Shorts (film)
Encyclopedia
Shorts is a 2009 family
comedy
/adventure film
written and directed by Robert Rodriguez
. It was released in the United States on August 21, 2009. A Nintendo DS
video game of the same name was announced on June 23, 2009, with a prospective July release date in advance of the movie.
Toby "Toe" Thompson (Jimmy Bennett
) begins telling the story from his point of view and explaining The Black Box Inc, where all the adults work. It is this company that creates the "Black Box", a small cube that can fill any technological need and which every adult at Black Falls works at. Toe goes to school only to be bullied by his worst enemy Helvetica "Hel" Black (Jolie Vanier) and her brother Colbert "Cole" (Devon Gearhart
). Toe speculates in front of everyone that Hel loves him, which infuriates Hel and ends with Toe head first in a trash can
. As Toe walks home, Cole and his gang chase him into a construction site
filled with piles of dirt
and up a tree
and start throwing rocks at Toe.
When Cole runs out of rocks, he demands another one, and one of his goons grabs the wishing rock from a pile of dirt and hands it to him which he then throws at Toe and hits him square in the head. Toe wishes for friends as interest
ing and unique as he is which come in the form of small aliens. Toe takes the aliens to school, which leads to a series of events ending with Toe and Hel falling from the school's roof with broken arms. The aliens leave, but Toe keeps the rock. One alien says Toe has friends all around, but he doesn't know it.
During a thunderstorm
, The Wishing Rock falls out of the sky
, and gets struck by lightning
several times before it lands in the forest
behind the Short's House. The three brothers, Loogie (Trevor Gagnon
), Laser (Leo Howard
), and Lug (Rebel Rodriguez) see the beginning of the rainbow
and go looking for a pot of gold, but instead find the rock. Loogie picks it up and wishes that he knew what it was, and the rock tells him as he is holding the rock up to his ear. Loogie tests out the rock by wishing for an unlimited supply of chocolate bars, which come flying out of his pockets. The brothers start an argument on what to do with the rock and Loogie wishes for the instructions causing a giant book
labeled instructions to fall out of nowhere.
Claiming they can't possibly read the book, Loogie wishes for the short version of the instructions and a fortune cookie
falls into Laser's hands which contains a fortune reading "Make a wish
". Loogie then proceeds to wish for a fortress
with a canyon
around it filled with man-eating crocodile
s and venomous snake
s to protect the rock from thieves. Laser wants to use it wisely, such as wishing for an end to world hunger
and global warming
and to wish for world peace
. The brothers get into a tug of war
and the rock rolls into the canyon. The brothers venture into the canyon, find the rock, and are attacked by the crocodiles and snakes. Loogie jumps into the stomach
of the crocodile who swallowed the rock and recovers it, and then wishes the snakes away just as they are attacking Laser.
Loogie comes out claiming that the crocodile ate the science homework
that was in his pocket and that he felt it make a wish. They turn around and see the crocodiles standing on their hind legs who proceed to chase them. Loogie wishes that something would take them away, but because Loogie wasn't specific, a giant pterodactyl swoops out of the sky and snatches them up dumping them into the fortress. Laser sees the crocodiles climbing out of the canyon and climbing up the wall, Lug hears their baby sister crying on the baby monitor they brought and demands that they get home. Loogie accidentally wishes for telephonesis (thinking it's telekinesis) and a red telephone
pops out of his head. After being corrected by his brothers, he wishes for telekinesis
and a giant gust of wind
blows the crocodiles away. The pterodactyl flies overhead and, accidentally poops all over Loogie.
Loogie then wishes that they could just go back home and start over. The screen goes black and when it comes back on, the boys are back home, but Loogie still has "telephonesis" and the wishing rock. They then argue over what to do with the rock. To solve the dilemma, Loogie wishes that one of them was super-smart, but, as he was not more specific, the power is given to their baby sister (portrayed by Bianca Rodriguez and voiced by Elizabeth Avellan
) Loogie then hands the rock to Laser agreeing that his hands are the wrongs hands for the rock. Laser steps outside and wishes for a catapult
and put the rock in the launcher and is about to get rid of it and is talked out of it by Loogie who promises to wish for world peace, but the catapult it launched by their sister, making them lose rock in a pile of dirt, which is where Cole found the rock to throw at Toby.
