A young boy's discovery of a colorful, wish-granting rock causes chaos in the suburban town of Black Falls when jealous kids and scheming adults alike set out to get their hands on it.A young boy's discovery of a colorful, wish-granting rock causes chaos in the suburban town of Black Falls when jealous kids and scheming adults alike set out to get their hands on it.A young boy's discovery of a colorful, wish-granting rock causes chaos in the suburban town of Black Falls when jealous kids and scheming adults alike set out to get their hands on it.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 1 nomination
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDITRADE(Robert Rodriguez): [fictional brand names]: Toby is seen eating Great White Bites cereal, also seen in Rodriguez' Planet Terror (2007).
- GoofsBlinker #1 blinks (at around 31 mins) while opening a cellophane bag over his cereal bowl. Blinker #2 blinks (at around 22 mins) in the background during the classroom scene where the aliens are circling the bottoms of the students' desks while the teacher is conducting an experiment with catalysts.
- Quotes
Helvetica Black: Shall we do this?
Toe Thompson: I just realized something. I know why you have them beat up on me everyday.
Helvetica Black: 'Cause I hate you?
Toe Thompson: Because you love me. That's right isn't it? We're both outsiders, We're both ignored, we both have railroad tracks for braces. we're lonely and boring and always getting in trouble because we have nothing else better to do.So, you're head-over-heels in love with me and that makes you furious! Am I right?
Helvetica Black: How about... NO!
- Crazy creditsWhen the closing credits reach the song section, Jimmy Bennett states he wrote the song 'Summer Never Ends' thereby his wish came true
- ConnectionsFeatured in Siskel & Ebert: The Marc Pease Experience/Shorts/Post Grad (2009)
As well as pertaining to the stature of its young protagonists, the title of Rodriguez' wishful thinking tale concerns his narrative's central gimmick: a series of short episodes shown as per the whims of its young narrator Toe Thompson (Jimmy Bennett). Told in a fractured timeline, the series of interlocked episodes show how the town of Black Falls is dominated by the techno mogul (James Spader), and how a group of kids -- including Toe -- change the neighborhood for the better with the help of a rainbow-colored stone that grants the wishes of anyone who possesses it.
Save for the campy blink-first-standoff between two kids, "Shorts"' subplots never evolve into a compelling unit, with Rodriguez running amok with his "homemade" CGI -- perhaps reflecting the unrestrained euphoria of a kid getting his hands on a magic stone -- that does nothing to add to the novelty of its uncharacteristic style. Ultimately predictable and reeking of half-assed effort, the whole procedure gets exhausting after a few rounds of cutesy moxie, though at least Rodriguez wisely sticks to the context of his movie's title and keeps his film reasonably concise.
- Jay_Exiomo
- Aug 25, 2009
- How long is Shorts?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Shorts: The Adventures of the Wishing Rock
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $40,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $20,919,166
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,410,339
- Aug 23, 2009
- Gross worldwide
- $28,972,508
- Runtime1 hour 29 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1