Aliens in the Attic   Starring: Carter Jenkins, Ashley Tisdale, Austin Butler, Robert Hoffman and Kevin Nealon Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment RRP: £19.99 3630111000 Certificate: PG Available 01 February 2010

When suburban parents Stuart and Nina Pearson decide it's time for a family holiday they pack up the clan including; boy-obsessed Bethany, techno-geek Tom and adorable seven year old Hannah and head to an isolated lakeside house, searching for peace and quiet. Unbeknownst to the grown-ups the kid's vacation turns out to be anything but relaxing as they find themselves embroiled in an intergalactic battle with knee-high alien invaders. With the aliens set on world-domination the Pearson kids must use their wits, bravery and computer game-playing-prowess to outsmart the unwelcome visitors, save the world and most importantly keep the adults in the dark...

Aliens in the Attic is a family comedy which, on balance, works quite well. It's probably not a huge suprise to learn that the aliens are the main stars of the movie, closely followed by the kids, with the parents merely there as background characters.

The film sees a group of kids battling against an alien scout party. The knee-high invaders have an impressive arsenal at their disposal - including a device that is capable of turning any adult into a puppet slave. The children are mankind's last line of defence. Can they rise to the challenge? Of course they can.

All of the child actors turn in impressive performances, especially Ashley Boettcher as seven year old Hannah, and I was surprised at how impressive Robert Hoffman was in his portrayal of the puppetised Ricky.

The movie opens with a musical homage to Danny Elfman's theme for Mars Attacks and closes with a visual homage to ET. There are obvious parallels to be drawn with Gremlins, Home Alone and Mars Attacks, but it's pretty fair to say that Aliens in the Attic is its only movie.

Extras include Introduction to the Film with Ashley Tisdale (17 sec); Introduction to Special Features with Ashley Tisdale (17 sec); Alternate Ending (2 min, 45 sec); Deleted Scenes (3 min, 31 sec); Gag Reel (4 min, 51 sec); and The Ashley Encounters (4 min, 5 sec behind the scenes footage).

While far from being a classic kids movie, this will entertain most viewers for the duration.

6

Darren Rea