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Taylor Lautner is known to many fans as the wolf boy Jacob Black from the Twilight Saga. It was a breakout role for Lautner into more mature films in Hollywood, despite the franchise garnering more critics than fans in later years. However, before his time as a werewolf, Lautner was Sharkboy in the superhero movie, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D.

Taylor Lautner in a still from the Twilight Saga | Credits: Summit Entertainment

Lautner was the first to be cast in the role in Robert Rodriguez’s children’s movie. The film received negative reviews upon release, with criticism targeted at the 3-D effects. However, many loved the film as kids and it went on to gain a cult following. But looking back, fans could see why critics weren’t happy with the film.

Taylor Lautner’s One Kids Film Aged Badly Just Like His Twilight Films Taylor Dooley...

Spy Kids creator Robert Rodriguez finally revealed the current status of the long-in-development sequel to Netflix’s 2020 film We Can Be Heroes.

In an interview with Collider, Rodriguez addressed lengthy development of We Can Be Heroes 2, revealing that they’re hoping to make it as soon as possible in order to keep up with its young cast’s growth. He also teased that the next installment will possibly include a time jump, where fans would see the original film’s kid heroes transformed into superpowered teenagers. "The bigger rush is to do a sequel for that because of the kids growing up. Although the script always kind of took that into account, they're supposed to be kind of next-level," he said.

Related: Spy Kids: Armageddon Director Reveals Why Original Stars Weren’t Included in Netflix Sequel

Rodriguez admitted that he doesn’t see the young cast getting older as a problem,...

Netflix’s latest family movie has proven to be a huge hit with subscribers. We Can Be Heroes dropped on Christmas Day and so far, it’s believed that 44 million users have lapped up the superhero flick from director Robert Rodriguez. Given that stellar opening, it’s no surprise that the streaming giant quickly ordered a sequel, with Rodriguez revealed to be starting development on a second part soon.

The Spy Kids filmmaker confirmed the news himself on Twitter. “44 Million Families will have suited up for We Can Be Heroes in its first 4 weeks!! And… Breaking News: The Heroics are coming back for round two! I’m in full development of the sequel with @Netflix,” he wrote on social media. Fans were delighted by the news, as was one of the movie’s stars. Pedro Pascal retweeted Rodriguez’s post and added some praise for the man himself. “Cuz you’re a Boss!

Stars: YaYa Gosselin, Pedro Pascal, Lyon Daniels, Priyanka Chopra, Andy Walken, Hala Finley, Lotus Blossom, Dylan Henry Lau, Andrew Diaz, Isaiah Russell-Bailey, Akira Akbar, Nathan Blair | Written and Directed by Robert Rodriguez

Thank god for directors like Robert Rodriguez. Directors who still have the capacity, passion and vision to make the movie they want to make… I love horror, I also love sci-fi, I definitely love action and sometimes… not always… but sometimes, I do love a good rom-com. Yet there are moments when a certain director releases a movie that has you excited by the sheer mention of it and when it comes to Robert Rodriguez nothing gets me more excited than an action-adventure effects-laden superhero flick for kids. You will never find me apologising for my love of the Spy Kids trilogy because those are movies I loved when I was a bit younger and those are movies...

It's officially. We Can Be Heroes 2 is in development. Director Robert Rodriguez made the announcement this afternoon while celebrating the success of the first installment. According to Netflix, We Can Be Heroes has been streamed by 44 million households in one month. Excitement was high for the movie, which is a spin-off of 2005's The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, and it looks like there may have always been a plan for a sequel in place between the streaming service and Rodriguez.

44 Million Families will have suited up for We Can Be Heroes in its first 4 weeks!! And… Breaking News: The Heroics are coming back for round two! I’m in full development of the sequel with @Netflix! pic.twitter.com/swFm7xWIC7

— Robert Rodriguez (@Rodriguez) January 4, 2021

Robert Rodriguez is clearly excited by the success of We Can Be Heroes. Earlier today, he tweeted, "44 Million Families will have suited up for...

It looks like your favorite next-gen superheroes will be suiting up again: In a tweet posted on Monday, Netflix confirmed that a follow-up to We Can Be Heroes, the spinoff of The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D and the Spy Kids franchise, is already in development. Robert Rodriguez, who wrote, directed and produced the 2020 film, will be back for the sequel.

We Can Be Heroes centers on whip-smart tween Missy Moreno (YaYa Gosselin), who is determined to rescue her super-powered dad Marcus Moreno (The Mandalorian‘s Pedro Pascal) and the rest of Earth’s grown-up superheroes who’ve been kidnapped by aliens.

