The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D
North American theatrical release poster
Directed by	Robert Rodriguez
Produced by	Elizabeth Avellán
Written by	Robert Rodriguez Marcel Rodriguez
Story by	Racer Rodriguez
Starring	Taylor Lautner Taylor Dooley Cayden Boyd David Arquette Kristin Davis George Lopez
Music by	John Debney Graeme Revell Robert Rodriguez
Cinematography	Robert Rodriguez
Editing by	Robert Rodriguez
Studio	Dimension Films Columbia Pictures Troublemaker Studios
Distributed by	Dimension Films (United States) Sony Pictures Releasing (International)
Release date(s)	June 10, 2005 (2005-06-10) (United States)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$50 million
Money made	$72 million

The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D is an exciting adventure film from 2005. It was written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. The movie first came out in the United States on June 10, 2005.

This film uses special 3-D technology, just like Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. It stars Taylor Lautner, Taylor Dooley, Cayden Boyd, David Arquette, Kristin Davis, and George Lopez. Many of the ideas for the story came from Robert Rodriguez's own children!

While the movie got mixed reviews, some people really liked its visuals and the actors' performances.

Story Time: The Plot

Max's Dream World

Max is a lonely 10-year-old boy living in Austin. He creates an amazing imaginary world called Planet Drool. In this world, all his dreams come to life! He invents two cool characters:

• Sharkboy: A hero raised by sharks after he lost his dad at sea. He became part-shark himself!
• Lavagirl: A fiery hero who can make fire and lava. But she has to be careful not to burn everything she touches.

Sharkboy and Lavagirl were supposed to protect Planet Drool. In Max's real life, his parents are very busy. Max also gets picked on by a classmate named Linus. But he finds a friend in Marissa, his teacher's daughter.

Trouble on Planet Drool

One day, Linus steals Max's dream journal and messes it up. The next day, strange twin tornadoes appear outside Max's school. Sharkboy and Lavagirl pop out of them! They take Max to Planet Drool. Max learns that his dream world is turning bad. This is because of Mr. Electric, a robot who looks like Max's teacher, Mr. Electricidad. Mr. Electric is now evil and working for a mysterious boss.

The Journey Begins

Max, Sharkboy, and Lavagirl confront Mr. Electric. But he traps them in the Dream Graveyard. This is where Max's old, forgotten dreams go. They find Tobor, a robot toy Max never finished building. Tobor helps them travel across the planet.

The three heroes become good friends on their journey. But they face challenges. Sharkboy is upset because the oceans are frozen. Lavagirl wants to find out her true purpose. Mr. Electric and his "plughounds" chase them.

The Crystal Heart

Their plan is to visit the Ice Princess. They hope to get the Crystal Heart from her. This heart can freeze time. This would give them enough time to reach the center of Planet Drool. There, Max could fix the dream world with his daydreams.

But Mr. Electric captures them. He takes them to his boss, who turns out to be Minus. Minus looks just like Linus! Minus has changed the dream world using Max's journal. He traps the three heroes in a cage.

Sharkboy gets annoyed by singing bubbles called LaLas. He goes into a "shark frenzy" and breaks them free! Max gets his dream journal back from Minus. Max tells Sharkboy that his dad is alive in the book. But when Lavagirl tries to read about herself, she accidentally burns the book to ashes. Lavagirl is very upset and asks Max why she is made of lava. Sharkboy tells Max to let her calm down.

Saving Planet Drool

Max, Sharkboy, and Lavagirl finally reach the Ice Princess. She looks like Marissa! She gives them the Crystal Heart. But it's too late to stop the corruption. Only the Ice Princess can use the heart's power, and she can't leave her home.

Then, Mr. Electric tricks Sharkboy into jumping into water filled with electric eels. This is Sharkboy's weakness! Lavagirl bravely jumps in to save him. Tobor tells Max to dream a better, unselfish dream.

Suddenly, Sharkboy wakes up! He races Lavagirl to a volcano to bring her back to life. Max realizes that Lavagirl's purpose is to be a light against the dark clouds. Max becomes the Daydreamer and defeats Minus. He offers to create a better dream world for both of them, and Minus agrees. Lavagirl thanks Max for helping her understand she is light.

