Customer Reviews

The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D also includes 2d version

5 star:		(95)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

I'm surprised at all the adults bashing this movie because THEY didn't like it! What I loved about this movie is that it does seem to cater entirely to childrens fantasies. I've seen many children watch it (because during my sons' obsession with it he had to show it to everyone!)and they were all mesmerized by it. I've even enjoyed it. The 3-D version is pointless though because unless you tweak your tv just right it is poor quality. Don't bother with that, just watch the 2-D version that is on the same disk. It's still great in 2-D. Little girls like this movie too, but a must have if you have little boys!

Wow, many reviewers have really bashed this film. We just bought the DVD for our daughter, and she absolutely loved it. After having watched the special features section detailing how the Rodriguez family devised the story, my daughter is writing and illustrating multitudes of original, imaginary scenes of her own. As an adult, I actually enjoyed the movie very much. Sure, it's a step away from reality, but it has revitalized imagination and creativity in our household. Dreaming is a very bizarre and peculiar phenomenon, so I think the pure imagination depicted in the film is justified.

I haven't seen a movie so imaginative and entrancing since the first time I saw Gene Wilder as Willie Wonka on HBO as a seven-year-old boy.

It's corny and cheesy, but give it a chance and try not to be negatively biased by scathing critiques. Watch it with your kids. They'll enjoy your company. You might like it!

SUPER SUPER movie. My nieces love it! YES! YOU DO HAVE THE OPTION OF TURNING OFF 3-D effects!

This is a great kid's movie! It has a lot of action and it takes place on "Planet Drool" that has everything kids love! The best part is that its story tells kids that it is OK to dream and if you work hard enough you can make your dreams a reality!
What a great kid's message! A movie for the whole family to enjoy together!

Sharkboy and Lavagirl is like a painting without 3D glasses. Put on the glasses and you experience a magical reality where dreams change your world and where the challenge is to overcome the nightmares.

This movie is as much about facing fears and positive thinking as it is about special effects. It is especially impressive in this regard, with witty dialogue and spontaneous and unexpected turns of event.

I found Lavagirl to be a beautiful character with a loving heart and playful outlook on life. She sometimes forgets her powers and they use this for comic effect. She seems a little lost at first, as if seeking her greater purpose all while enjoying a playful combative interchange with Sharkboy.

The scenes take place in a school and in a magical dream reality. The characters move from real life to dreams in an instant and you can fall asleep and dream up a new reality in your dreams. It is all very fun and I found myself laughing throughout at the innocent humor and creative surprises. I think adults will get the "brainstorm" joke even more than children would and there is plenty of humor for adults and kids to enjoy. I also thought there were some amazingly profound moments during the conversations and if you realize what it would take to say those lines to someone who is a bully, that in itself should impress.

On the fun visual side, lands of cookies and milk present culinary adventures as Lavagirl, Sharkboy and Daydreamer Max float through a world on a huge chocolate chip cookie. Then you have a volcano and worlds of imagination reminiscent of a theme park ride. There is a mildy dark nemesis who is the bully and he aggravates the situation by appearing in Max's dreams. He steals Max's diary. I loved that Max had a dream journal and how reading through the journal/diary made his dreams come true. Changing the dreams, changed the settings and this presents the challenge.

The amazing thing about this movie is how it was inspired by a child's imagination and when you watch the extras, I think you will be even more impressed. I would love to see more movies like this because it reminds me of the hope we have as children and how we can still dream our worlds into life as adults. I think this movie gives children an empowering message and to be honest, some of the issues discussed in this movie could change a child's world for the better. Max is a great role model and his actions speak of a wisdom far beyond his years. As Max learns to navigate his own imagination, he is really teaching children amazing lessons about how to navigate life.

Highly Recommended along with the 3D glasses!

~The Rebecca Review

My two grandsons -- ages 7 and 5 -- absolutely LOVE this film and could watch it two or three times in one sitting if we'd let them. A plus for me is that, unlike some of their other favorite DVDs, I enjoy watching this one with them.

