50 Fun Facts About Spy Kids

Which Hollywood star has a cameo as Devlin, the head of the OSS, at the end of Spy Kids?

George Clooney turns up at the family's breakfast table to hand Carmen and Juni a mission. He came back for the third film, by which time Devlin has become President.

Which action star plays the Toymaker, the villain trapped in cyberspace in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over?

Sylvester Stallone won a Golden Raspberry for Worst Supporting Actor for the part. The film was a hit all the same, taking over $197 million worldwide.

Which future pop star has a small early role as the water park girl in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over?

Selena Gomez was ten during filming and already a regular on Barney & Friends. Her Disney Channel breakthrough in Wizards of Waverly Place came four years later.

What were audiences handed so they could smell scenes from Spy Kids: All the Time in the World?

Scratch-and-sniff cards were the heart of a gimmick the studio called Aroma-scope, which let the film call itself 4D.

In Spy Kids, which body part do the heads, arms and legs of Fegan Floop's robot henchmen resemble?

Thumbs give the clumsy guards their name, the Thumb-Thumbs. A ninja version of them storms the family home and sends Carmen and Juni on the run.

Which actor plays spy father Gregorio Cortez in the first three Spy Kids films?

Antonio Banderas later became the voice of Puss in Boots in the Shrek films. He had already made the action film Desperado with the same director.

In the credits of Spy Kids 2, what had Uncle Machete left out of Carmen and Juni's concert gadgets?

Batteries were missing from the singing microphone, the dancing belt and the self-playing guitar. Carmen and Juni had performed on real talent all along.

The first Spy Kids film has been described as James Bond meets which other fictional character?

Willy Wonka meets Bond was how The Guardian summed up the first film in 2001: spy gadgets plus a flamboyant showman, Fegan Floop, ruling his own strange castle.

Which actor plays Machete, the gadget-inventing uncle of Carmen and Juni, in the Spy Kids films?

Danny Trejo first played Machete here in 2001. A far more violent take on the character later led two action films for grown-ups, in 2010 and 2013.

Which Lord of the Rings star cameos as The Guy, a gamer with 99 lives, in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over?

Elijah Wood strides into the supposedly unwinnable Level 5 after a rousing speech and instantly loses every life to a trap. His Frodo trilogy wrapped up the same year.

Which filmmaker, nicknamed the one-man film crew, wrote and directed the original Spy Kids?

Robert Rodriguez also shot, edited and co-scored the second film himself. He wanted the first to feel as if a kid had written, directed and produced it.

Which actress played Carmen Cortez, the older of the two sibling spies, in four Spy Kids films?

Alexa PenaVega was credited as Alexa Vega at the time. She had already played the storm chaser Jo as a little girl in the opening of the tornado thriller Twister.

Which actor played Juni Cortez in the Spy Kids films and later married the singer Meghan Trainor?

Daryl Sabara has a twin sister, Eve, who appears in the first film as the Intruder spy kid. He later voiced the hero boy in The Polar Express.

Which actress plays spy mother Ingrid Cortez in the first three Spy Kids films?

Carla Gugino was cast at the last minute, after Kelly Preston dropped out and Julianne Moore proved unavailable. She was still in her twenties when she played the mother of two.

Which Scottish actor plays Fegan Floop, the children's TV host who lives in a castle, in Spy Kids?

Alan Cumming also sings Floop's Song on the soundtrack. Two years later he played the teleporting Nightcrawler in the X-Men sequel X2.

In Spy Kids, what are the Fooglies, the strange creatures on Fegan Floop's television show, really?

Mutated secret agents fill the cast of the show: missing OSS spies were transformed by a machine in the castle. Minion ends up pushed through it himself.

In Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, which stolen device can shut off all other electronics?

The Transmooker was invented by the reclusive scientist Romero to hide his island of oversized creatures. The one stolen at the OSS banquet is only a prototype.

In Spy Kids, which autopilot vehicle takes Carmen and Juni from their home to a safe house?

A mini submarine carries the children away alone. Felix, who has just admitted he is an agent and not really their uncle, is captured in the attack.

In Spy Kids, which gift from the traitor Ms. Gradenko hides the tracking device that exposes Carmen?

A bracelet is handed over as a sign of trust. Carmen realises too late what it hides, and robot doubles of the two siblings track them down.

Which streaming service released Spy Kids: Armageddon, the 2023 reboot about a new family of spies?

Netflix had already hosted the animated series Spy Kids: Mission Critical in 2018. The reboot was written by the director together with his son.

Which actress plays retired spy and stepmother Marissa Wilson in Spy Kids: All the Time in the World?

Jessica Alba inspired the film herself: the director pictured a spy mom after watching her change her daughter's diaper in costume on another film set.

The OSS in Spy Kids shares its initials with the wartime Office of Strategic Services, which became which agency?

The CIA grew out of the real OSS, America's spy service in World War II. The OSS was dissolved weeks after the war ended, and the CIA was founded two years later.

Which actor plays Alexander Minion, Fegan Floop's scheming second-in-command, in Spy Kids?

Tony Shalhoub took the part as a father of two who wanted to act in a film for children. A year later he began his Emmy-winning run in the title role of Monk.

In Spy Kids, whom do Fegan Floop and Mr. Lisp plan to replace with super-strong robot lookalikes?

World leaders' children were the targets, and 500 robot copies were built for the job. The scheme stalls because the androids cannot yet think for themselves.

In which Texas city, home to the director's Troublemaker Studios, was most of the original Spy Kids shot?

Austin hosted most of the 48-day shoot. The director's studio there stands on the site of the city's old municipal airport.

