The Big Picture
- The Spy Kids franchise provided strong Hispanic representation, featuring many Latino actors in central roles and showcasing their heritage and culture.
- The films also portrayed strong female characters, with Carmen being just as capable as her male counterparts and even outshining her younger brother in many instances.
- The series broke stereotypes by depicting the Cortez family as talented and respected agents, with the mother, Ingrid, being an action star and integral to the storyline. It demonstrated that a Hispanic family could carry a franchise, and that both girls and boys could be spy kids.
Taking even a cursory glance at the title Spy Kids likely elicits the image of a campy, goofy children’s movie filled with toy-like gadgetry and light-hearted adventures. The Guardian once described the movie as “Willy Wonka-meets-James Bond.” While that perception is absolutely true, audiences shouldn’t let that encapsulate everything about writer/director Robert Rodriguez’s spy movie franchise. His action-comedy series follows a pair of children who follow in their parent’s footsteps to become secret agents, becoming heroes to their family and the world. However, even though these movies were based on a playful conceit, their lasting legacy is far more important than their initial reputation. The Spy Kids franchise was massively important for their well-executed representation and diversity that Rodriguez made a central theme of the series, making the films far more meaningful and significant than initial perceptions may portray.
The Cortez Family Provided Strong Hispanic Representation
An integral aspect of the film franchise is their prominent Latino representation. As a Mexican-American filmmaker, Robert Rodriguez wanted his films to represent his heritage and culture. His earlier films, such as El Mariachi and Desperado were already strong examples of Hispanic representation, but the family appeal of the Spy Kids franchise presented that diversity to an even wider audience. The original trilogy of films was released from 2001 to 2003 and prominently featured many Latino actors in central roles.
The series is centered around the Cortez family and focused on Juni (Daryl Sabara) and Carmen (Alexa Vega), two children of retired spies who are forced to continue their family legacy in order to rescue their parents. The Cortez’s are a star-studded ensemble, with Antonio Banderas playing their father, Gregorio, and Carla Gugino portraying their mother, Ingrid. Even their uncle Machete is played by the iconic Danny Trejo. Although Sabara himself wasn’t Hispanic, his chemistry with the other cast members made him feel like an authentic member of the family nonetheless. With these talented and recognizable Latino actors supporting the younger stars in the spotlight, the cast has a dynamic that creates an accurate and touching representation of an actual family. Rodriguez never lets the family drift into stereotypes. The Cortez family works for the OSS, an American-based espionage organization, and are prominent members in their field. Gregorio and Ingrid aren’t just talented agents, they are incredibly well respected. Gregorio was even one of the organization’s foremost scientific minds and is later tapped to be the next head of the OSS in the sequel.
Robert Rodriguez has cited his Mexican heritage as a strong inspiration for these films, and its influence is apparent in how the familial bonds of the core cast are treated. The Cortez family is not just Hispanic representation because of the ethnicities of their actors, but also through their cultural values. Family is their first priority and is the driving motivation throughout the films. The children have to cooperate despite their sibling bickering in order to rescue their parents, ultimately bringing the family even closer together through their shared trust and persistent loyalty. They are even able to help reconnect their estranged uncle Machete with the rest of the family.
Carmen Brought “Girl Power” to the ‘Spy Kids’ Franchise
In addition to the diversity represented through the films. Rodriguez also makes sure that the women in the film are just as capable as their male counterparts. Though it’s a spy-action movie franchise directed at children, the films weren’t marketed or made solely for boys. Carmen was equally a part of the action and a highly competent spy herself. Like the older sister she is, there are countless moments throughout the series where she is a more capable agent than her younger brother. She’s better with technology and gadgets than her brother, able to hack into computer systems and quickly learn how to use their complex spy tools. Though the two had their individual storylines and personal narratives, they never felt grossly imbalanced or biased over one another.
Whenever Juni strikes out on his own, it’s mostly from him being the youngest sibling, not because he’s the boy in the family. Though the third movie, Spy Kids 3: Game Over, had a different approach and kept Carmen out of the action for a significant portion of the film, she was never completely a damsel-in-distress. The crux of the third Spy Kids outing was that Juni had to rescue his older sister who went missing on a secret mission — she wasn’t just helplessly captured. Once she’s rescued, she’s ready for action as if she never left.
Their mother, Ingrid, is depicted as an action star and talented agent, as well. This is in contrast to Gregorio who, despite being played by the suave and charming Banderas, is the subject of many slapstick jokes throughout the films. It’s a nice counter play against his type, as seeing Banderas like this after headlining films like Desperado and The Mask of Zorro makes for some incredible comedy. In Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, we are introduced to the Gary and Gerti Giggles (Matt O’Leary and Emily Osment), rival child spies who keep up with the talented Cortez siblings. Osment’s portrayal of Gerti is a standout in the film, with her comedic chops on full display. Even though she’s the younger sibling, she still keeps up with the action and even proves to be more morally astute than her brother or father, who was the main antagonist of the film.
A young girl watching these films wouldn’t feel left out from the secret agent fun, as Carmen and the other female characters all receive plenty of time to shine in their own unique way. Carmen is given her own distinct set of gadgets that make use of her strengths and ingenuity. Even Gerti Giggles flies around with pigtails that rotate like helicopter blades, which is admittedly a hilarious image, but nonetheless feels distinctly fun and girly, in the best ways.
Considering the release of these films in the early 2000s, there is an impressive amount of healthy representation and diversity that makes the franchise impactful for more reasons than just children’s movie hype. They showed that a Hispanic family could carry a franchise and that girls and boys alike were capable of becoming spy kids.
A reboot of the series featuring Zachary Levi and Gina Rodriguez is coming soon, so fans of Rodriguez’s action-comedy movies should be excited for Spy Kids: Armageddon, set to premiere on Netflix on September 22, 2023.
