Joining the Spy Kids and the Cortez family inside The Toymaker’s video game are four smart and tenacious young beta testers (cyber-savvy kids who get to try out games before they are for sale) who have tricks, clues and vital inside knowledge to share with Juni – if he can get them to trust him. They quartet is composed of: laid-back leader Rez, athletic Arnold, brainy Francis and the mysterious Demetra.
Fifteen year-old Bobby Edner, who plays Francis the Brain, is not unlike his character. “I love video games,” he admits. “I have five or six different systems, and I like playing all the different kinds of games from sports to mystery to adventure and action, just like the five levels of the Toymaker’s game. To me, they’re all fun to play.”
Edner describes Francis as “a book-smart guy who’s not a nerd. He’s really cool but he’s also pretty smart and he has a lot of knowledge about the game. Kind of the way I am!” Edner also did all of his own stunts, learning for the first time how to use a safety harness. “I definitely loved flying around,” he says. “It’s pretty exciting.” Above and beyond the action of the film, Edner also was intrigued by the story. “It’s really about looking after your family and friends – because if you do, it all seems to work out,” he summarizes.
Demetra, the tough young gamer who catches Juni’s eye, is played by 11 year-old Courtney Jines. “What I think is really cool about the SPY KIDS movies is that they show that little kids can do important stuff,” she states. Jines describes Demetra as “really mysterious.” “You never quite if she’s good or bad,” she continues. “One of the things I like best is that she’s the only girl in the game, other than Carmen. So she gets to show how tough girls can be, and how they can do anything. Plus, it’s fun for me because I’ve always liked hanging out with boys.”
Rodriguez says, “I think I had the most fun creating the character of Demetra. She was my favorite written character in the script, yet even after weeks of casting I couldn’t find anyone that looked the way I wanted her to look. But Courtney Jines embodied her spirit, so together we conspired to MAKE her into Demetra. Courtney allowed me to cut her treasured long blonde hair off into a dark, sculpted bob. Eyeliner and a robotic style of movement completed the makeover. She now looks like something out of a Japanese Anime. I think she fell in love with her new look, because I just saw her recently and she hasn’t changed her hair color back.”
Physically buff Arnold is played by Ryan Pinkston, already a World Champion Martial Artist and competitive gymnast at age 15. Pinkston was drawn to the SPY KIDS series of film through his love of gadgets. “They have the coolest gadgets in all the SPY KIDS films, but this is the best one yet,” he says.
Pinkston also found himself relating to the character of Arnold. “He’s a very strong person but he also has a real purpose for trying so hard to win the game: he’s trying to save his family from poverty. They’re not very rich, and Arnold wants to win money for them.” Pinkston also got to put his exceptional skills in karate, tai chi, kung fu and tumbling to use as Arnold. “I got to do a lot of stunts, and even use a little karate,” he explains. “The best part was that every time Robert got a new idea, the kids in the movie all got a fun new stunt out of it. It was awesome.”
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