December has been a crazy month for Pedro Pascal, as the actor has had three major projects in the spotlight recently, each of which has become the hottest title on their respective platform. The Mandalorian season 2 wrapped up on Disney Plus a couple of weeks ago, after breaking the internet a bunch of times, and then he starred as the villain in Wonder Woman 1984, which enjoyed a global theatrical release and went up on HBO Max on Christmas Day. Now, his latest project has dropped on Netflix and has shot right to the top of the chart.

According to the latest stats on FlixPatrol, We Can Be Heroes is the most popular movie on the platform as of today. The family superhero adventure comes from director Robert Rodriguez and follows in the vein of his fondly remembered children’s movies of the early 2000s like Spy Kids and The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl.

Going to a movie theater this holiday season might be out of the question for most Americans, but fortunately you don’t have to leave the house to see some of the biggest Christmas movie releases.

Among the films coming out just in time to spread some Christmas cheer are “News of the World,” “Wonder Woman 1984,” “Promising Young Woman” and “The Midnight Sky,” just to name a few.

In the interest of being thorough, we’ll note some films are for some reason debuting this week in theaters only, with eventual home video release Tbd. We’ve included them below, but of course we want to remind you that Covid-19 has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, and theaters across the country are being shut down due to the risk of spreading the disease. So, we urge you to keep that in mind before you decide to sit in...

This year Christmas comes for Spy Kids fans in the form of Netflix’s We Can be Heroes, Robert Rodriguez’s latest CG-infused kid-friendly superhero bonanza. The cast for this film is very impressive, with Mandalorian Pedro Pascal and Priyanka Chopra Jonas appearing with Christian Slater and Boyd Holbrook. But that’s not all – the rest of the cast includes YaYa Gosselin, Christopher McDonald, Adriana Barraza, Vivien Blair, Isaiah Russell-Bailey, Akira Akbar, Lyon Daniels, Nathan Blair, Hala Finley, Andy Walken, Dylan Henry Lau, Andrew Diaz, Taylor Dooley, Sung Kang, Haley Reinhart, J. Quinton Johnson, Brittany Perry-Russell, Brently Heilbron and JJ Dashnaw. Now that is a cast…

In anticipation of the release of We Can Be Heroes our interviewer Rich Phippen sat down with the director and two members of the young leading cast, YaYa Gosselin & Vivien Lyra Blair, to talk about what it was like bringing this bright and bold superhero film to light.

In 2005, filmmaker Robert Rodriguez presented the world with two tween superheroes in the movie The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D. The film has since gone on to become a cult classic, and a generation of viewers grew up with fond memories of the super-duo. Now, Rodriguez is bringing Sharkboy and Lavagirl back as adult heroes with a superpowered child of their own, in Netflix's We Can Be Heroes. In an interview with ComicBook.com, Rodriguez explained he had long waited to bring the two characters back on film.

"I always wanted to do something again with [Sharklboy and Lavagirl] 'cause I just love those characters. They were like the original little kids' superheroes. And I didn't come up with it, my son did, and I thought, 'Wow, that's amazing.' That's what a kid really loves, empowerment. And why not have shark strength and be half-boy, half-shark, or have the powers of lava?...

'We Can Be Heroes' trailer is out now.

Netflix recently dropped the official trailer for the upcoming action flick 'We Can Be Heroes' helmed by 'Spy Kids' director Robert Rodriguez.

The film is a follow-up to 2005's 'The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl' and sees Taylor Dooley reprising her role as Lava Girl.

The trailer for the action-adventure film looks visually exciting and comes at a time when most of the productions have been forced to drop theatrical runs and instead premiere directly on streaming services due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Here's the official synopsis for ''We Can Be Heroes': "When alien invaders kidnap Earth's superheroes, their kids are whisked away to a government safe house. But whip-smart tween Missy Moreno (Yaya Gosselin) will stop at nothing to rescue her superhero dad, Marcus Moreno (Pedro Pascal). Missy teams up with the rest of the super kids to escape their mysterious government babysitter,...

Netflix has debuted the first trailer for its Christmas day release ‘We Can Be Heroes’.

When alien invaders kidnap Earth’s superheroes, their kids are whisked away to a government safe house. But whip-smart tween Missy Moreno (YaYa Gosselin) will stop at nothing to rescue her superhero dad, Marcus Moreno (Pedro Pascal). Missy teams up with the rest of the super kids to escape their mysterious government babysitter, Ms. Granada (Priyanka Chopra Jonas). If they’re going to save their parents, they’ll have to work together by using their individual powers — from elasticity to time control to predicting the future — and form an out-of-this-world team.

