The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D
Tags: violence, storytelling

Plot synopsis:
Max is a lonely child who creates a dreamworld named Planet Drool (similar to Fantasia), where all of his imagination and dreams come to life. He creates two characters, with the first one being Sharkboy who was raised by sharks and his dad. The second character is Lavagirl who can produce fire and lava, but has trouble touching objects without setting them alight. The two left Max to guard Planet Drool. In real life, Max's parents have little time for him, and he is bullied by fellow schoolmate Linus. However, he does receive friendship from Marissa, Mr. Electricidad's (whose name is Spanish for "electricity") daughter. Linus steals Max's Dream Journal, where all of his ideas are kept, and vandalizes it. The next day, a tornado rages outside the school, and moments later Sharkboy and Lavagirl appear and ask Max to come with them to Planet Drool. They reach Planet Drool via a shark-like spacecraft, where Max learns that the dreamworld is turning bad, courtesy of Mr. Electric (also portrayed by George Lopez), originally the guardian of the dreamworld but now corrupted.Sharkboy and Lavagirl save some children from an out-of-control roller coaster; then, with Max, confront Mr. Electric, who quickly drops them in a part of Planet Drool called the Dream Graveyard where some of Max's dreams have been dumped. They find Tobor (voiced by George Lopez), a robot toy that was never finished being built by Max, but offers them a lift to other parts of the planet. Whilst on the journey, the three form a friendship but they face hardships, such as Sharkboy's anger for the oceans being frozen over, and Lavagirl's desperation to find her true purpose on Planet Drool. They are pursued by Mr. Electric and his "plughounds" across the planet. They plan to visit the Ice Princess and obtain the Crystal Heart, which can freeze time, giving them enough time to get to the center of Planet Drool and fix the dreamworld using Max's daydreaming. However, they are captured by Mr. Electric and delivered to Linus's Planet Drool incarnation, Minus, who has altered the dreamworld with Max's own Dream Journal. Max retrieves the Dream Journal from Minus whilst he is sleeping, and the three escape. Max informs Sharkboy that his father is alive in his book, but when Lavagirl wishes to find out what it says about her, she burns the book to ash. In her rage, Lavagirl confronts Max and asks him why she was made out of lava, but is calmed by Sharkboy.With little time left, Max, Sharkboy and Lavagirl reach the Ice Princess (Marissa) after an encounter with the Ice Guardian (voiced by George Lopez). She hands over the Crystal Heart, but they find they are too late to stop the corruption. Mr. Electric fools Sharkboy into jumping into water filled with electric eels, seemingly killing him. Lavagirl jumps into the water to retrieve Sharkboy but dies moments later. Tobor's head appears and convinces Max to dream a better and unselfish dream, which in turn revives Sharkboy, who then races Lavagirl to a volcano where she is revived, Max concluding that Lavagirl is light. Max gains reality warping as the Daydreamer and battles Minus, defeating him, and offering to make a better dreamworld between the two of them, which Minus agrees to. Lavagirl then kisses Sharkboy, burning his cheek.Mr. Electric refuses to accept the new dreamworld, and flies off to Earth to kill Max whilst he is dreaming. Max awakens back in his classroom in the middle of the storm, Mr. Electric materializing before Max and an astonished Mr. Electricidad. Max's parents are caught in the storm, but saved by Sharkboy and Lavagirl. Max gives the Crystal Heart to Marissa, allowing her to gain the Ice Princess' powers, freezing and destroying Mr. Electric. Mr. Electricidad, Linus and Max all make peace with one another, and Max is reunited with his parents.In the end, Max informs his class that Planet Drool became a proper dreamworld again, Sharkboy became the King of the Ocean, and Lavagirl became Queen of the Volcanoes (even aquatic ones) and Max is shown building Tobor with his parents and Tobor finally worked. It also seems that Sharkboy and Lavagirl begin a relationship. At the very end the two walk away from the camera "holding hands" by touching the tips of their index fingers together so that Sharkboy hopefully won't get burned.

Review: I hadn't planned on wasting my time reviewing this mess, but there are some subtleties that crept into my consciousness after the second forced viewing which may enhance a prospective viewer's experience.First of all, this movie obviously was designed for younger kids.
Any movie that gets a kid to write has got to be OK.Also, we watched the 2D version and seemed great.
