Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl in 3-D, The

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

There is such a joy of play in the film that it's easy to overlook the overdone performances and the lazy script shortcuts.

New York Post Kyle Smith

You can't get this kind of full-on sensory-jolt anywhere else, not legally anyway. "Sharkboy" will be equally beloved in elementary schools and in college dorms.

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

On the whole it feels genuine. Lautner and Dooley are compelling as the sullen, instinctual Sharkboy and the radiant, hot-headed Lavagirl, and it's easy to see why they dominate shy, hesitant Max's dreams.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Slight but immensely enjoyable charmer.

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

Robert Rodriguez and his kids conjure up a charming 3-D fantasy.

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

An often imaginative though less than magical family feature.

Variety Joe Leydon

There's little chance of grabbing teens (or even many tweens) during summertime playdates. Still, small fry will be enchanted by this rambunctious action-adventure.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Charmingly low-tech fantasy.

Miami Herald Peter Debruge

The result is like a low-rent "Wizard of Oz" or "Labyrinth," sticking close to the formula of a kid who falls asleep and wakes up in a fantastical wonderland where everything's just a little bit off.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

A case of a yummy yarn spoiled by cheesy visuals.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Only part of it is in 3-D, but youngsters should enjoy pulling their special specs on and off at appropriate moments.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

A strange Hollywood film, but for a home movie it's one bang-up job.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Because the real world scenes are in 2-D and the dream and fantasy scenes are in 3-D, we get an idea of what the movie would have looked like without the unnecessary dimension. Signs flash on the screen to tell us when to put on and take off our polarizing glasses, and I felt regret every time I had to shut out those colorful images and return to the dim and dreary 3-D world. On DVD, this is going to be a great-looking movie.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

For a movie aimed at children, Shark Boy and Lava Girl is gloomy.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

A story that would be charming if recited at the dinner table tries to carry a feature film, and it's not even close to the task. The result is screamingly bad.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Like choral singing and travel photography, this adventure is more fun for participants than it is for spectators.

The New York Times Lawrence Van Gelder

Mr. Rodriguez seems unsure what his film is really about, making the moral of the story -- "dream an unselfish dream" -- feel more like a vaguely judgmental homily than a satisfying conclusion.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

As sweet and hopeless and silly as a doting dad framing his second-grader's latest finger-painting and calling it a Matisse.

Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt

There's really just not a lot here. I'm sure Racer's story will entertain the very wee ones -- but so do keys.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

The story's so sloppy that it contradicts itself constantly.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

The low-tech film looks like a kid's crude drawing, plays like entry-level Game Boy, and is about as nourishing as a Tootsie Pop.

USA Today Mike Clark

There's sad news to report about The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D: Put on the cardboard glasses, and you can still see the movie.

Village Voice Ben Kenigsberg

Based on characters created by Rodriguez's then-seven-year-old son, Racer Max, the film doesn't belong in wide release. It belongs on a refrigerator door, alongside "100%" spelling tests, old lunch menus, and notices from the PTA.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Sadly, the film's creaky, sometimes painful dialogue makes it all too easy to believe that it was genuinely co-written by a small child.

Time Richard Corliss

Pretty lame. Sharkboy has an especially frantic, amateur atmosphere, with a mostly maladroit cast.

TV Guide Angel Cohn

The concept is cute and the movie starts out well, but it devolves into a muddled, overstuffed mess that wears out its welcome around the time the novelty of 3-D effects wears off.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

One could forgive a budget this threadbare, performances this amateurish, a plot this tortuous if the 3-D effects passed the cool test. Sadly, watching ''Adventures" is an experience akin to seeing the world through dung-colored glasses.

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

Sharkboy relies almost entirely on 3-D for its kicks. The novelty, however, quickly wears thin with the thinnest of stories to project.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Visually undistinguished, narratively inert, populated by a cast of charmless child actors, "Sharkboy and Lavagirl," with any luck will fade quickly from theaters, memories and Rodriguez's own Things to Do Today list.

Empire Simon Braund

A bizarre, hopelessly muddled fantasy that's likely to induce utter bewilderment in its target audience.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

The result is astoundingly boring and, frankly, tedious to sit through.