Directed by Robert Rodriguez, the film stars YaYa Gosselin, Pedro Pascal, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Christian Slater, Boyd Holbrook, Christopher McDonald and Adriana Barraza

Also starring: Vivien Blair, Isaiah Russell-Bailey, Akira Akbar, Lyon Daniels, Nathan Blair, Lotus Blossom, Hala Finley, Andy Walken, Dylan Henry Lau,...

"We Can Be Heroes" is the new 'superhero' feature, written, directed and produced by Robert Rodriguez ("Spy Kids") as a stand-alone sequel to "The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D" (2005), starring Priyanka Chopra, Pedro Pascal, YaYa Gosselin, Boyd Holbrook, Sung Kang, Taylor Dooley and Christian Slater, streaming December 25, 2020 on Netflix:

"...after their parents have been kidnapped by alien invaders, the children of Earth's superheroes team up and learn to work together to save their parents and the world..." 

Click the images to enlarge...

Netflix has released the trailer for We Can Be Heroes. Robert Rodriguez is bringing fans back into the beloved world of 2005's The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl with the upcoming movie. Rodriguez has been getting hounded by studios to do a sequel to Spy Kids, but he felt that We Can Be Heroes was the way to go. "A lot of families have spent a lot of time together," says the director when talking about the public health crisis. It's his hope that the new movie will be something the whole family will be able to enjoy while being stuck indoors.

We Can Be Heroes takes place when alien invaders kidnap Earth's superheroes, which results in their kids being whisked away to a government safe house. However, the safe house doesn't end up being something that can house these special kids. Whip-smart tween Missy Moreno (Yaya Gosselin) will stop...

Even in this age of superhero cinematic universes, it’s fair to say that none of us expected Sharkboy and Lavagirl to return to our screens but, what do you know, that’s what’s happening this New Year’s Days. Robert Rodriguez directed family movie The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl in 3-D back in 2005 and on January 1st – more than 15 years later – it’ll be getting a sequel/spinoff.

Netflix‘s We Can Be Heroes focuses on a bunch of superhero kids, including the offspring of the aforementioned twosome. Taylor Dooley returns to reprise her role as the now grown-up Lavagirl, but unfortunately, Taylor Lautner wasn’t available to come back as Sharkboy, due to the Twilight star stepping away from acting in recent years, and so the role was recast with J.J. Dashnaw standing in for him. Sharkboy’s costume now has a helmet to...

One Night in Miami

Based on true events, Regina King’s directorial debut tells the story of Cassius Clay (soon to take the name Muhammad Ali), Malcolm X, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke’s legendary meet up in Miami following Clay’s heavyweight championship victory. Clay isn’t the only man at a pivotal moment in his career; each of them are already on trajectories that interset with the civil rights movement and alter the course of history. Forty years later, the conversations had by the men still resonate. (January...

Netflix has debuted the first teaser trailer for the upcoming family-friendly superhero movie ‘We Can Be Heroes’.

When alien invaders kidnap Earth’s superheroes, their children must team up and learn to work together if they want to save their parents and the world.

Directed by Robert Rodriguez, the feature stars YaYa Gosselin, Pedro Pascal, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Christian Slater, Boyd Holbrook, Christopher McDonald and Adriana Barraza.

Also starring: Vivien Blair, Isaiah Russell-Bailey, Akira Akbar, Lyon Daniels, Nathan Blair, Lotus Blossom, Hala Finley, Andy Walken, Dylan Henry Lau, Andrew Diaz, Taylor Dooley, Sung Kang, Haley Reinhart, J. Quinton Johnson, JJ Dashnaw.

Also in trailers – The cat and mouse story continues in trailer for ‘Tom & Jerry The Movie’

The film will premiere on Netflix, January 1st 2021.

The post Teaser trailer debuts for ‘We Can Be Heroes’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Image Source: Netflix

Netflix is bringing back your favorite childhood superheroes, Sharkboy and Lavagirl, for its new film We Can Be Heroes. The movie, which is set to release on Jan. 1, will show the dynamic duo from 2005's The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D as parents. While Taylor Dooley is reprising her role as Lavagirl, Taylor Lautner will not be returning as Sharkboy. Instead, the character will be played by JJ Dashnaw, who conveniently wears a mask in the film. Dashnaw has done stunt work in a number of big films, including Jumanji: The Next Level, Thor: The Dark World, and the Spy Kids movies, so it's likely Sharkboy will have some action-packed moments.

