There is such a joy of play in the film that it's easy to overlook the overdone performances and the lazy script shortcuts.
Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl in 3-D (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:118
Fresh:23
Rotten:95
Average Rating:4.3/10
Consensus: The decision to turn this kiddie fantasy into a 3-D film was a miscalculation.
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Genre: Childrens
US Box Office: $39,041,112
Synopsis: From the wild imagination of a child and the digital vision of director Robert Rodriguez (creator of the hit “Spy Kids” series as well as the recently acclaimed “Sin City”) comes the magical,... From the wild imagination of a child and the digital vision of director Robert Rodriguez (creator of the hit “Spy Kids” series as well as the recently acclaimed “Sin City”) comes the magical, original, not to mention three-dimensional, family entertainment, THE ADVENTURES OF SHARK BOY & LAVA GIRL IN 3D. THE ADVENTURES OF SHARK BOY & LAVA GIRL IN 3D is written and directed by Robert Rodriguez, based on the intergalactic journeys and superhero stories created by his seven year-old son Racer Max. Sometimes the most amazing superheroes are the ones inside your dreams. So discovers ten-year-old Max (Cayden Boyd), an outcast little boy who has become lost in his own fantasy world in an attempt to escape the everyday worries of dealing with parents (David Arquette and Kristin Davis), school bullies and no-fun summer vacations. But when Max realizes the cool characters, high-flying adventures and incredible secret powers that dwell in his imagination might be far more real than anyone is willing to believe, his whole world changes. Now, Max is blasting off on a mission to Planet Drool where Shark Boy (Taylor Lautner) -- a kid once lost at sea and raised under the watchful fins of sharks only to become half-shark -- and Lava Girl (Taylor Dooley) – a volcanic beauty who emits leaping flames and red-hot rocks – live in a realm of astonishing wonders, one in which the Train of Thought can whisk you off to the mouth-watering Land of Milk and Cookies. Teeming with mountainous roller coasters and violet skies, Planet Drool looks like the perfect kid paradise until Max meets up with the shocking Mr. Electric (George Lopez) and his sidekick Minus (Jacob Davich) who are trying to do away with all dreams forever. With Shark Boy and Lava Girl in trouble, only Max can guide them – by imagining every clever move of their wily escape from Mr. Electric’s Lair. Speedily conjuring up an incredible array of gadgets, gizmos, contraptions and cool ideas . . . Max learns the power of turning his dreams into reality. -- © Dimension Films [More]
Starring: Taylor Dooley, Taylor Lautner, Cayden Boyd, David Arquette
Starring: Taylor Dooley, Taylor Lautner, Cayden Boyd, David Arquette, Kristin Davis, George Lopez
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Screenwriter: Robert Rodriguez
Producer: Elizabeth Avellan, Robert Rodriguez
Composer: Graeme Revell, John Debney
Studio: Dimension Films
Reviews for Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl in 3-D
While the digital backdrops are suitably out of this world, the movie lacks action and momentum.
Robert Rodriguez's intentions seem honorable: to make a charming, low-tech, 3-D movie for children, based on the writings of his preteen son. But the result is astoundingly boring and, frankly, tedious to sit through.
Shark Boy is a brave undertaking, but for anyone over 9 years of age, it’s also a complete chore to sit through.
You'll know who the target audience is when you discover the story's setting is called Planet Drool, and the hero is an imaginative schoolboy who joins the title characters to fight the evil Mr. Electric and save the world.
Strikes a nice balance of gee-whiz fantasy and tongue-in-cheek humor.
The injury of 3D eyestrain [adds] to the insult of garish production design...[looks] like a 94–minute Saturday-morning commercial for Marshmallow Toast Crunch...
Dreams are necessary, but without focus and meaning they are cotton candy -- a sweet delight until it melts away, leaving a sugar buzz and a sticky film on your teeth.
It's an imaginative movie, likably performed by kids who seem awkwardly real and featuring swell messages about friendship and unselfishness.
Visually, the film is impressive. Rodriguez has an incredible imagination and the computer skills to bring it to vivid life.
3-D is awful. It's annoying, and tiresome, and stupid. If you are an adult, it is bearable for about five minutes, if that. Then you will probably feel the need to close your eyes. Forever.
Rodriguez, whose prankish production design was the real star of the original Spy Kids, has become a prisoner of his 3-D mandate.
[L]ooks and sounds and feels as if it were... made by kids who’d broken into Dad’s toolshed and borrowed his filmmaking toys.
...best left hanging on the Rodriguez family refrigerator, not in theaters for all to see.
Every time you stop to catch your breath, the movie's round, electric eyes stare up at you and push you to keep going. After all, the sun's up and bedtime is an eternity away.
Of course your children will enjoy it--given enough flashing lights and farting noises, they'll like a George Lucas movie.
A strenuously merry, digitally produced folly that cavorts weakly like a parent over-involved in his kid's playtime.
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