Let me try and explain it this way - I have written ongoing lists of the greatest films ever made, and the worst films ever made, and Sharkboy and Lavagirl is the only movie I've ever seen that has gotten a placement in both lists for me.Sharkboy is about a young child named Max who dreams up wonderful fantasies and adolescent superhero type adventures.
I was pleasantly surprised, obviously, and I had a lot of fun watching the movie (I'm excluding the terrible 3-D version of the film, which is a pointless distract-or and takes away a lot of the magic).
But I can definitely tell that it's a movie younger kids, especially boys (for I'm pretty sure every boy this age has dreams and fantasies just like the ones in the film) will love.
I took my 9 year old son to Shark Boy and Lava Girl expecting to see a movie for kids.
I asked my son for a quote about the movie: "It is exciting, adventurous, and the 3-d effects could have been a little better, but if it wasn't 3-d it wouldn't be good at all".
As a mother and teacher, I can tell you that while the characters and situations are unique, they are also completely representative of the types of stories and imagination games that I have heard again and again.My own children have certainly created their own superheroes steeped in the same balance of derivative lore and imaginative elements that Sharkboy and Lavagirl possess.
i'm sure its target demographic of 6-10 year olds will love it because it has bright colors and kids as the lead actors, but that in no way makes it a good movie.
movies like the shrek trilogy are also targeted to younger audiences but are very enjoyable for adults too because they have good writing, a good plot, and a great cast.
Ten-year-old Max (Cayden Boyd) is having problems at his new school, where he is picked on by classmates and teachers alike after telling them about his superhero friends Shark Boy and Lava Girl (Taylor Lautner and Taylor Dooley).
Everyone thinks he's making them up until one day, they show up to whisk him off to Planet Drool to help them fight the evil Mr. Electric (George Lopez) and Minus.The plot sounds like a film that only kids will like.
A colorful and occasionally imaginative film, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl (In 3-D!!!) is an overall disappointment, a movie that had good intentions at the beginning, but devolved into a cheesy "message for our youth." The movie revolves around Max (Cayden Boyd), the picked-on grade school student who would rather create his own world rather than live in the real one.
Writer/director Robert Rodriguez formulated the entire movie, from story to special effects, based on inspirations provided by his children.
I really enjoyed the visual style Robert Rodriguez employed in Sin City, and that movie may have even been enhanced with a few 3-D moments, but Sharkboy and Lava girl was a move in the opposite direction for the maverick director..
Really lame toilet jokes and third rate cgi tormented by horribly wooden acting (these guys make Keanu look like Oscar potential) throw that in with a crate of Velveeta and you've got this utter waste of time.With a plot (if you can call it that) that is a rip off of The Wizard of Oz (kid goes to a fantasy world where everyone is a representation of people that kid interacts with)and a few kids books and one or two graphic novels (a kid dreaming up super heroes who become real is not even a remotely new concept).
The humor was received in the very same way no groans no anything.Most of the adults in the theater i saw it in had to be woken up by their kids when it was over perhaps the best summation comes from the mouth of my 8 year old who said "That was the most boring adventure movie i ever saw.".Sorry Mr. Rodriguez but you can put glitter (in this case 3D) on a pile of manure and it's still a pile of manure..
Someday soon, perhaps!--------- earlier comments, posted in June 2005:Little did I know yesterday that when my eight-year-old granddaughter and I went to see The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3-D we would be viewing a polarized print of the film made exclusively for the Austin premiere.
As Robert Rodriguez explained what we were about to see there was no way to imagine beforehand how the 3-D experience would be transformed by the killer combo of the polarized version shown on an IMAX screen through multiple DLPs. Once the movie started, however, I immediately realized I was watching something light years beyond anything I had yet seen.
This story, written by a kid for other kids, hasn't been tainted by anyone's opinion about keeping the older film-goers entertained through adult-themed inside references and innuendo.In making this film, Robert Rodriguez has wisely protected and preserved his son Racer's unique vision without the addition of dumbed-down "mature" wisecracks.
There are several horrid one liners told by Sharkboy(Lavagirl's hair catches on fire and he says, "Let her cool off some steam".) Any good reviews that you read of this are from kids 3 and under that learned to type, or mentally disabled adults.
Having a kid movie is fine, in light of all the more abrasive elements out in the world, but making a bad move!Plus marketing it to be the vein of Spy Kids is bad planning on part of the film makers.
(much like Charley and the chocolate factory)all told, it is a fanciful story about a daydreaming kid, who is dealing with most of the people in his life telling him it's time to grow up, and stop dreaming.it's not bad, and fairly kid safe.
