The latest child's-eye adventure from Robert Rodriguez, Shorts doesn't hit the heights of his Spy Kids series. But it provides just enough smart, silly fun for families desperately seeking an easy escape from hazy August humidity.
Shorts (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:18
Fresh:10
Rotten:8
Average Rating:5.6/10
Consensus: Shorts has imagination and energy, but most viewers beyond elementary school will likely tire of the kiddie humor and sensory overload.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for mild action and some rude humor.
Runtime: 89 mins
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Theatrical Release:Aug 21, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $20,875,468
Synopsis: Shorts is set in the suburb of Black Falls, where all the houses look the same and everyone works for BLACK BOX Unlimited Worldwide Industries Incorporated, whose Mr. Black’s BLACK BOX is the... Shorts is set in the suburb of Black Falls, where all the houses look the same and everyone works for BLACK BOX Unlimited Worldwide Industries Incorporated, whose Mr. Black’s BLACK BOX is the ultimate communication and do-it-all gadget that’s sweeping the nation. Other than keeping his parents employed, however, Mr. Black’s BLACK BOX has done nothing for 11-year-old Toe Thompson, who just wants to make a few friends…until a mysterious rainbow-colored rock falls from the sky, hits him in the head and changes everything. The Rainbow Rock does Mr. Black’s BLACK BOX one better: it grants wishes to anyone who holds it. Before long, wishes-gone-wrong have left the neighborhood swarming with tiny spaceships, crocodile armies, giant boogers…and outrageous magical mayhem around every corner. But it’s not until the grown-ups get their hands on the Rock that the trouble really starts. Now Toe and his newfound friends must join forces to save their town from itself, discovering along the way that what you wish for is not always what you want. --© Warner Bros [More]
Starring: Jon Cryer, William H. Macy, Leslie Mann, James Spader
Starring: Jon Cryer, William H. Macy, Leslie Mann, James Spader, Jimmy Bennett, Kat Dennings, Trevor Gagnon, Leo Howard, Devon Gearhart, Rebel Rodriguez, Jake Short, Jolie Vanier
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Screenwriter: Robert Rodriguez
Producer: Robert Rodriguez, Elizabeth Avellan
Composer: Robert Rodriguez, Carl Thiel, George Oldziey
Studio: Warner Bros.
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Reviews for Shorts
Yes, I realize this is a kids' movie, but that's no excuse for short-circuiting creativity.
Be careful what you wish for, Shorts reminds us; you just might get it. Especially if that wishing was along the lines of a smart and funny kids' flick.
Magic vies with technology in this exuberant adventure comedy, which unfolds achronologically in a series of zany, effects-laden vignettes.
If parents feel like they've seen much of Shorts before, its celebration of mayhem and restless, thrill-seeking vibe will absorb young viewers, especially as the boredom of late summer begins to set in.
Can we wish for a fresher subplot than that of pleasure-deadened grown-ups who live their lives in a stupor of consumerism?
Fast-paced, imaginative and often cute, Shorts is slight but enjoyable family fare.
Shorts channels the same gross-out overkill as the Captain Underpants books that parents endure and pre-teen boys so dearly love. The difference is that those books have an editor (and they’re funnier).
It's like Shorts raided the concession stand and then has to sit slumped in its seat long after the sugar buzz wears off.
Slipped into Robert Rodriguez's smart, funny, fast-as-lightning kids' movie, Shorts, are several sly comments on American culture and the tyranny of technology.
Somewhere around the time a giant booger runs riot through the town, one wishes for a bit more adult supervision.
More zippy, diverting fun from Robert Rodriguez's family filmmaking factory.
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