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Spy Kids 2
The Island of Lost Dreams
Studio: Dimension
Year: 2002
Rated: PG
Film Length: 99 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 16X9 Enhanced Widescreen (1.85:1)
Subtitles: English & Spanish
Zowee!
When this week's assortment of screeners brought me
Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams, the
first bit of fear that went through my mind was that
I would have to review this title never having seen
the original film. But that little problem didn't
stop me from having the absolute time of my life
watching this wildly fun and clever sequel that
needs very little introduction.
I went into Spy Kids 2 only knowing the
basics: In the original film, Carmen (Alexa Vega)
and Juni (Daryl Sabara) were two regular kids,
sister and brother, who discover much to their
amazement that their rather ordinary parents
(Antonio Bandares and Carla Gugiono) are actually
international spies. In the original film, they
were recruited into the family business when they
had to rescue Mom and Dad.
As this second film opens, the brother and sister
team have made the transition to second-generation
spies. The OSS organization has recruited additional
teams of children, including egocentric Gary and
Gerti Giggles (Matt O'Leary and Emily Osment). Both
families of spies are vying for top political status
but thus far the Giggles seem to be one step ahead
thanks to the fact that their Dad (Mike Judge) has
just been elected head of the organization.
There are more serious problems at hand here however,
as an all-powerful device known as the Transmooker
has been stolen, and the safety of the world hangs
in the balance. The kids secretly head off to the
Island of Lost Dreams, a mysterious island that is
nowhere on the map and is rumored to be ruled by
all sorts of monsters. It is there that they meet
Romero (Steve Buscemi), a mad scientist who has
engineered a breed of miniature animals that through
a botched experiment, have now grown excessively
large and are now ruling the entire island.
When the parents discover their kids are missing,
you can bet that they get involved in a rescue
mission. The one thing they didn't count on, however,
is their Grandparents (Ricardo Montalban and Holland
Taylor)are coming along for the ride.
I don't know where to start in describing how much
I enjoyed this film. This entire premise of kids
taking on a James Bond role is very new to me, and
I just loved the wildly imaginative way that over-
the-top sets, strange creatures and an abundant use
of gadgets were used to tell this fun story. Sure,
the CGI effects were a little cheesy at times, but
I chalked up the experience to that of watching an
old Ray Harryhausen film. In addition, I just
couldn't get enough of the cameo appearances by such
veterans as Alan Cumming, Tony Shaloub, Bill Paxton,
Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin and Ricardo Montalban.
How is the transfer?
If I am correct in what I have read, this entire
film was shot on digital video after director Robert
Rodriguez saw what George Lucas did with Episode
II. This would explain a few things, such as
why this film has many of the same characteristics
and flaws of the Episode II DVD. On the plus
side, image is razor sharp with background surface
that is smooth and totally noise-free. This is a
highly colorful film and each scene seems to burst
with a vivid assortment of yellows, reds, greens
and blues. Colors seem very well saturated, although
flesh tones seem to be a little too red.
I have the same problem with the look of the film's
effects on this format as I did with the Episode
II DVD -- that is, the digital CGI effects don't
seem to match the clarity level of the human
counterparts. This creates interaction between the
two that is not always seamless. As I noted earlier,
I was able to tolerate these differences simply
because of the overall campiness of the film.
The 5.1 Dolby Digital mix is outstanding, though not
as aggressive in the rear channels as I had thought
it would be. Set mostly in the front channels, you
can expect bass-heavy audio that bursts at the seams
with outstanding dynamics. You'll be astounded by
the collection of kettledrums, horns, brass and other
sorts of percussion that generate a real sense of
action and movement here. All of this is underlined
with a noticeable amount of LFE response. The rears
do an admirable job of reproducing every whizzing,
whooshing and roaring noise that appears throughout
the film. As I noted above, I just sensed the mix to
be a little more front-heavy.
Special Features
I just loved the overall design of this DVD starting
with packaging that arrives in a sturdy cardboard
slipcover that houses the innard Amaray case. Also
noteworthy is the spectacular array of menu designs
that are cleverly produced with all sorts of cool
interchanges and overlays.
First up here is an outstanding commentary
by director Robert Rodriguez. Why am I so quick
to praise it? Simple. The commentary is designed
for kids and feeble-minded adults like myself.
Rodriguez, sounding wildly excited throughout, really
simplifies his narration, describing what it is
like to work with multiple film crews that work
on both location and sound stages. With each passing
scene, Rodriguez gives us all sorts of tips on how
he saved money by carefully composing his shots,
keeping everything contained in order to deal with
the smaller sets that were built. The director reveals
the most important job in making a film is...anyone?...
anyone?...anyone?....CREATIVITY. Once you have this
creativity you can easily jump from project to
project without knowing much about the skill and
technical levels of filmmaking. We also learn how
pleased the director was with his child stars and
the fact that they spoke their dialogue in a very
natural manner, not sounding a bit forced. I can
just about promise you that if you just barely listen
to this commentary, you can learn how to make your
own film on a limited budget. Certainly one of the
most enjoyable commentaries one can listen to.