Back to Reality

Minus offers Mr. Electric his old job back. But Mr. Electric says he never liked it anyway. He then flies to Earth to destroy Max while he's dreaming! Max wakes up in his classroom during the tornado storm. Mr. Electric arrives through the tornado. Max's parents are also caught in the storm. But Sharkboy and Lavagirl save them!

Max gives the Crystal Heart to Marissa. She uses the Ice Princess's powers to freeze and destroy Mr. Electric. Mr. Electricidad, Linus, and Max make peace. Max reunites with his parents.

Later, Max tells his class that Planet Drool is now a wonderful dream world again. Sharkboy became the King of the Ocean. Lavagirl became the Queen of the Volcanoes. Max finishes building Tobor. He reminds everyone to "dream a better dream, and work to make it real."

Meet the Cast

Here are some of the main actors and their characters:

• Cayden Boyd as Max: He plays the imaginative 10-year-old boy. Max is known as the "day-dreamer" on Planet Drool. Cayden said that Max starts out selfish but learns to be unselfish.
• Taylor Lautner as Sharkboy: Taylor said Sharkboy is very confident, which sometimes gets him into trouble. He's also a bit jealous of Max because he likes Lavagirl, who acts like a mother to Max. Taylor's martial arts skills helped him get the role. He even helped choreograph his own fight scenes!
• Taylor Dooley as Lavagirl: Taylor was cast after Sharkboy and Max. Her lava bike was made with computer graphics. Taylor and Taylor Lautner said the real-life props for the bike and Sharkboy's jetski were just "a green box with handles."
• David Arquette and Kristin Davis as Max's Parents: They play Max's busy parents. His dad is a writer. They are having problems but care about Max. In Planet Drool, they appear as friendly "Cookie Giants."
• George Lopez as Mr. Electricidad, Mr. Electric, and voices Tobor and the Ice Guardian: George Lopez plays Max's teacher, Mr. Electricidad. He also plays the evil Mr. Electric on Planet Drool. He voices Tobor, Max's unfinished robot, and the Ice Guardian. George Lopez played many roles in the movie!
• Jacob Davich as Linus / Minus: Linus is the school bully who steals Max's dream journal. On Planet Drool, he becomes Minus. He changes the dream world using the journal. In the end, he becomes friends with Max.
• Sasha Pieterse as Marissa Electricidad / Ice Princess: Marissa is Mr. Electricidad's daughter. She is Max's only friend at school. On Planet Drool, she is the Ice Princess. She rules the Ice Kingdom and has the Crystal Heart, which can freeze time.
• Robert Rodriguez also voices a shark in the film. His children, Rebel and Racer, play Sharkboy at younger ages.

Awesome Music: The Soundtrack

The director, Robert Rodriguez, helped compose some of the music himself! Other composers like John Debney and Graeme Revell also contributed.

Books About the Movie

Around the time the movie came out, Robert Rodriguez co-wrote a series of children's books. These were called Sharkboy and Lavagirl Adventures. He worked with a science fiction writer named Chris Roberson.

The books include:

• Book 1: The Day Dreamer
• Book 2: Return to Planet Drool

A third book, Deep Sleep, was planned but never released. There was also "Max's Journal," which showed more from the dream journal in the movie. Plus, "The Illustrated Screenplay" showed the movie script with cool concept art and behind-the-scenes photos. All these books were illustrated by Alex Toader, who designed characters for the film.

What Happened Next?

In 2020, Robert Rodriguez confirmed that a character in his new movie, We Can Be Heroes, was the daughter of Sharkboy and Lavagirl. She has both "shark and lava powers"!

Taylor Dooley returned to play Lavagirl in the new film. However, Taylor Lautner did not return as Sharkboy. Even though it features these characters, We Can Be Heroes is not a direct sequel to the original movie. We Can Be Heroes was released on Netflix in December 2020.

See also

In Spanish: Las aventuras de Sharkboy y Lavagirl para niños