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Shorts Rated PG (August 21) |
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What's the Story? In Shorts, we meet Toe Thompson. He's an ordinary 11-year-old kid living in the not-so-ordinary suburb of Black Falls. Here, every house looks exactly the same and all the grown-ups work for Black Box Industries. The manufacturing giant makes a do-it-all gadget that is sweeping the nation. But Black Box has done nothing for Toe, whose only wish is to make a few friends. Everything is about to change, though. One day during a freak storm, a tiny rainbow-colored rock falls from the sky and finds its way to Toe. The mysterious Rainbow Rock grants wishes to anyone who holds it. As the colorful pebble gets passed from one resident to the next, the neighborhood is turned upside down with wishes gone wrong. Soon, Black Falls is spilling over with tiny spaceships, crocodile armies, giant monsters and magical madness around every corner. Did You Know? Director Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids) credits his son Rebel for coming up with the idea for Shorts. Rebel was inspired by The Little Rascals, a series of comedy short films—and later a TV series—about a group of neighborhood kids and their adventures together. Rebel also came up with the name of the film. Says Rodriguez, "We decided to call it Shorts because, as [Rebel] said, 'The stories are short, the kids are short and they wear shorts.'"—Vickie An | |
PHOTOS: COURTESY WARNER BROS. PICTURES / VAN REDIN