Robert Rodriguez: Ten Minute Film School - "Big
Movies Made Cheap" may just be the longest titled
featurette I have ever reviewed. Here, director
Rodriguez promises us that within 10 minutes he
will show us how all the effects work for the film
was accomplished on a rather limited budget. Faster
than a speeding bullet, we whiz through all the
major effects sequences as we learn how the building
of massive sets were compromised by using miniatures,
CGI additions and blue-screen effects. Let me
tell you, folks, this is pretty amazing stuff!
(length: approx. 10 minutes)
A new kind of stunt kid takes a look at
the fun things that can happen when you have kids
doing their own stunt work. Both Alexa and Daryl
brought their own individual talents to the table
(gymnastics and martial arts), which gave them the
opportunity to really shine in this film. Other
kids wound up in harnesses, flying around sets and
doing stunts 200 feet off the ground. Despite all
the danger, the kids seem to have had a great time
doing it all themselves.
(length: approx. 6 minutes)
There are eight Lost Scenes that include:
* An earlier amusement park introduction to
Carmen and Junie that shows Jumi has a crush on
the President's daughter.
* Antonio Banderas in a arm wrestling match and
then a goofy dance number that ends in an unplanned
accident.
* Extended office dialogue between Bandares and
Mike Judge (a personal favorite scene of director
Rodriguez).
* Inside the submarine, the kids chew on Lollipops
that have secret mission orders inside.
* Steve Buscemi leaving his compound and facing
his darkest fears.
All of these lost sequences are rather short. If
played together, the total running time is a mere
8 minutes. Not only are the added scenes in
pristine condition, but they are fun to watch.
You can opt to play these scenes with commentary
by director Robert Rodriguez.
Equipped with essential gadgets to put on a roarin'
concert, the kids perform the Isle of Dreams
music video. I promise you'll really enjoy
watching this!
School at Big Bend National Park is an
interesting look at the land of borders, situated
on the boundary with Mexico along the Rio Grande.
Join the cast as they explore a place that merges
natural environments, from desert to mountains. Big
Bend is some of the wildest area left in the United
States and you and your kids will certainly enjoy
learning a little bit about it all.
(length: approx. 4 minutes)
Essential Gear: the gadgets of Spy Kids has
cast members raving about all their favorite
gadgets from spy watches to the treehouse, Dragonfly-5,
spychair, and...oh yes...Ralph.
(length: approx. 3 minutes)
Loads of fun are these little Behind-the-scenes
montages that take us from Costa Rica to the
Amusement Park and include various stunt work along
the way. What's cool about this feature is that
this is just basically raw video footage with some
added remarks from the cast members. A real hoot
is watching actor Bill Paxton getting sprayed with
pressurized vomit.
(length: approx. 12 minutes)
Total Access 24/7 - A day in the life of Spy
Kids looks to be the standard cable-TV promotional
fare where cast and crew give us an overview of
the film. What's a little different here is that
this featurette concentrates on the film's kid
stars, Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara as we visit
their homes, watch them do ordinary kid things,
and then get up the following morning to get to
the studio where they are made up just prior to
appearing on the set. In between their shooting,
we watch them going to school inside a studio lot
trailer. No doubt teens will have a blast watching
their favorite actors do many of the normal things
that every teenager does. Good stuff!
(length: approx. 21 minutes)
A Stills Gallery offers many publicity and
behind-the-scenes photos directly from the set while
an Art Gallery offers dozens of conceptual
drawings of creatures, gadgets and various stunts.
Shall we play a game?! Transmooker Trouble
is a "set top game" where you answer a set of
multiple-choice questions in order to successfully
disarm the transmooker device. The questions all
relate to the film and are fairly easy.
The film's teaser trailer is offered here,
but noticeably absent is the film's final trailer.
DVD-ROM content includes website access,
a preview of the Spy Kids Mega Mission Zone
Computer game and another version of Transmooker
Trouble.
Final Thoughts
What a thoroughly fun and refreshing film! Spy
Kids 2 so wonderfully infuses the world of
spy genre to the family film with a delightful
mix of parody, breathtaking action sequences, and
lots of fun gadgetry. This film is certainly more
fun than any recent James Bond film in memory.
In addition to a highly acceptable digital transfer,
This Collector Series DVD is jam-packed with fun
extras that will interest both teenagers and parents.
In short, this is the perfect family DVD and one that
will easily make its way into a bestseller over the
next few weeks.
Release Date: February 18, 2003
All screen captures have been further compressed.
They are for illustrative purposes only and do not
represent actual picture quality