Since then, the director has not had to scrounge for money and exceeds expectations with movies as varied as Spy Kids and Sin City.After seeing the lava scene in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, director Rodriguez' son, Racer, came up with the story for The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl.
The film labors to be cute and instructive, two characteristics better left by themselves in movies or kept the province of artists like animators at Dreamworks.One hero of Max's imagination can melt whatever she wants by ejecting lava; the other can do considerable damage with his teeth.
A little like the characters from Peter Pan, these children are variously looking for parents either to pay attention to them or work harder at staying together as parents, similar to the four teens of this month's Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, a superior young-person's film blessed with solid acting and believable setups.
George Lopez was the one slightly bright spot of the film, but even his caricature teacher or "Electricity" villain wore thin after the first half of the film.Again, my boys and their friend loved it; children this age rarely catch gaping plot holes when sharks are jumping at them from the screen or a kid's karate chops can defeat an ornery electrical cord.
Admittedly, I was interested myself to see the 3-D effects and there was a part of me that hoped it would turn out to be a decent family film even though the trailers certainly made it look terrible......and it was terrible.I can't stand it when I hear the phrase 'but it's a movie about the imagination!
Never before can I remember a lead in a kids film that was so unlikeable.The story could have been alright had it been executed the right way.The 3-D is neat for awhile and all, but there aren't that many great effects really.You'd think a director like Rodriguez could make a family film that isn't afraid of being a little less cheesy and perhaps a bit daring...
The film is about a young boy named Max, who keeps a record of his dreams and one day shares with his class a dream he had about two superhero kids named Sharkboy and Lavagirl.
I usually tend not to see family films but the film is written and directed by Robert Rodriguez (who based this film on an idea he got from his son) who also directed this year's Sin City, which I liked a lot and plus I have always wanted to see a film in 3-D where I would have to wear a pair of cut out glasses so I decided to see this film.
The Adventures Of Sharkboy And Lavagirl In 3-D, is very creative and interesting and has a lot of neat visual sight gags with the 3-D glasses and the story is also fun and entertaining and I think that with the 3-D effects and the creative and fun story that kids will love this movie.
I think the story would have been much better without the character of Shark Boy. You just couldn't feel anything for this kid.
this one is definitely for the kiddies,not much here at all for us adults,but it's really not that bad,for a kid movie made from an idea of a seven year old...the main thing that just kills this movie,is the 3-D...it sucks...really bad...& it's completely pointless,only there for gimmicks sake & a few cartoonish cuckoo clocks to leap from the screen.now,maybe the problem i was having was just at my theater,i don't know how no one who made the movie couldn't have noticed this,but,with the glasses on,the movie was 3-D alright,but almost ALL color was gone...like watching those old crappy black & white 3-D movies on TV when i was a kid.with out the glasses,things looked pretty good,except for the things that were supposed to be 3-D,they were the red & blue blur of course.i think,wait till this comes out on DVD & just watch it in 2-D,& you'll enjoy it for what it is...just a fun little kid flick,though it has the best kid fight scene since the last dragon...raise your hand if you're old enough to remember that one?.
The plot was terrible, Sharkboy and Lavagirl's suits looked like they were made out of plastic (which they probably were) and it was overall a very childish film.
A six-year-old?Despite the horrible quality of the film, I must say that there were some amusing moments in it, I think casting George Lopez was a great idea.Overall, this film could have had a lot of potential, but instead they turned it into a computer-generated mess of a Planet Drool..
This is CG for the sake of CG, because it's way cheaper to pay 10 mouse jockeys $50K a year in Texas then it is to build millions of dollars worth of sets.The movie starts actually with decent potential, but the story and plot meanders after Max arrives on his dreamt "Planet Drool," when the CG is put on like a garish suit.
The 3-D qualities were so bad that 80% of the time the 3-D was on-screen, the effect simply didn't work.The movie could have been charming a great fun for the family.
I loved the first couple Spy Kids films and liked the third.
Rather than a nice, tight, fantastical, almost absurdist film about a couple superheroes, it becomes a random series of events taking place in a computer animated world that looks extremely rushed and unfinished.I say "almost inexplicably" falls apart above because as is well known, director Robert Rodriguez' son, Racer, came up with the story, which was supposedly inspired by his dreams.