Toe's older sister Stacey (Kat Dennings
) arrives to tutor "Nose" Noseworthy (Jake Short
), Toe's old germophobic
friend. Nose picks his nose against his father's wishes and accidentally flicks the booger into his father's radioactive work study. Nose takes the rock from Stacey and wishes that his dad's inventions worked the way they were supposed too. He gets his wish, but it causes his booger to mutate. Toe and Loogie, now friends, arrive at Nose's house in time to see Nose's booger mutate into a giant monster. They leave as quickly as possible, but Toe gets caught by the booger. Nose rescues him by saying that if the booger mutant should eat his friend, Nose will eat the booger's friend (another booger), and the two run out of the house as soon as the booger mutant gives in to Nose's commands. However, it goes ahead and tries to eat Toe and Nose. After helping Nose's father (William H. Macy
) capture the monster outside of the house, Toe and Loogie take the rock and leave.
Mrs. and Mr. Thompson (Leslie Mann
and Jon Cryer
) are having trouble with their relationship, as Mr. Carbon Black (James Spader
) forces them to compete in making a new sales idea for the black box. Mrs. Thompson goes to look at Toe's phone, and finds the rock on the floor in his room. She takes the rock just as Toe wakes up. She and Mr. Thompson go to a Black Box Inc. costume party. While on the patio of Mr. Black's house, she wishes that she and her husband were closer, due to the fact that earlier, Mr. Thompson texted her hugs and kisses
, while literally standing right next to her. They become mutated together into a two-headed person and try to hide from Mr. Black.
He finds them and invites them inside (thinking they're wearing a costume). Meanwhile, Toe realizes that Mrs. Thompson took the rock and rushes to the costume party, despite Helvetica warning him against coming. Hel finds the rock as Toe arrives to try to take it back. Toe is interrupted by Cole, who dumps him in the garbage. An infuriated Hel wishes Cole into a dung beetle before losing the rock. The rock is found by Mr. Black who, unaware of its power, accidentally wishes for all of the employees to go for each others throats. In the chaos, Hel takes the rock and tries to tell her dad about it, but he won't listen to her. So Hel wishes that her dad would listen to her for a change, causing his ears to become gigantic.
Hel, now drunk with power, wishes off her casts and for a rocket
bike to escape with the rock, but hits a curb and lands headfirst into a trash can, losing the rock. The rock rolls back to Mr. Black's house and smashes through the door, landing at Mr. Black's feet. He picks it up and is tackled by some of the guests. Toe runs in and grabs the rock and wishes everyone back to normal. The doorbell rings and Toe answers it and comes face to face with Helvetica who is furious. She threatens to break every other bone in Toe's body if he doesn't give her the rock. Toe smartly answers "You Wish" before throwing the rock as far as he can, where it lands at the Noseworth's house.
Toe and Loogie contemplate what to do with the rock. They are ambushed by Helvetica and Cole when the rest of the kids show up and they all fight over the rock until it winds up in the hands of Mr. Black. Mr. Black tells all his employees that they are all fired because he has the rock and claims it is the only upgrade the Black Box needs and then considers stopping the business altogether wishes for a giant pile of money
. Helevetica tricks him by asking him if he's joking, he states, "My girl, I wish I were," which makes the money disappear and he falls to the edge of the Black Box company building where he is forced to hang on, dangling for his life.
He loses his grip on the rock which falls into the hands of his chief security guard. It is unknown what he was going to wish for because it was interrupted by Hel who wishes that the man was an Oscar-Meyer
wiener, which he turns into and thus rolls away. Suddenly a giant teenage boy appears and Mr. Black offers him $10.00 if he helps him down. Stacey realizes that the giant is her 23 year-old ex-boyfriend (which she caused by wishing he would "grow up") and faints, but is revived by Loogie who uses the Black Box as a fan. Mr. Black wishes that he was the most powerful thing in the world and turns into a giant man-like Black Box and the children team up using their previous wishes to stop him. Soon, the infant tells them that the rock is starting to feel misused, as shown by the fact that the rock starts undoing all of their wishes. She also tells them the rock could destroy the Earth because of all of the petty wishes they make. Together they get rid of it and all of the events that happened because of the wishes disappear. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson state that they plan to work together to Mr. Black who agrees.
