It is rather surprising that one of the most engaging films of the year thus far, comes in the form of the wonderfully innovative family film Spy Kids. What's more surprising is that the film comes courtesy of Robert Rodriguez, a director known for more adult fare such as From Dusk Till Dawn, Desperado, and The Faculty. I've been a big fan of the guy ever since he burst on to the seen with the thrifty actioneer, El Mariachi. He has a great sense of timing in the action arena, but aside from a short segment in Four Rooms, he hasn't had an opportunity to spread his comical wings.

In Spy Kids, a couple of average youngster siblings (Daryl Sabara and Alexa Vega) are thrust into the adventure of a lifetime when their professional spy parents (wonderfully played by Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino) are kidnapped by an eccentric and inventive television host (played with a Pee Wee Herman flavor by Alan Cumming). Before you know it the unwitting Spy Kids must wax heroic in order to save their parents as well as "the day."

Rodriguez has borrowed some familiar movie elements (James Bond, Willy Wonka, The Rocketeer, True Lies, Beetlejuice, and countless others) and blended them into an original fantasy, that zooms along from one zany moment to the next. He uses many of his trademark camera tricks to exhilarate the audience, and not once during the course of this fun-filled caper will it occur to you that this movie cost but a fraction of what it cost to make such recent classics as Battlefield Earth.

Although dialogue still isn't Rodriguez's strong suit, you can't help but admire the energy and all-out joy that this picture exudes. Featuring a generous array of great cameos (including Cheech Marin, Teri Hatcher, Danny Trejo, Robert Patrick, Tony Shalhoub, George Clooney, and those wonderfully bizarre Thumbthumbs), Spy Kids dazzles and takes us movie-goers to places where we've never been before. It worked for me.

At once amusing and very strange (there's a wonderfully crazy musical number courtesy of Danny Elfman), Spy Kids is an absolute treasure. Rodriguez has even managed to squeeze in an effective message about the importance of family. Some will, no doubt, find this to be a bit sappy--it didn't bug me in the slightest.

Like some of Disney's best works, Rodriguez hasn't merely made a movie for kids, but rather made a film that appeals to the child in all of us. Spy Kids has a youthful energy and spirit that makes it one of the best films of the year.