Ingrid (Gugino) and Gregorio Cortez (Banderas) were once the best spies the world had to offer. But they fell in love at first sight and retired to have kids.

Carmen and her brother Juni are regularly told the bedtime story of two elite, rival secret agents who marry and live happily ever after - but are blissfully unaware their own parents are the stars of this tale.

As the world's spies mysteriously begin, one by one, to disappear, Ingrid and Gregorio are called back into action. But they too vanish, leaving an old friend to break the news to their children.

So Carmen and her brother Juni, equipped with jet packs and hi-tech gizmos Inspector Gadget would envy, set out to rescue them.

Thanks to the film's very own Miss Moneypenny (former Bond girl Hatcher), they soon discover kids' TV presenter Fegan Floop (Cumming) is behind the disappearances.

And he plans to use his prisoners, a gang of mutated TV characters, and an army of child robots to take over the planet.

The film is full of movie stunts wryly ripping off now renowned scenes from Mission: Impossible, The Matrix and Crouching Tiger. The acting is hugely entertaining; rubber-faced Cumming must have had a scream playing Floop, a crazed Willy Wonka.

In real sibling fashion the kids bicker throughout their escapades - before realising at last that they actually do love each other.

And there's plenty of eye candy for the parents, too, with Gugino and Hatcher for dads and, for the mums, the suave Banderas (as well as a rather gorgeous old Robert Rodriguez buddy in a cameo at the very end).

Spy Kids is smart and cute... but you actually don't need to be a kid to appreciate it.

Suzanne Locke