Shorts

After the ‘Spy Kids’ trilogy, more family frolics from Robert Rodriguez as writer, director, producer and editor. This time, a rainbow-hued wishing stone appears the answer to bullied schoolboy Toby’s problems, but, as ever, it’s a case of being careful what you wish for. Before long, junior has to contend with rampaging crocodiles, a giant nasal bogey, thimble-sized aliens, his pal sprouting telephone ears and so forth.

The chaos comes so thick and fast that Rodriguez slices the action into a series of shorts as Toby (Jimmy Bennett) tries to get his head round events. Like so much else, this might have seemed a good idea at the time, but it holds up the flow, and makes a half-baked story even scrappier. You can’t fault the film’s exuberance, but it’s draggy in spots, with the grown-up cast (rotund James Spader’s sinister gadget magnate, William H Macy’s nervy bio-scientist) outshone by Jolie Vanier’s little terror – nattily monikered Helvetica Black.