He later reverts the Black Box into the Green Box, suggesting it to be more environmental. Mr. Noseworthy and son lose their germophobia, Mr. and Mrs. Thompson become closer, and last it is suggested that Hel and Toe will marry in the future, then Hel said "I didn't say that". In the end, all the children become friends and walk off while Loogie wishes that their story became a Hollywood movie, to which Hel replies "like that's gonna happen."
based on 93 reviews, with a Top Critics rating of 56% based on 19 reviews.
. Overall, the film was a minor success at the box office, grossing about $21 million in the United States and Canada, and about $26 million worldwide. It is considered a financial disappointment compared to other films that Robert Rodriguez
has directed, making only a third of what the Spy Kids
films had made. However, the film was made on a low budget, and the overall box office return recouped it and made a huge profit for distributor Warner Bros.
Family film
A family film is a film genre that is designed to appeal to a variety of age groups and, thus, families.In December 2005, Steven Spielberg's 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial came first in a poll of the 100 Greatest Family Films. The genre today generates billions of dollars per annum.Family...
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
/adventure film
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
written and directed by Robert Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodríguez is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in his native Texas and Mexico. He has directed such films as Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, The Faculty, Spy Kids, Sin City, Planet...
. It was released in the United States on August 21, 2009. A Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
video game of the same name was announced on June 23, 2009, with a prospective July release date in advance of the movie.
Plot
The movie starts before the logo with a pair of twins (Cambell Westmoreland and Zoe Webb) who decide to have a staring contest. The game throughout the course of the movie as a running gag. Both brother and sister lose because their mom snapped her fingers in front of their faces, causing both to blink at the same time. As they wondered who won the game they began a new round, which starts the logo and begins the film.Toby "Toe" Thompson (Jimmy Bennett
Jimmy Bennett
James Michael "Jimmy" Bennett is an American actor and musician. He is known for his roles as a child actor in Daddy Day Care, Hostage, Poseidon, and more recently in Orphan and as young James T. Kirk in Star Trek...
) begins telling the story from his point of view and explaining The Black Box Inc, where all the adults work. It is this company that creates the "Black Box", a small cube that can fill any technological need and which every adult at Black Falls works at. Toe goes to school only to be bullied by his worst enemy Helvetica "Hel" Black (Jolie Vanier) and her brother Colbert "Cole" (Devon Gearhart
Devon Gearhart
Devon Gearhart is an American teen actor.Gearhart was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and began acting at the age of seven, landing national commercials with Burger King, PBS, Pizza Hut and The Cartoon Network. Gearhart's movie debut came in 2004 when he landed the role of Young Bobby in...
). Toe speculates in front of everyone that Hel loves him, which infuriates Hel and ends with Toe head first in a trash can
Waste container
A waste container is a container for temporarily storing refuse and waste. Different terms are in use, depending on the language area, the design and material and the respective site .The most general terms are waste receptacle and container bin.Common terms include dustbin ,...
. As Toe walks home, Cole and his gang chase him into a construction site
Construction Site
Construction Site is a television series created by The Jim Henson Company in 1999, and consists of 7 construction vehicles. The show was broadcast on ABC Kids for a while, and had a range of videos. It was originally produced for and shown on CITV starting in 1999. In 2000 it was nominated for a...
filled with piles of dirt
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
and up a tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
and start throwing rocks at Toe.
When Cole runs out of rocks, he demands another one, and one of his goons grabs the wishing rock from a pile of dirt and hands it to him which he then throws at Toe and hits him square in the head. Toe wishes for friends as interest
Interest (emotion)
Interest is a feeling or emotion that causes attention to focus on an object or an event or a process. In contemporary psychology of interest, the term is used as a general concept that may encompass other more specific psychological terms, such as curiosity and to a much lesser degree surprise.The...
ing and unique as he is which come in the form of small aliens. Toe takes the aliens to school, which leads to a series of events ending with Toe and Hel falling from the school's roof with broken arms. The aliens leave, but Toe keeps the rock. One alien says Toe has friends all around, but he doesn't know it.
During a thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
, The Wishing Rock falls out of the sky
Sky
The sky is the part of the atmosphere or outer space visible from the surface of any astronomical object. It is difficult to define precisely for several reasons. During daylight, the sky of Earth has the appearance of a pale blue surface because the air scatters the sunlight. The sky is sometimes...
