The fate of the free world also lies in the hands of two spies certainly not old enough to sit behind the wheel of James Bond's famed Aston Martin.

In Spy Kids 2, the Cortez siblings roam around a monster-infested island in search of a destructive device called the Transmooker. Cortez parents and fellow spies Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino also return.

Bigger isn't always better, as the lackluster returns for Stuart Little 2 demonstrate. Spy Kids 2 must overcome extremely mediocre reviews in order to best its predecessor's $26.5 million opening and $112.6 million total. With children returning to school soon, Dimension Films opened Spy Kids 2 on Wednesday in 3,307 theaters to make the most of what's left of the summer holidays.

Spy Kids 2's $4.6 million Wednesday opening signals a three-day weekend of at least $20 million.

Dimension executives must be confident about Spy Kids 2. They have already ordered director Robert Rodriguez to get Spy Kids 3 into theaters on July 23, 2003. Rodriguez is going to have to pull a Steven Soderbergh, given that he is also working with Banderas on Once Upon a Time in Mexico for a 2003 release.

Banderas needs Spy Kids 2 to make an impact. He followed up Spy Kids with two bombs, Original Sin ($16.5 million) and the barely released The Body ($33,565).

The Cortez siblings will cause some headaches for comeback kid Dana Carvey.

Master of Disguise, which finds Carvey portraying an unlikely hero able to impersonate dozens of people, managed a solid $12.5 million debut last weekend against fellow ex-Saturday Night Live-er Mike Myers' Austin Powers in Goldmember.

That's Carvey's best solo opening, beating Opportunity Knocks' paltry $3.5 million opening in 1990. In fact, Master of Disguise grossed more than the combined openings of Carvey's three 1994 disasters, Clean Slate ($3.1 million), The Road to Wellville ($2.5 million) and Trapped in Paradise ($2.7 million). Carvey obviously made the right decision in persuading another SNL alumnus, Adam Sandler, to executive produce the family-friendly comedy.

This weekend will determine whether Master of Disguise appeals more to parents nostalgic for the days when Carvey ruled SNL or children willing to laugh at some good, clean fun. Spy Kids 2 will likely sap Master of Disguise of its core audience of children, causing a drop of at least 45 percent, or a second-weekend haul of $7 million. Still, with $17.4 million through Wednesday, Master of Disguise already represents Carvey's biggest solo success and should finish with a total close to $40 million.

Young children, though, are being terribly fickle about what they want to see during this second half of the summer.

Stuart Little is no longer the mouse that roared. Stuart Little 2 plunged 42 percent in its third weekend, from $10.6 million to $6.1 million, and has a disappointing $49.6 million through Wednesday. At this rate, Stuart Little 2 will barely make half of its predecessor's $140 million.

Singing bears aren't of much interest, either. The Country Bears collapsed by 41 percent in its second weekend, from $5.3 million to $3.1 million. The Disney theme park attraction spin-off has a tuneless $13.1 million through Wednesday. That's hardly enough to buy a pot or two of honey these days.