WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Spy Kids: Armageddon.
Summary
- Spy Kids: Armageddon includes plenty of Easter Eggs and throwbacks to the original films, making it a treat for long-time viewers.
- The OSS, the secret agency behind the Spy Kids, returns in Spy Kids: Armageddon, with a new younger director taking the reins.
- The film references other Robert Rodriguez projects, such as Sharkboy & Lavagirl, and features beloved characters like the small robotic sidekicks from previous films.
Spy Kids: Armageddon reboots the popular series from the 2000s, and the creative team behind the project has included plenty of Easter Eggs for long-term viewers to spot. The franchise started in 2001, with the original Spy Kids starring Alexa PenaVega and Daryl Sabara as the super secret spies from the OSS's Spy Kids division, Carmen and Juni Cortez. The first three installments in the franchise weren't graced with a lot of positive reviews, but they clearly struck a chord for kids with dreams of being spies themselves, as each film earned well over $100 million at the box office. A fourth entry, Spy Kids 4, was released in 2011 with only a few connections to the original trilogy.
Now, the series is rebooting with Spy Kids: Armageddon creating a new origin story for the OSS's Spy Kids division and the heroes that started it all. Although this is a reboot, director and creator Robert Rodriguez, who has been attached to every entry in the series, hasn't forgotten where it all started. The new Spy Kids movie features several scenes and references that offer a throwback to the older films, and some of his other projects too.
11 The OSS is Back
Since the very first Spy Kids movie in 2001, the secret agency behind the heroes has been the OSS. The OSS, or Organization of Super Spies, is an agency with very little detail revealed about its beginnings. It appeared in the original films and returns in Spy Kids: Armageddon. The OSS continues to be led by Agent Devlin. Previously, Agent Devlin was played by George Clooney, but in the reboot, D.J. Cotrona steps into the role as a younger director for the OSS.
10 How to Be a Spy - Author Unknown
As tends to be the case for the spy kids, a lot of their adventures happen either without their parent's involvement or with the kids required to save the parents from danger. Without the direction of their super-spy parents, the kids need to look elsewhere for guidance on how to live the spy life. In Spy Kids and Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams, Juni and Carmen have the help of a small spy guide titled 'How To Be A Spy' by Author Unknown. This same book appears in Spy Kids: Armageddon, but the kids choose to forge their own path and reject some of the core principles like lying and deceit from the guide.
9 Great White Bites - Sharkboy & Lavagirl
Crossing over from another film helmed by Robert Rodriguez and his family, Great White Bites appear in the breakfast scene where the kids are in the safe house. This cereal also exists in the world of The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl. Despite not being from the main Spy Kids series, Sharkboy and Lavagirl is a very similar family-oriented film that was popular with young viewers when it was released in 2005.
8 Small Robotic Companions
One of the most beloved characters from the franchise has to be the small robotic pet sidekick that Juni carries around with him, Ralph. Ralph, or Robotic Arachnid Lithium Photo Helper, appears in Spy Kids 2 and is an invaluable member of the team. In Spy Kids: Armageddon, Tony, and Patty also befriend a small robotic companion who helps them on their adventure that Patty lovingly calls Bronson.
7 "I'm A Spy" Is A Reference To Spy Kids 4
After Patty and Tony arrive at the safe house alone, they are greeted by a holographic recording of their mother. As the recording plays out, Nora Torrez reveals, "Your father and I are spies". This appears to be a direct reference to the moment in Spy Kids 4: All The Time in the World, when Marissa Wilson, played by Jessica Alba, reveals her secret spy identity to her step-children in a video recording in the safe house.
6 Hanging On by A Thread
There are several moments throughout the franchise when the heroic kids are in a perilous situation holding on by a single thread of rope. During Armageddon, the kids escape an attack from a group of robot henchmen by jumping off a platform and holding on to a spy gadget to keep hidden and avoid falling to their doom. This same image was repeated with Carmen and Juni on multiple occasions where either one had to hold on to the other for dear life.
5 Going Inside The Game
Spy Kids 3D: Game Over told the story of Juni being called in from his extremely early retirement to save his sister Carmen. Carmen had entered into a game world in order to stop a man from taking over the real world. In Armageddon, this same premise plays out slightly differently with a mad genius deciding to use a game he created to shape the world into his image of something better. Rey 'The King' Kingston settles into his throne within the video game world where he can directly change and form the outside world to his will. In order to stop him, the entire Tango-Torrez family enters the game world.
4 Game Over Is A Throwback To Spy Kids 3D
Aside from Spy Kids 3D literally having the subtitle, 'Game Over', the words appeared repeatedly in the third installment. Playing out an adventure in a video game world, the kids had to be careful about losing life points. If any character did lose all of their health, the words "game over" would chime loudly. As Tony enters into his final battle with The King, the antagonist also repeats this phrase, creating a neat little callback for long-time fans.
3 Spy Kids Theme Scoring The Final Battle
The original Spy Kids theme song was iconic. It played throughout the franchise marking pivotal moments and becoming integral to the series. While it doesn't appear very often in Armageddon, there is one pivotal moment where it rings out and lifts the scene to new heights. During Tony's final battle with The King, things get incredibly tense and the rest of the family needs to stop the Heck Knight in order to help. As Nora and Terrence decide to try doing things the kid's way, the theme song suddenly plays. To make this moment even better, it's actually Tony's actor, Connor Esterson who plays the riff over the orchestra score.
2 .5 Health Points Remaining
Most video games have a system for managing health points. Traditionally, this can be numbers, it can be segments or it can be something else. There aren't many games that have a numbered HP system which bottoms out at .5, but in both Spy Kids 3D and Armageddon, this system appears. This is a subtle reference to the earlier film as the health points were rarely displayed, but still a great callback.