, and gets struck by lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
several times before it lands in the forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
behind the Short's House. The three brothers, Loogie (Trevor Gagnon
Trevor Gagnon
Trevor Michael Gagnon is an American actor.-Career:Gagnon has been featured in many television commercials along with multiple television series and a few films...
), Laser (Leo Howard
Leo Howard
Leo Howard is an American actor, model and martial artist. Beginning his martial arts training at the age of four and an acting career at the age of seven, Howard is known for incorporating his karate and wushu skills into his feature film and television roles; as "Young Snake Eyes" in the 2009...
), and Lug (Rebel Rodriguez) see the beginning of the rainbow
Rainbow
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc...
and go looking for a pot of gold, but instead find the rock. Loogie picks it up and wishes that he knew what it was, and the rock tells him as he is holding the rock up to his ear. Loogie tests out the rock by wishing for an unlimited supply of chocolate bars, which come flying out of his pockets. The brothers start an argument on what to do with the rock and Loogie wishes for the instructions causing a giant book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
labeled instructions to fall out of nowhere.
Claiming they can't possibly read the book, Loogie wishes for the short version of the instructions and a fortune cookie
Fortune cookie
A fortune cookie is a crisp cookie usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and oil with a "fortune" wrapped inside. A "fortune" is a piece of paper with words of faux wisdom or a vague prophecy...
falls into Laser's hands which contains a fortune reading "Make a wish
Wish
A wish is a hope or desire for something. Fictionally, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used.-In literature:...
". Loogie then proceeds to wish for a fortress
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
with a canyon
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
around it filled with man-eating crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
s and venomous snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s to protect the rock from thieves. Laser wants to use it wisely, such as wishing for an end to world hunger
Malnutrition
Malnutrition is the condition that results from taking an unbalanced diet in which certain nutrients are lacking, in excess , or in the wrong proportions....
and global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
and to wish for world peace
World peace
World Peace is an ideal of freedom, peace, and happiness among and within all nations and/or people. World peace is an idea of planetary non-violence by which nations willingly cooperate, either voluntarily or by virtue of a system of governance that prevents warfare. The term is sometimes used to...
. The brothers get into a tug of war
Tug of war
Tug of war, also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war or rope pulling, is a sport that directly pits two teams against each other in a test of strength. The term may also be used as a metaphor to describe a demonstration of brute strength by two opposing groups, such as a rivalry between two...
and the rock rolls into the canyon. The brothers venture into the canyon, find the rock, and are attacked by the crocodiles and snakes. Loogie jumps into the stomach
Stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...
of the crocodile who swallowed the rock and recovers it, and then wishes the snakes away just as they are attacking Laser.
Loogie comes out claiming that the crocodile ate the science homework
Homework
Homework, or homework assignment, refers to tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside of class. Common homework assignments may include a quantity or period of reading to be performed, writing or typing to be completed, problems to be solved, a school project to be built...
that was in his pocket and that he felt it make a wish. They turn around and see the crocodiles standing on their hind legs who proceed to chase them. Loogie wishes that something would take them away, but because Loogie wasn't specific, a giant pterodactyl swoops out of the sky and snatches them up dumping them into the fortress. Laser sees the crocodiles climbing out of the canyon and climbing up the wall, Lug hears their baby sister crying on the baby monitor they brought and demands that they get home. Loogie accidentally wishes for telephonesis (thinking it's telekinesis) and a red telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
pops out of his head. After being corrected by his brothers, he wishes for telekinesis
Psychokinesis
The term psychokinesis , also referred to as telekinesis with respect to strictly describing movement of matter, sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term...
and a giant gust of wind
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
blows the crocodiles away. The pterodactyl flies overhead and, accidentally poops all over Loogie.
Loogie then wishes that they could just go back home and start over. The screen goes black and when it comes back on, the boys are back home, but Loogie still has "telephonesis" and the wishing rock. They then argue over what to do with the rock. To solve the dilemma, Loogie wishes that one of them was super-smart, but, as he was not more specific, the power is given to their baby sister (portrayed by Bianca Rodriguez and voiced by Elizabeth Avellan
Elizabeth Avellan
- Life and career :Avellán was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Her grandfather, Gonzalo Veloz Mancera, created the first privately-owned Venezuelan television station, Televisa...