Whatever the reason, when they're on Planet Drool, the rules of the game keep changing, there's no sense of progression or an arc from one event to the next, there's no rhyme or reason to the characters, including the villain, and there's an uncomfortable combination of derivativeness (of everything from The Neverending Story to Wizard of Oz to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Tron to everything else that Racer has probably watched), groaner corniness (the puns based on heat, fish and dreams/imagination grow more desperate by the minute) and very poorly executed computer animation.
However, the next day something interesting happens, Shark boy and Lava girl show up at school and seek Max's help Max then goes with Shark boy and Lava girl and this is where the fun filled adventure begins.One thing I can say about Robert Rodriguez is that he has a knack for film-making.
What amazes me about Mr. Rodriguez is how he can make films like "Sin City" and "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" and also make great family films such as the "Spy Kids" series and this film.I don't understand why critics hated this movie but then again I don't always understand the critics.
When watching a movie like Shark boy and Lava girl, you have to remember one thing that this is a movie made for the enjoyment of little kids.
If you get into the film, you feel like you're a little kid again and that's a great feeling.If you go into the theater expecting a cinematic gem you're not going to get it.
The acting isn't as good as it was in the "Spy kids" movies or any of Robert Rodriguez's other work.
Like I said, go into the movie and take the movie for what it is, a great family popcorn flick that both adults and kids together can enjoy if you put your mind to it.So in conclusion, If you go into "The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl" knowing what to expect you will really enjoy the film.
It's on the "On-demand" movie channel here and he watches it at least twice a day.I've seen 80% of it and it's harmless fun (for kids his age certainly).There are lots of imaginative things in there (like the extension cord/wire dogs).
I liked Spy Kids better than this movie.
"The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D" is a Robert Rodriguez-directed film about a boy who's imagination comes to life and his friends, Sharkboy and Lavagirl, help him try to defeat this evil that is ruling the world that Sharkboy and Lavagirl live in.
This was a low-budget movie that does not have brand name actors, the plot revolves around a boy with shark features and a girl with lava powers, and the main idea for this movie came from a 7-year-old kid.
What starts out nice, once again goes horribly wrong.Another thing, this movie is a family film alright, but only kids will truly appreciate this one.
Your kids will most likely start keeping dream journals and invent characters of a similar calibre to Lavagirl and Sharkboy!
i've seen better family movies, but the kids loved it.
Max is ridiculed by the kids in Mr. Electricidad (George Lopez)'s class for making up stories about Sharkboy (Taylor Lautner) and Lavagirl.
Many things about the movie don't even make sense, like parents are still going to send their kids to school during a tornado?
I don't think it's as awful as some of the people reviewing this movie, but let me just tell you how my kids feel about this film.First of all, being an American in Germany, we cannot just go to Wal Mart and purchase any movie we want at any time.
It also helps to be not over the age of 9.Still bearing that in mind and trying to view the film with a child's eye it's a charming story about a young kid whose make believe fantasy superhero friends come to life and take him to where one of them is from.
Some of the pictures aren't that bad...some are unintentionally funny...some are just terrible....it's quite the adventure seeing which is the case for each film.When I first started watching the movie, I was taken aback by the CGI.
For adults, this alone make the film horrid...though kids often love garish colors (as seen in such movies as "The Oogieloves" and TV shows like "Teletubbies").The story is about a loner, Max, and his two new friends, Sharkboy and Lavagirl, and their attempt to save the world.
I like Robert Rodriguez and thought his first two Spy Kids movies were very enjoyable and while mediocre I actually thought the third Spy Kids film was better than this too.
The 3D didn't seem to work well, the mood was always dark, the effects were elementary, and the plot/acting was just weak (even for a kid's movie!).The child I brought to see this basically wanted to leave within the first 15 minutes, and he completely gave up after an hour.
The Matrix meets Spy Kids when 10 year-old Max (Cayden Boyd) blurs the lines between the dream world and the real world in The Adventures of Sharkboy & Lavagirl in 3-D.
Though his 7 year-old son, Racer Rodriguez, technically came up with the story and characters in the film, Sharkboy & Lavagirl is clearly a metaphor for writer/director Robert Rodriguez and his philosophy on life.
This movie, on the other hand, shows how much Rodriguez loves and honors his kids, and respects the imagination of all children.Besides the great message of this movie, it's also a blast to watch!
Every 5-year -old has seen love in every other movie they've ever seen.And plus, "from the director of SPY KIDS?" Doesn't that mean you should avoid at all costs?.
I've seen lots of trash created for kids to watch and I think this movie is a lot better than many of them.