended for fans of Robert Rodriguez, spy film fans in touch with their inner child, and families of children ages 6 and up.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cynics need not apply, September 16, 2001

By 

E. Frampton "Parandot" (Wexford, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spy Kids (DVD)

Spy Kids is an interesting movie. It claims to be a kids movie, but is so awash in weirdness, that any young child might have nightmares about this. In that way it is similar to Willy Wonka, but then it is so different. Robert Rodriguez, best known for his hyper-violent films such as Desperado and From Dusk till Dawn, shows he is adept at handling light hearted and whimsical fare. Spy Kids is a sort of modern fairy-tale beginning with "Once upon a Time", and finishing with a happy ending. It is escapism for kids, and I was sucked in. What kid didn't want to have cool gadgets and be the hero. I know I did, and it reminded me of my childhood. It is refreshing to see a pure family film that takes risks with its viewers, Rodriguez isn't satisfied to keep the film within conventional techniques, he makes it a visual feast while not disorienting the viewer in anyway. On top of that, I found the bickering between the brother and sister to be really very funny; They definitely seemed like brother and sister, which was key of course. The supporting performances were uniformly excellent. Antonio Banderas and Alan Cumming both gave wonderfully eccentric performances. Overall, the movie was soaking in creativity and thoroughly satisfied me.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Imaginative, Fun Family Film, February 9, 2002

By 

Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spy Kids (DVD)

Carmen and Juni are two kids who are just trying to grow up. Carmen resents always having to look out for her brother, and Juni is constantly afraid of everything and is the bullies' favorite target at school. But one day, they learn that their parents are really spies who have been kidnapped. The kids soon realize that they alone must find and rescue them. Along the way, Carmen and Juni will have to learn to work as a family if they have any hope of returning home alive.

This is a delightful film the entire family can enjoy together. The plot is cleaver and entertaining so everyone will enjoy it, and the characters are endearing. I especially love the scene where Juni meets his hero Floop and gives him advice. There is definitely a strong message about the importance of family, but it is brought out by the story and never feels too preachy.

A movie with this much imagination doesn't come along very often. Children of all ages will enjoy this purely escapist adventure.