) Loogie then hands the rock to Laser agreeing that his hands are the wrongs hands for the rock. Laser steps outside and wishes for a catapult
Catapult
A catapult is a device used to throw or hurl a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. Although the catapult has been used since ancient times, it has proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms during...
and put the rock in the launcher and is about to get rid of it and is talked out of it by Loogie who promises to wish for world peace, but the catapult it launched by their sister, making them lose rock in a pile of dirt, which is where Cole found the rock to throw at Toby.
Toe's older sister Stacey (Kat Dennings
Kat Dennings
Katherine Litwack , better known by the stage name Kat Dennings, is an American actress. Emerging with a role in an episode of the HBO dramedy series Sex and the City, Dennings has since appeared in the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Big Momma's House 2, Charlie Bartlett, Raise Your Voice, The House...
) arrives to tutor "Nose" Noseworthy (Jake Short
Jake Short
Jake Short is an American teen actor, best known for his role as Nose Noseworthy in the 2009 film Shorts. Short stars as Fletcher Quimby in Disney Channel's comedy series A.N.T. Farm, along with China Anne McClain and Sierra McCormick. He has made appearances on several commercials, including a...
), Toe's old germophobic
Mysophobia
Mysophobia is a term used to describe a pathological fear of contamination and germs. Someone who has such a fear is referred to as a mysophobe. The term was introduced by Dr. William Alexander Hammond in 1879 when describing a case of obsessive-compulsive disorder exhibited in repeatedly washing...
friend. Nose picks his nose against his father's wishes and accidentally flicks the booger into his father's radioactive work study. Nose takes the rock from Stacey and wishes that his dad's inventions worked the way they were supposed too. He gets his wish, but it causes his booger to mutate. Toe and Loogie, now friends, arrive at Nose's house in time to see Nose's booger mutate into a giant monster. They leave as quickly as possible, but Toe gets caught by the booger. Nose rescues him by saying that if the booger mutant should eat his friend, Nose will eat the booger's friend (another booger), and the two run out of the house as soon as the booger mutant gives in to Nose's commands. However, it goes ahead and tries to eat Toe and Nose. After helping Nose's father (William H. Macy
William H. Macy
William Hall Macy, Jr. is an American actor and writer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo. He is also a teacher and director in theater, film and television. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though...
) capture the monster outside of the house, Toe and Loogie take the rock and leave.
Mrs. and Mr. Thompson (Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann is an American actress best known for her roles in comedic films, many of which are collaborations with her husband, Judd Apatow.-Early life:...
and Jon Cryer
Jon Cryer
Jonathan Niven "Jon" Cryer is an American actor, screenwriter and film producer. He is the son of actress–singer Gretchen Cryer. He made his motion picture debut in the 1984 romantic comedy No Small Affair, but gained greater fame as "Duckie" in the 1986 John Hughes-scripted film Pretty in Pink...
) are having trouble with their relationship, as Mr. Carbon Black (James Spader
James Spader
James Todd Spader is an American actor best known for his eccentric roles in movies such as Pretty in Pink, Less Than Zero, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Crash, Stargate, and Secretary...
) forces them to compete in making a new sales idea for the black box. Mrs. Thompson goes to look at Toe's phone, and finds the rock on the floor in his room. She takes the rock just as Toe wakes up. She and Mr. Thompson go to a Black Box Inc. costume party. While on the patio of Mr. Black's house, she wishes that she and her husband were closer, due to the fact that earlier, Mr. Thompson texted her hugs and kisses
Hugs and Kisses
Hugs and kisses or xoxo is a term used for expressing affection or good friendship at the end of a written letter, email or SMS text message. Some sources discuss the possibility of "x" referring to hugs and "o" referring to kisses. However, other sources indicate that "x" is used to signify a...
, while literally standing right next to her. They become mutated together into a two-headed person and try to hide from Mr. Black.
He finds them and invites them inside (thinking they're wearing a costume). Meanwhile, Toe realizes that Mrs. Thompson took the rock and rushes to the costume party, despite Helvetica warning him against coming. Hel finds the rock as Toe arrives to try to take it back. Toe is interrupted by Cole, who dumps him in the garbage. An infuriated Hel wishes Cole into a dung beetle before losing the rock. The rock is found by Mr. Black who, unaware of its power, accidentally wishes for all of the employees to go for each others throats. In the chaos, Hel takes the rock and tries to tell her dad about it, but he won't listen to her. So Hel wishes that her dad would listen to her for a change, causing his ears to become gigantic.
