Shorts

A 2009 film by Robert Rodriguez. The film follows the adventures of a group of children living in the neighborhood of Black Falls and a rainbow colored rock that grants any wish. The movie is comprised of a series of shorts told in non-sequential order by the narrator and protagonist, Toby "Toe" Thompson. There are 5 "episodes", not including Episode 0, played just before the film begins, with each episode focusing on a different set of characters and their experience with the wishing rock.

Tropes used in Shorts include:

• Anachronic Order: The structure of this film is told in this way, jumping back and forth through time since the narrator can't "remember the order of events".
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Stacey's boyfriend.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Many of the wishes granted don't turn out as well as the wisher hoped, with results ranging from inconvenient to disastrous.
• Bragging Theme Tune: Helvetica gets a theme tune when she gains control of the rock. Notable more since she is the only character who gets her own song.
• Brainy Baby: Loogie accidentally wished his baby sister to become one of these. She was so smart, she could speak telepathically.
• Body Horror: Mr and Mrs Thompson after Mrs Thompson wishes that they could be closer together while holding the wishing rock.
  • Stacey's boyfriend
• Bubble Boy: Nose and his father live in a completely sterile house, afraid to travel outside without full body suits.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Mr. Black.
• Foot Focus: Helvetica is very talented with her feet.
• Freud Was Right: Played with. Toby tries to call this as the explanation for why Helvetica picks on him. She immediately has him dumped in a garbage can. She repeatedly denies liking him through the film as well, though not quite reaching Protests Too Much range.
• Hey, It's That Guy!: Nose Noseworthy is Fletcher Quimby.
• Kids Are Cruel: The group of kids that bully Toby.
• Lilliputians: The aliens Toby wishes for.
• Loners Are Freaks: Toby.
• Mad Scientist: Mr. Noseworthy.
• Pac-Man Fever: Various characters are often shown playing Spore. Normally this wouldn't be all that bad, but said characters are shown playing it multiplayer (Spore is a single player game), on a Play Station 3 (Spore is PC exclusive) and while randomly mashing buttons all while showing the Creature Creator on screen. To top it all off, nothing was even happening on the screen while sad button mashing was happening, the creature clearly in it's idle animation.
  • Another instance was when they were shown playing Fable II, it looks like they were playing the game, but then it shifts to a different scene much like a trailer to a game.
• Product Placement: Loogie's endless supply of chocolate bars consists entirely of Reese's Nutrageous. Also, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are referenced once.
• Punny Name: Both of the Black children. Cole (Coal) Black, and Helvetica Black, an allusion to the font.
  • Helvetica doubles as a Meaningful Name, as her father calls her "Hel".
• Reed Richards Is Useless: Lampshaded. When Loogie holds the wishing stone, one of his brother suggests feeding the hungry, curing cancer, or creating world peace. Instead, Loogie wishes for a fort, a moat, man eating crocodiles and venomous snakes, unlimited supply of candy, telephonisis, and telekinesis. In the end, they decide to get rid of the rock by placing it on a catapult. Just before they launch it, Loogie suggests to take care of the world peace problem before they get rid of it, but it is accidentally launched before they get the chance.
• Stuffed Into a Trashcan: A common fate for Toby who is constantly bullied by Helvetica. He eventually gets his revenge when Helvetica ends up upside down in a trashcan after crashing her motorcycle.
• Swallowed Whole: Loogie by a giant crocodile. He is spewed out once he gets the stone from inside.
• Telekinesis: Loogie wishes for this in order to get away from the mutant man eating crocodile army.
• Tsundere: Helvetica is type A towards Toby.
• Who Would Want to Watch Us?: In the end, one of the kid says that he wishes they were in a Hollywood movie. The other kids tell him how stupid the idea is.
• X Meets Y: Crank meets Pulp Fiction...for kids!