Imagine turning a giant bag of party mix candy (the kind that only kids will eat) into a movie. The kids will dive in, while after ten minutes of fondant bananas, sugary teeth and purple jelly beans the adults will be craving crackers and cheese. In fact they may even feel an overpowering need to watch Once Upon a Time Mexico or any other Robert Rodriguez movie to get this out of their heads.

But be assured that kids under 9 will love it. It’s a kind of brightly colored Nickelodeon TV amalgam of Never Ending Story, The Wizard of Oz, and Lazytown all mushed together. If you sit on the floor with your kids, tossing candy colored popcorn at each other and pretending to be 7 years old, you will love it too.

Max is the usual picked on, bullied dreamer of a kid. He writes stories about his heroes, Sharkboy and Lavagirl, in a journal, while his schoolmates laugh at him and his parents bicker on the verge of divorce. His creations come to life, whisking him off by rocketship to the planet Drool, where they need his help to save everything from the creeping darkness that is destroying their world. Sharp eyed adults will be muttering Never Ending Story to themselves right now, and Wizard of Oz when they see that everyone Max meets looks like someone or something from his real life.

In fact, the references to earlier films come so thick and fast that this movie would make a trivia game all by itself. There are many ways to occupy your mind if you just can’t get into it. Guess what Taylor Lautner (Sharkboy) does now? Where have you seen Kristin Davis before? Why is the home made robot called Tobor? Why do those two little boys at the beginning remind you of Robert Rodriguez?

Actually I can answer that last one. They are Racer and Rebel Rodriguez, the director’s sons, and hereby lies a tale. It was 7-year-old Racer that invented Sharkboy and Lavagirl and who gets screen credit as one of the writers. That explains everything, and especially why little kids love this movie so much. It was created for them by the doting dad of one of them. Now grab a handful of candy and enjoy it with your kids.

Answers: Taylor Lautner is Twilight’s Jacob. Kristin Davis plays Charlotte in Sex and the City. Tobor is a reference to the black and white sci fi film Tobor the Great (it is also robot spelt backwards).

I purchased this DVD with my own funds.

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