First-time director Jim Yukich summarized his approach to the film: "Our characters are like normal kids - three kids on an adventure, so we didn't want to make something that kids would almost be too afraid to see... I'd like to make it in a funnier, light-hearted vein."[REF] .
The boat chase sequence was filmed on the Cuyahoga River in Northeast Ohio, and climaxes with an explosion which used 700 gallons of gasoline combined with 200 gallons of alcohol [REF].