10 Family Movies from the 2000s So Bad, They're Actually Good

Here's a round-up of 10 family films from the 2000s that are so off-the-mark, they've become almost entertainingly bad.

1. The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl (2005)

Max is an ordinary kid who invents two superheroes: Sharkboy, a boy raised by sharks, and Lavagirl, who can, well, produce lava. They exist in his dreams until – surprise! – they show up in real life to take him on an adventure in their world, which is literally crumbling apart. They journey across places like the Stream of Consciousness (yes, really) to stop a villain named Mr. Electric, who's messing up their dreamworld. A critical flop, but come on, who can resist those cheesy 3D effects and pre-Twilight Taylor Lautner?

2. Hoot (2006)

If you've ever wanted to see kids take on bulldozer-driving adults to save some owls (however unlikely), this one's for you. Hoot is set in Florida, where a young boy, Roy, discovers a plot to bulldoze a site home to endangered owls. He teams up with a runaway boy and a girl with a penchant for snake-handling to halt construction and save the day. There's even a subplot about pancake sabotage.

3. Sky High (2005)

It's Harry Potter but with superheroes, minus the charm, but add some extra cheese. This movie introduces us to Will Stronghold, the son of the world's most famous superheroes. The catch? He's got no powers. He goes to Sky High, a floating school for superhero kids, and gets placed in the "Sidekick" class. Eventually, his powers kick in – super strength and flight, duh – but not before his friend-turned-enemy plots to use a weapon to remove everyone's powers. Clichéd? Absolutely. Fun? You betcha.

4. Agent Cody Banks (2003)

Remember when teen spy movies were a thing? Enter Cody Banks, a 15-year-old CIA agent whose mission is to befriend a girl named Natalie, whose dad is developing nanobots for, you guessed it, an evil organization. Unlike James Bond, Cody is awkward around girls, so hilarity ensues. He eventually gains Natalie's trust by saving her from runaway cars and snowboard chases. It's silly, improbable, and packed with dated early-2000s tech, but that's part of its weird charm.

5. Zoom: Academy for Superheroes (2006)

Tim Allen, what were you doing, man? He plays Jack Shepard a.k.a. "Captain Zoom", a washed-up superhero called back to train a new generation of heroes. Their mission: stop an impending threat that could destroy the Earth. We've got the whole gamut of quirky kids with abilities ranging from super strength to shape-shifting. The training sequences are laughably bad, with outdated special effects and a 'villain' so bland it's almost commendable. It tanked at the box office, but it's developed a cult following for how unabashedly terrible it is.

6. Thunderbirds (2004)

Ever wondered what Thunderbirds the 1960s puppet show would look like as a live-action film? Well, someone in Hollywood did, and we got this masterpiece. Alan Tracy, the youngest of the Tracy brothers, dreams of joining his family's rescue organization, International Rescue. But he's just a kid, right? Wrong! When the rest of the family gets trapped on a space station, it's up to Alan and his friends to thwart the villain known as The Hood.

7. The Master of Disguise (2002)

This movie is about Pistachio Disguisey (yes, that's his name), a goofy waiter who learns that he comes from a long line of...you guessed it, masters of disguise. His dad gets kidnapped, and he has to save him by using his new-found skills, which are as ridiculous as you'd expect – think "turtle man" and "cherry pie".

8. The Country Bears (2002)

A movie based on a Disney theme park attraction – what could go wrong? This one's about a young bear named Beary who finds out he's adopted (shocker!) and goes on a quest to save Country Bear Hall, the venue that made the Country Bears band famous. He tries to reunite the disbanded group for a benefit concert. Along the way, we get musical numbers, kidnapping subplots, and Christopher Walken as the villain.

9. Clockstoppers (2002)

In Clockstoppers, teenager Zak discovers a watch that can literally stop time, making everyone else move in super slow-motion. Cool, right? Until it turns out the watch is a secret government project that could speed up molecules to the point of disintegration. Bad guys want it, good guys have it – cue the bike chases and freeze-frame gags.

10. Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)

Before 3D movies made a comeback, we had this. Juni Cortez, the young spy from the previous films, gets trapped in a virtual reality game created by a madman known as the Toymaker. He fights off digital monsters, navigates different 'levels,' and yes, it's as absurd as it sounds. At one point, he even rides a virtual robot T-Rex. The 3D was gimmicky, the plot nonsensical, but hey, it featured Sylvester Stallone as the villain, so there's that.