Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl, The

Aroview: Colourful fantasy involves a 10-year old boy, who to escape parental neglect and the attentions of school bullies, invents his own Seuss-ian land of day-dreams called Planet Drool.

However, this other reality eventually develops its own narrative imperatives and the lad is approached by two inhabitants, Sharkboy (raised by sharks) and Lavagirl (can spew molten lava), to help save their reality from an evil villain, Mr Electric. Apparently based on a story idea by the dir.'s son, this smacks of a certain over-indulgence, yet Rodriguez certainly marshalls his visual effects with verve and energy.