Image Source: Everett Collection

While it's unclear why Lautner didn't reprise his childhood role for the movie, there is some good news. Dashnaw will only have a silent cameo, meaning there's still a chance...

Netflix has released the first teaser for We Can Be Heroes. In the footage, Guppy, the daughter of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, combines the powers of her parents to take down enemies. The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl fans were stunned to see images of the duo as they head back into the world of being superheroes. Taylor Dooley is back as Lavagirl, while Taylor Lautner decided to sit this one out. Actor JJ Dashnaw is taking over the role for We Can Be Heroes.

In this new Netflix original from director Robert Rodriguez, when alien invaders kidnap Earth's superheroes, their kids are whisked away to a government safe house. But whip-smart tween Missy Moreno (Yaya Gosselin) will stop at nothing to rescue her superhero dad, Marcus Moreno (Pedro Pascal). Missy teams up with the rest of the superkids to escape their mysterious government babysitter, Ms. Granada (Priyanka Chopra Jonas). If...

It's official. Sharkboy and Lavagirl are back in Robert Rodriguez's upcoming Netflix movie We Can Be Heroes. The story is set in the same universe as Rodriguez's beloved 2005 movie The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl. And now, fans have their first look at the characters, who are all grown-up and parents to their own daughter Guppy. The young girl happens to have powers of both of her parents, which gives her a pretty amazing skillset. You can see an image of Guppy involved in some action in the new images. From We Can Be Heroes.

Wanna feel old? Sharkboy and Lavagirl are parents now (and their daughter is played by Vivien Lyra Blair aka Girl from Bird Box)

We Can Be Heroes releases globally on Netflix on New Year's Day pic.twitter.com/W9RtNibQij

— NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) November 18, 2020

Actress Taylor Dooley is back as Lavagirl, but Taylor Lautner did...

Taylor Lautner fans are not taking this news swimmingly. On Nov. 18, Netflix revealed a poster for the upcoming sequel to the 2005 family adventure movie The Adventures of Sharkboy & Lavagirl, which starred the then-young Twilight alum as Sharkboy. The new film, titled We Can Be Heroes, sees the return of original Lavagirl Taylor Dooley, whose character shares daughter Guppy (played by Vivien Lyra Blair) with Sharkboy. Except, as made evident by the poster, Sharkboy looks a little different this time around. Instead of Lautner reprising his role, it's actor JJ Dashnaw who wears the fins.  Why, exactly, Lautner did not return to the franchise is unclear, but one...

Taylor Lautner fans are furious that he did not return as Sharkboy in Netflix's We Can Be Heroes. The upcoming Robert Rodriguez movie takes place within the same universe of his beloved 2005 movie, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, which Lautner starred in at the age of 13. In the 2020 movie, Sharkboy and Lavagirl are older and parents, who are around to help the younger generation and have a child of their own. The movie stars Priyanka Chopra, Christian Slater, Sung Kang, Boyd Holbrook, and Pedro Pascal.

Wanna feel old? Sharkboy and Lavagirl are parents now (and their daughter is played by Vivien Lyra Blair aka Girl from Bird Box)

We Can Be Heroes releases globally on Netflix on New Year's Day pic.twitter.com/W9RtNibQij

— NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) November 18, 2020

Taylor Dooley returns as Lavagirl in We Can Be Heroes, but Taylor Lautner is not in the movie. Netflix shared...

Netflix has launched a set of first look images for the upcoming feature ‘We Can Be Heroes’ alongside the announcement of a January 1st premiere date.

When alien invaders kidnap Earth’s superheroes, their children must team up and learn to work together if they want to save their parents and the world.

Boyd Holbrook as Miracle Guy. Cr. Ryan Green/Netflix © 2020

Directed by Robert Rodriguez, the feature stars YaYa Gosselin, Pedro Pascal, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Christian Slater, Boyd Holbrook, Christopher McDonald and Adriana Barraza

(L-r) J. Quinton Johnson as Crimson Legend, Brittany Perry-Russell as Red Lightening Fury, Pedro Pascal as Marcus Moreno, Christian Slater as Tech-No, Haley Reinhart as Ms. Vox. Cr. Ryan Green/Netflix © 2020

Also starring: Vivien Blair, Isaiah Russell-Bailey, Akira Akbar, Lyon Daniels, Nathan Blair, Lotus Blossom, Hala Finley, Andy Walken, Dylan Henry Lau, Andrew Diaz, Taylor Dooley, Sung Kang, Haley Reinhart, J. Quinton Johnson, JJ Dashnaw.