Which actress plays rival agent Gerti Giggles in Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams?

Emily Osment was nominated for a Young Artist Award for the part. The younger sister of Haley Joel Osment, she went on to play Lilly Truscott in Hannah Montana.

Which actor plays Romero, the scientist hiding from his own creatures, in Spy Kids 2?

Steve Buscemi plays a man too scared to leave his lab, because his miniature zoo animals were doused in growth formula. A year earlier he voiced Randall in Monsters, Inc.

In Spy Kids, which scrapped OSS project, holding every agent's skills, is Gregorio interrogated about?

The Third Brain was judged too dangerous and its prototypes destroyed, but Gregorio secretly kept the last one. Juni accidentally reveals it at the safe house.

Which honour roll of culturally significant American movies added the original Spy Kids in 2024?

National Film Registry selection came from the Library of Congress, which adds up to 25 titles a year for preservation. The director's first feature is on the list too.

Which actor plays Donnagon Giggles, who hacks a teleprompter to become OSS director in Spy Kids 2?

Mike Judge is better known as the creator of Beavis and Butt-Head and co-creator of King of the Hill. He plays Donnagon in the first three films.

In Spy Kids 2, to which desert are rivals Gary and Gerti Giggles rerouted, landing in camel dung?

The Gobi is where the rivals end up after Carmen hacks the OSS database and takes their mission. They swear revenge from the bottom of the pit.

In Spy Kids 2, which miniature hybrid creature does scientist Romero give Juni as a parting gift?

A spider-monkey is one of the miniature hybrid animals Romero had hoped to sell before a growth formula made them huge. Juni befriends one of the enlarged ones earlier on the island.

Which two lens colours did the 3-D glasses handed out with tickets for Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over use?

Red and blue lenses made the old-fashioned anaglyph effect work. On screen, the characters wear glasses of their own and announce when it is time to take them off.

After quitting the OSS, what job is Juni Cortez doing when Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over begins?

Private detective work keeps the retired Juni busy until the President calls to say his sister is missing. She turns out to be trapped inside a video game.

Which British comedian voices Argonaut, the robot dog, in Spy Kids: All the Time in the World?

Ricky Gervais, co-creator and star of The Office, plays the family pet, which turns out to be a weaponized machine guarding the twins.

In Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, what does Rebecca secretly swap for the Chronos Sapphire?

Baby food is what Marissa finds when she reaches OSS headquarters. The jewel had been in a necklace she gave Rebecca to win her stepdaughter over.

In Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, how is Marissa Wilson related to Carmen and Juni Cortez?

Their aunt Marissa is the sister of Gregorio and Machete, which makes the fourth film's twins the step-cousins of the original pair.

Which 2005 superhero film did the Spy Kids creator build from stories dreamed up by his young son?

Sharkboy and Lavagirl grew out of ideas from the director's children, above all his son Racer. It was also released in 3-D, like the third film in his spy series.

Uncle Machete from Spy Kids got his own 2010 film after a fake trailer in which double feature?

Grindhouse paired two throwback films with spoof trailers. The one for Machete was later expanded into a real feature, the character's first without the spy family.

Which actress plays Alexandra, the President's daughter rescued at a theme park in Spy Kids 2?

Taylor Momsen had already played Cindy Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. She later starred in Gossip Girl and went on to front the rock band the Pretty Reckless.

Which future Top Gun: Maverick star is credited as the long-fingered boy in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over?

Glen Powell was 14 and living in Texas when he took the bit part, one of his first screen roles. Wide fame came almost twenty years later.

Which veteran actor plays Valentin, the grandfather who joins Juni inside the game in Spy Kids 3-D?

Ricardo Montalbán was famous as the Star Trek villain Khan and as Mr. Roarke in Fantasy Island. Inside the game his character trades a wheelchair for a robotic suit.

In Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, which player who gives Juni an illegal map is really a program?

Demetra is the Deceiver, a program built into the game to mislead players. She apologises to Juni and helps the group escape back to the real world.

Which stop-motion pioneer, whose creature films inspired Spy Kids 2, has a cameo in the sequel?

Ray Harryhausen made Jason and the Argonauts and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. To echo his look, the sequel's animators removed motion blur from its digital monsters.

Which Central American country hosted filming for Spy Kids 2, including at its Arenal Lake?

Costa Rica shared the shoot with Texas locations such as Big Bend and a Six Flags theme park. The orchestral score was recorded in a high school auditorium.

Which debut film did the Spy Kids creator make for about $7,000, partly earned from medical testing?

El Mariachi was made in Spanish for the Mexican home-video market, until a Hollywood studio bought it. Guinness lists it as the lowest-budget film to gross $1 million.

What is the real first name of Machete Cortez, the gadget-making uncle in the Spy Kids films?

Isador is the estranged brother of Gregorio, and the two only make peace when he crashes through a window to join the final fight.

Which California band recorded Oye Como Spy, a reworked Tito Puente tune, for the first Spy Kids?

Los Lobos, best known for their chart-topping cover of La Bamba, earned an ALMA Award nomination for the track. They also co-wrote the film's wedding theme.

Which actress, a former Bond girl, plays the treacherous OSS agent Ms. Gradenko in Spy Kids?

Teri Hatcher had played Paris Carver in Tomorrow Never Dies four years earlier. She was also television's Lois Lane in the 1990s.

Which comedian plays Felix Gumm, the OSS agent who poses as Carmen and Juni's uncle in Spy Kids?

Cheech Marin found fame in the comedy duo Cheech & Chong. He has also voiced characters in The Lion King and the Cars films.