It tells the story of Carmen and Juni heading to a mysterious island filled with hybrid creatures to recover a stolen device while competing against two rival agents.
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams premiered at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California on July 28, 2002, and was released in the United States on August 7, by Dimension Films.
After the Giggles siblings outperform them on a mission to rescue the president's daughter Alexandra at Dinky Winks' theme park Troublemakers, Carmen defends Gary, straining her relationship with Juni.
Meanwhile, Gary and Gerti are rerouted to the Gobi Desert and while trying to pinpoint their position fall into a pit of camel feces, whereupon they swear revenge on the Cortez's.
Shortly after reaching the island, Carmen and Juni meet Romero, a scientist who attempted to create miniaturized hybrid animals to sell.
Carmen and Juni eventually find and recover the Transmooker, eliminating the cloaking around the island, and are surprised when their family joins them.
As the credits come to a close, Dinky Winks paddles to Romero's island to offer a business deal and nearly has his hand bitten off by a Slizard.
Gugino's image was flipped; Rodriguez intentionally didn't change her hair part so audiences could notice the effect.
[6] After seeing George Lucas using digital video for Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Rodriguez tested the technology during re shoots for the first Spy Kids film.
[6] Rodriguez picked some visual effects companies who were eager and less established, as well as starting up his own Troublemaker Studios, and reemploying Hybrid, who had worked with him on the first film.
In doing so, the clean image resembled the stop-motion work of filmmaker Ray Harryhausen,[6] who has a cameo in the film[9] and a "special thanks" credit.
[3] On Rotten Tomatoes, Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams has a 75% approval score based on 136 reviews and an average rating of 6.6/10.
The site's critical consensus reads: "Though the concept is no longer fresh, Spy Kids 2 is still an agreeable and energetic romp".
[19] Kenneth Turan of the New York Times gave it 4 out of 5 stars said: "The movie is a gaudy, noisy thrill ride -- hyperactive, slightly out of control and full of kinetic, mischievous charm".
[20] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "The antics are a tad more frantic, and the gizmos work overtime, as if ... Robert Rodriguez felt the hot breath of el diablo on his neck.
[21] Michael Wilmington of Metro mix Chicago, noting how Rodriguez borrows many elements from television and earlier films, stated that "Rodriguez recycles and refurbishes all these old movie bits with the opportunistic energy of a man looting his old attic toy chest -- but he also puts some personal feeling into the movie.