...

I liked it.

Yep: I thought it was good. I thought it was better than most contemporary children's movies. Why?

1) Sharkboy and Lavagirl have depth. No, seriously, as superheroes go, they take the angst of the Spiderman movies and adapt it well for a younger crowd.

2) It's theme of imagination makes a perfect fall-back. So it seems the movie goes in a stupid direction, huh? Unfortunately I remember my childlike imagination going in that direction as well when I was that age. In fact, almost all of the stuff shown, right down to the ending, fit perfectly the type of random stuff I'd come up with when I was a kid. I related to it perfectly, and I'm usually the type of person who gets angry when a movie doesn't match the type of daydreaming imagination I had when I was little and spent all of my time walking around and around the playground, thinking of random child superheroes to have adventures with.

3) At first the virtual reality world is, of course, too cartoony for real-world characters. However, what ends up amazing is how well they interact in such a fake world. It's seamless, and after a while I forgot how fake it was. Much more beloved and much more highly rated films have CGI/special effects worlds that it doesn't even look like the characters are moving in. This one has them walking along in them as if they're really there.

4) Rodriguez may not make the most artistic or original movies, but he knows what he's doing when streaming together a line of images. Invisible editing and conscientious directing kept the story flowing pretty much as smoothly as the milk in the cookie land. It was nice to see.

5) I didn't get to watch it in 3-D, but it felt like it was in 3-D anyways. GREAT cinematography.

So yeah. Good movie. Better than Spy Kids.

What probably sets people off are the ending scenes (barely, BARELY worked) and the first few scenes with Sharkboy and Lavagirl. They're very discombobulating and the acting isn't exactly the best. Finally, Linus/Minus isn't the best child actor I've ever seen, and his character wasn't as developed as it could have been. These are the reasons people have a hard time getting caught in the rest of the movie.

I can't make other people like it, but I sure do.

--PolarisDiB

My husband rented this film for our 3 year old daughter on PPV. I initially rolled my eyes, because it looked like a typical goofy movie to me. Incidently, I was NOT a fan of Spykids.
As I sat down to watch this movie with my daughter, we were both captivated (we did not see it in 3D). The creativity that went into this film was amazing.
I can honestly say it was enjoyable. BTW - Shark Boy & Lava Girl were supposed to "over-act". They were based on the superheros in Max's dream. They reminded me of the way hero's acted in the 50's, it was refreshing to see actually. Are we really so jaded as a society that we can't handle a little corny old fashioned super hero every now & then? Think Buzz lightyear, also based on those old super heros!
Anyway, my daughter sat and watched the entire movie, and raved about it afterwards. I think this one will be a classic, we are definately buying it.

I rented this movie and watched it with my 7 year old daughter. We both loved it. I'm not sure what's up with all the negative reviews unless they were expecting it to be something an adult would want to watch alone. It's not an adult movie, folks.
It's very entertaining with a cool and different story. My little girl wants Santa to bring her this so I know she liked it too.

Let me begin by saying that as a rule, I don't usually support movies that portray kids in the savior role. I object to this mainly because I believe we, as a society, have elevated kids above their status by our constant portrayal of children as wiser, smarter and more cleaver than adults. By letting them constantly view children in this role, is it any wonder that so many kids have no respect for adults. I realize there are some adults that are not worthy of any respect... but now I am wandering off topic. Although Sharkboy and LavaGirl's hero is a small boy, he still remains respectful of adults in the real world. This is why I fully support this film.

As a child I was the ultimate "Day Dreamer" (Max's title on the Dream World). I walked around in my own little world most of the time. As a result I was called numerous unflattering names: Dingbat, AirHead and Breezy, just name a few. This resulted in a low self-esteem that took years to overcome. Max helps us see that an imagination may be something that will come in handy and may even be something to be admired even though many see it as an excuse for name calling.

The only thing that keeps this from being a Five Star is that in the end the kid is the only one smart enough to save the world: once again adults are portrayed as incapable, but at least the kid still remains respectful to authority figures.