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Aliens in the Attic

PG for action violence, some suggestive humor and language

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The Story

A vacation with the extended family turns into a mash-up of “Home Alone” and “Die Hard” as a group of kids and knee-high aliens inside a big lake house hunt and hide from each other without adults ever having a clue.

Tom (Carter Jenkins) isn’t thrilled to be stuck on vacation with his older sister Bethany (“High School Musical’s” Ashley Tisdale), his sister’s boyfriend Ricky (Robert Hoffman), his kid sister Hannah (Ashley Boettcher), or his cheery parents (Kevin Nealon and Gillian Vigman). Throw in Nana Pearson (Doris Roberts), divorced uncle Nathan (Andy Richter), Rambo cousin Jake (Austin Robert Butler), and Jake’s younger twin brothers—and there’s just too many people to deal with.

But then the wise-cracking aliens land on the roof and announce they’re here to enslave or destroy the humans. They quickly shoot a dart of some kind into college-aged Ricky and take over his body with what looks like a video game control pad. The kids learn that only adults can be controlled in this way and immediately decide to battle the aliens themselves to save their parents from harm.

They’re helped by one of the four aliens—the cuddly one, nicked-named Snuggles by Tom’s little sister—and the race is on to keep the remaining three from summoning the alien horde or killing any of the adults.

Content Issues

Lots of comedic violence earns the PG-rating here. Bethany’s annoying boyfriend gets the brunt of it, as he is abused throughout the film with hard falls, punches, slaps, and kicks. The CGI aliens get their share, too. Bethany (Ashley Tisdale) wears a revealing bikini and her boyfriend likes to strut shirtless (which she clearly enjoys). He obviously expects to get physical with her, but she resists him when he asks for an aggressive kiss. God’s name is used for swearing, and the kids brazenly and repeatedly deceive their parents.

Worldview Talking Points

With no major stars or significant marketing tie-ins, this lightweight kids sci-fi film didn’t make much of a dent at the box office on its opening weekend. It’s only mildly entertaining as a kid’s film, but it does have some fun elements, including some broad physical comedy and a “kids can handle it” sense of adventure.

It’s not a hardcore message movie, but “Aliens in the Attic” does reveal some worldview ideas that kids are likely to notice. Those include the intentional (“Don’t hide your smarts!”) and the implied (“Sometimes you’ve just got to lie to your parents.”).

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