First it was just 2020 and now, as the pandemic is taking its time to slow down, even 2021 seems packed with a whole lot of staying at home and quarantining. As movie theatres begin closing down again, it is becoming a difficult task to find new films on streaming platforms that would appeal to a family including different generations. Thankfully, Robert Rodriguez is teaming with a pool of talent, that includes names like Pedro Pascal and Christian Slater, to beat this very dilemma with his upcoming family action film, We Can Be Heroes.

Though Robert Rodriguez is prominently known for his films like Machete, El Mariachi, and Sin City, he is also fondly remembered for family-adventure-comedy flicks like the four Spy Kids films and 2005's The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D. These films have set many evenings where families came together to witness the compelling adventures he concocted, and...

Netflix has revealed the first look at “We Can Be Heroes,” the next film from director Robert Rodriguez that stars “The Mandalorian” actor Pedro Pascal and is a return to the same fantasy world imagined in the director’s “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D.”

“We Can Be Heroes” stars Pascal alongside YaYa Gosselin, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Christian Slater, Boyd Holbrook, Christopher McDonald and Adriana Barraza. And the film is a superhero story about alien invaders who kidnap Earth’s superheroes, forcing the heroes children to step up and save their parents and save the world.

The new images for “We Can Be Heroes” show a colorful world of heroes and elaborate costumes and lairs, as well as a ragtag group of kids who will step up to save the day. Pascal in the film plays Marcus Moreno, and in the photo below he’s flanked by heroes Quinton Johnson as Crimson Legend,...

Netflix has released the first images from the upcoming original film We Can Be Heroes, which hails from writer/director Robert Rodriguez and is set in the same universe as his 2005 film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl that starred Taylor Lautner and Taylor Dooley. This new movie finds alien invaders kidnapping Earth’s superheroes, thus forcing their children to team up and work together to save their parents. These first-look images reveal a pretty stellar cast that includes Pedro Pascal, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Christian Slater, and Boyd Holbrook, while the ensemble also includes Christopher McDonald, Adriana Barraza, …...

Release Date: Nov. 8, 2011

Price: Blu-ray $14.99

Studio: Lionsgate

Two Taylors--Dooley (l.) and Lautner--star in The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl.

The 2005 action-adventure family movie The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl tells the titular super-heroic tale of a boy (Taylor Lautner, the Twilight series) raised by watchful great white sharks and a girl (Taylor Dooley, Whitepaddy) who embodies the force of a volcano. They’re the genuine article when it comes to fighting an alien intelligence that threatens their very exisitence. But are Sharkboy and Lavgirl actually real? Or are they the result of a young boy named Max and his wildly active imagination?

Directed and co-written by Robert Rodriguez (the Spy Kids franchise), the film also stars including David Arquette (Scream 4), Kristin Davis (Sex and the City 2) and George Lopez (Rio).

The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl was presented in 3D during its theatrical run, but will only be...

Along with co-stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner participated in the New Moon presser at Comic Con and later took time to chat with fans and media including MovieSet’s Phillipe Nakov who spent a few minutes with both Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner.

Taylor Lautner at Comic Con San Diego discussing New Moon

Robert Pattinson get most of the attention in the media but Taylor Lautner who plays Jacob Black in the Twilight movies, has a devoted following of fans. Here’s a bit more about this young actor’s career so far:

Taylor Lautner Bio: Taylor Lautner (Jacob) got his big break in 2005 when, at the age of 13, he won the role of Shark Boy in Robert Rodriguez’s The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D. Within months, he had successfully auditioned to play Eliot, the son of Steve Martin’s rival Jimmy Murtaugh, in the...

The National Lampoon production company, Clubhouse, has signed an ensemble cast of teenage actors to its comedy National Lampoon Clubhouse Trick or Treat. Taylor Dooley (The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D), Jake Thomas (Lizzie McGuire), Nikki Griffin (Fox's The O.C.) and Matthew Lawrence (The Hot Chick) have joined the cast. Robert Carradine and Vanessa Angel also star. In the film, a 15-year-old boy is grounded on Halloween and stays home to baby-sit his brother and sister. They soon find that their old house is haunted, complete with a secret passage that leads them on a wild Scooby Doo- and Beetlejuice-type adventure.

Most doting parents would be content to display their child's handiwork on the fridge.