Hel, now drunk with power, wishes off her casts and for a rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
bike to escape with the rock, but hits a curb and lands headfirst into a trash can, losing the rock. The rock rolls back to Mr. Black's house and smashes through the door, landing at Mr. Black's feet. He picks it up and is tackled by some of the guests. Toe runs in and grabs the rock and wishes everyone back to normal. The doorbell rings and Toe answers it and comes face to face with Helvetica who is furious. She threatens to break every other bone in Toe's body if he doesn't give her the rock. Toe smartly answers "You Wish" before throwing the rock as far as he can, where it lands at the Noseworth's house.
Toe and Loogie contemplate what to do with the rock. They are ambushed by Helvetica and Cole when the rest of the kids show up and they all fight over the rock until it winds up in the hands of Mr. Black. Mr. Black tells all his employees that they are all fired because he has the rock and claims it is the only upgrade the Black Box needs and then considers stopping the business altogether wishes for a giant pile of money
Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
. Helevetica tricks him by asking him if he's joking, he states, "My girl, I wish I were," which makes the money disappear and he falls to the edge of the Black Box company building where he is forced to hang on, dangling for his life.
He loses his grip on the rock which falls into the hands of his chief security guard. It is unknown what he was going to wish for because it was interrupted by Hel who wishes that the man was an Oscar-Meyer
Oscar Mayer
Oscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut production company, owned by Kraft Foods, known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon and Lunchables products.-History:...
wiener, which he turns into and thus rolls away. Suddenly a giant teenage boy appears and Mr. Black offers him $10.00 if he helps him down. Stacey realizes that the giant is her 23 year-old ex-boyfriend (which she caused by wishing he would "grow up") and faints, but is revived by Loogie who uses the Black Box as a fan. Mr. Black wishes that he was the most powerful thing in the world and turns into a giant man-like Black Box and the children team up using their previous wishes to stop him. Soon, the infant tells them that the rock is starting to feel misused, as shown by the fact that the rock starts undoing all of their wishes. She also tells them the rock could destroy the Earth because of all of the petty wishes they make. Together they get rid of it and all of the events that happened because of the wishes disappear. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson state that they plan to work together to Mr. Black who agrees.
He later reverts the Black Box into the Green Box, suggesting it to be more environmental. Mr. Noseworthy and son lose their germophobia, Mr. and Mrs. Thompson become closer, and last it is suggested that Hel and Toe will marry in the future, then Hel said "I didn't say that". In the end, all the children become friends and walk off while Loogie wishes that their story became a Hollywood movie, to which Hel replies "like that's gonna happen."
Cast
- Jimmy BennettJimmy BennettJames Michael "Jimmy" Bennett is an American actor and musician. He is known for his roles as a child actor in Daddy Day Care, Hostage, Poseidon, and more recently in Orphan and as young James T. Kirk in Star Trek...
as Toby Thompson. - Jon CryerJon CryerJonathan Niven "Jon" Cryer is an American actor, screenwriter and film producer. He is the son of actress–singer Gretchen Cryer. He made his motion picture debut in the 1984 romantic comedy No Small Affair, but gained greater fame as "Duckie" in the 1986 John Hughes-scripted film Pretty in Pink...
as Mr. Bill Thompson, Toby's father who works at Black Box, Inc. - Leslie MannLeslie MannLeslie Mann is an American actress best known for her roles in comedic films, many of which are collaborations with her husband, Judd Apatow.-Early life:...
as Mrs. Jane Thompson, Toby's mother who also works at Black Box, Inc. - Kat DenningsKat DenningsKatherine Litwack , better known by the stage name Kat Dennings, is an American actress. Emerging with a role in an episode of the HBO dramedy series Sex and the City, Dennings has since appeared in the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Big Momma's House 2, Charlie Bartlett, Raise Your Voice, The House...
as Stacey Thompson, Toby's older sister. - William H. MacyWilliam H. MacyWilliam Hall Macy, Jr. is an American actor and writer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo. He is also a teacher and director in theater, film and television. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though...
as Dr. Noseworthy, A germophobeMysophobiaMysophobia is a term used to describe a pathological fear of contamination and germs. Someone who has such a fear is referred to as a mysophobe. The term was introduced by Dr. William Alexander Hammond in 1879 when describing a case of obsessive-compulsive disorder exhibited in repeatedly washing...
scientist who doesn't like Contamination. - Jolie Vanier as Helvetica Black, a girl who secretly has a crush on Toby and is the leader of her own gang.
