Robert Rodriguez calls his latest film “Shorts” a true family film.

“It's a film for families by a family,” he said at the Austin premiere of “Shorts,” referring to the roles three of his sons had in the film.

“Shorts,” written, directed and edited by Rodriguez, centers on a magic rainbow-colored rock that grants wishes to those who find it. The result is a series of adventures involving residents of the fictional suburban community Black Falls.

The film, produced by the San Antonio-born Rodriguez, 41, and his former wife Elizabeth Avellán, features several members of their family.

Their sons Racer, Rebel and Rocket have small roles in “Shorts,” and Rebel came up with the film's premise of short intertwined adventure stories.

“He said we should call it ‘Shorts' because the stories are short, the kids are short and they wear shorts,” said Rodriguez, who would brainstorm and act out scenes from the film with his sons after school and on weekends.

The experience was a lot like when he was kid, Rodriguez said.

“I've made lots of crazy films, starting with when I was kid in San Antonio making movies in my backyard. Being the third oldest, I would put the younger kids in parts in my movies,” he said.

The idea for “Shorts” happened after Racer came up with the idea for his father's 2005 film “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D.”

“Rebel said, ‘I get to come up with the next movie,” Rodriguez said. “He said, ‘Let's do something like ‘Little Rascals.' I thought it was a great idea to have a bunch of short stories and make a feature film out of them.”

Rebel, 10, said he's pleased with his dad's version of his idea and is flattered to have it depicted on the big screen.

“It's really exciting,” he said. “It's a really great family experience.”