Never one to settle for the conventional, prolific filmmaker Robert Rodriguez has turned the characters and stories dreamt up by his 7-year-old son Racer Max into a full-fledged, three-dimensional fantasy adventure.

Emerging as a sort of Sin City Jr., the comic book stylings of The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D make for an often imaginative though less than magical family feature.

Rodriguez, who first made audiences don the funny glasses for Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, works with the latest technologies and teams of visual effects and digital design houses to deliver the end product, which ultimately has the pleasantly clunky charm of a very elaborate show-and-tell project.

The kiddies should still enjoy themselves, provided they don't lose their glasses, generating respectable though likely not franchise-worthy numbers.

Shaping his son's "stories and dreams" into a screenplay, Rodriguez, officially credited along with his brother Marcel, has created a " 'Wizard of Oz'-type" scenario involving a 10-year-old boy named Max (Cayden Boyd) who deals with taunting classmates and his unhappy parents (David Arquette and Kristin Davis) by escaping into a vivid fantasy life.

It's the only place one can find Planet Drool, home to Sharkboy (Taylor Lautner), a lad who was lost at sea and raised by sharks, growing up to become half-boy and half-shark, and Lavagirl (Taylor Dooley), a young flame fatale with a particularly hot touch.

But one day at school, Max makes believers out of the skeptics when Sharkboy and Lavagirl show up in Mr. Electricidad's (George Lopez) class, needing Max's assistance back on their home turf, where the villainous Mr. Electric (Lopez again) is plotting to forever do away with all manner of dreaming.

Will Max be able to save the day? Or is it just all one big dream?

To answer those questions, Rodriguez has created a wondrous theme park of a greenscreen universe, complete with wild roller coasters, aggressive Plug Hounds and the extremely gooey Land of Milk and Cookies, not to mention vivid Trains of Thought and Streams of Consciousness.

Despite those whimsical touches, the 3-D aspect is fairly unremarkable, and the plotting is definitely on the undernourished side. At its most substantial, the picture suggests a more cost-effective Polar Express.

Handling their various roles with conviction, the spirited young cast keeps everything grounded. Lopez, meanwhile, doesn't seem to be in his comfort zone playing diabolical heavies.

Behind the scenes, the ever-multitasking Rodriguez -- he also receives producer (along with his wife, Elizabeth Avellan), cinematography, editing and composer credits -- applies his usual creative stamp while achieving the requisite out-of-this-world look with the help of a virtual who's who of effects outfits, including Industrial Light + Magic, KNB EFX Group, Cafe FX, Hybride Technologies, the Orphanage, Amalgamated Pixels, Hy*drau*lx, Intelligent Creatures, R!ot, Tippett and Rodriguez's own Troublemaker Digital Studios.

The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D

Dimension Films

Dimension Films and Columbia Pictures present

a Troublemaker Studios production

A Rodriguez Family Movie

Credits: Director: Robert Rodriguez; Screenwriters: Robert Rodriguez, Marcel Rodriguez; Based on the stories and dreams of: Racer Max; Producers: Elizabeth Avellan, Robert Rodriguez; Executive producers: Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein; Director of photography: Robert Rodriguez; Editor: Robert Rodriguez; Costume designer: Nina Procter; Music: Robert Rodriguez, John Debney, Graeme Revell. Cast: Sharkboy: Taylor Lautner; Lavagirl: Taylor Dooley; Max: Cayden Boyd; Mr. Electricidad/Mr. Electric: George Lopez; Max's Dad: David Arquette; Max's Mom: Kristin Davis.

MPAA rating PG, running time 92 minutes...

David Arquette and Emmy-nominated Kristin Davis have snagged roles in Robert Rodriguez's The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3-D. The story tells the tale about a 10-year-old outcast shunned by classmates and forced to spend summer vacation alone. With his two imaginary friends -- the title characters -- he goes on a mission to prove that dreams can become reality. Arquette and Davis play the boy's parents. Newcomers Taylor Dooley, Taylor Lautner and Cayden Boyd, along with George Lopez, also have been cast. Dimension and Sony are co-financing the pic.

David Arquette and Emmy-nominated Kristin Davis have snagged roles in Robert Rodriguez's "The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3-D." The story tells the tale about a 10-year-old outcast shunned by classmates and forced to spend summer vacation alone. With his two imaginary friends -- the title characters -- he goes on a mission to prove that dreams can become reality. Arquette and Davis play the boy's parents. Newcomers Taylor Dooley, Taylor Lautner and Cayden Boyd, along with George Lopez, also have been cast. Dimension and Sony are co-financing the pic.