- Devon GearhartDevon GearhartDevon Gearhart is an American teen actor.Gearhart was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and began acting at the age of seven, landing national commercials with Burger King, PBS, Pizza Hut and The Cartoon Network. Gearhart's movie debut came in 2004 when he landed the role of Young Bobby in...
as Colbert "Cole" Black, Carbon’s son and captain of the football team. He's Helvetica's right hand boy as that he cares deeply for her. - James SpaderJames SpaderJames Todd Spader is an American actor best known for his eccentric roles in movies such as Pretty in Pink, Less Than Zero, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Crash, Stargate, and Secretary...
as Mr. Carbon Black, a greedy man who invented the black box and founded the Black Box Community. - Trevor GagnonTrevor GagnonTrevor Michael Gagnon is an American actor.-Career:Gagnon has been featured in many television commercials along with multiple television series and a few films...
as Loogie Short, a boy who found the wishing rock. When he had the wishing rock he wished for unreasonable stuff. He flirted with Toby's older sister throughout the movie. - Rebel Rodriguez as Lug Short, Loogie's older brother. He is the most video game obsessed and easily angered of the three Short brothers.
- Leo HowardLeo HowardLeo Howard is an American actor, model and martial artist. Beginning his martial arts training at the age of four and an acting career at the age of seven, Howard is known for incorporating his karate and wushu skills into his feature film and television roles; as "Young Snake Eyes" in the 2009...
as Laser Short, Loogie's older brother. He seems to be the smartest of the three Short brothers. - Bianca Rodriguez as the Short brothers' infant sister, simply referred to as "(the) Baby". She is voiced by Elizabeth AvellanElizabeth Avellan- Life and career :Avellán was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Her grandfather, Gonzalo Veloz Mancera, created the first privately-owned Venezuelan television station, Televisa...
- Jake ShortJake ShortJake Short is an American teen actor, best known for his role as Nose Noseworthy in the 2009 film Shorts. Short stars as Fletcher Quimby in Disney Channel's comedy series A.N.T. Farm, along with China Anne McClain and Sierra McCormick. He has made appearances on several commercials, including a...
as "Nose" Noseworthy, a germophobe scientist like his father. - Racer Rodriguez as Bully #1, a member of Helvetica's gang.
- Rocket Rodriguez as Bully #2, also a member of Helvetica's gang.
- Alejandro Rose-Garcia as John, Stacey's boyfriend.
- Cambell Westmoreland as Blinker #1
- Zoe Webb as Blinker #2
Sequel
It was announced on January 1, 2010 that a sequel to the movie Shorts would be filmed in 2010 and be released sometime in 2011. It will be called Shorts 2: The Last Stand and casting "Sam Hildestad" as Lucas Thompson, Toby's cousin who comes to stay who apparently has the wishing rock with him. The sequel will most likely be released in 2012, as Robert Rodriguez currently has his hands full with Spy Kids: All the Time in the World and Sin City 2.Critical response
Reviews for the film have been mixed. The film holds a rating of 45% on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
based on 93 reviews, with a Top Critics rating of 56% based on 19 reviews.
Box office
For its opening weekend, the film made $6,410,339 upon an average of $2,065 from 3,105 theaters. It opened at #6, being overshadowed by Inglourious Basterds, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and Julie & JuliaJulie & Julia
Julie & Julia is a 2009 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Nora Ephron starring Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Amy Adams, and Chris Messina...
. Overall, the film was a minor success at the box office, grossing about $21 million in the United States and Canada, and about $26 million worldwide. It is considered a financial disappointment compared to other films that Robert Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodríguez is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in his native Texas and Mexico. He has directed such films as Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, The Faculty, Spy Kids, Sin City, Planet...
has directed, making only a third of what the Spy Kids
Spy Kids
The Spy Kids series is a series of family action adventure films written, produced and directed by Robert Rodriguez. The main plot follows the adventures of two Cortez children who become involved in their parents' espionage. The rest of their family are spies as well, including their estranged...
films had made. However, the film was made on a low budget, and the overall box office return recouped it and made a huge profit for distributor Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...