Aliens in the Attic [Blu-ray]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

A group of kids defend their Maine vacation home from knee-high alien invaders in this adventure comedy for the entire family. When Michigan native Bethany Pearson (Ashley Tisdale) arrives home after a secret outing with her boyfriend (Robert Hoffman), her father, Stuart (Kevin Nealon), decides that it's high time for a family vacation. Packing up the car with wife Hannah (Ashley Boettcher), teenage son Tom (Carter Jenkins), and big sister Bethany in tow, Stuart invites the extended family to join them at the vacation home for some much-needed R&R and sets his sights on Maine. Much to Tom's dismay, Bethany's stuck-up boyfriend, Ricky (Hoffman), even manages to wrangle an overnight visit. Shortly after the Pearsons arrive at their sprawling summer home, however, things start to get strange. As dark clouds start to swirl overhead, four glowing objects blast through the sky on a collision course with the Pearsons' roof. But these aren't your typical meteors, because inside dwells tough-talking alien commander Skip, muscle-bound weapons specialist Tazer, lethal female Razor, and geeky four-armed techie Sparks. Before long, the aliens have taken Ricky over via a powerful mind-control device, and announced their intentions to claim Earth for the "Zirkonians." While the adults are completely oblivious to the extraterrestrial threat, the kids fight to save the planet with a little help from Sparks, the alien tech-specialist and one nonhostile invader. John Schultz directs a script penned by British scribe Mark Burton (Wallace & Gromit). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: A
• Number of Discs: 1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Features:
  • Introductions to the film and special features with Ashley Tisdale
  • Alternate ending
  • Deleted scenes
  • Gag reel
  • Animated short Behind the zirkonians
  • Meet the Zirkonians interactive featurette
  • The Ashley Encounters featurette
  • Lights, Camera, Aliens! featurette
  • Kung Fu Grandma featurette
  • Brian Anthony "Electricity" music video
  • Fox Movie Channel presents Life After Film School with Barry Josephson

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Carter Jenkins - Tom Pearson
       Ashley Tisdale - Bethany Pearson
       Austin Butler - Jake Pearson
       Ashley Boettcher - Hannah Pearson
       Henry Young - Art Pearson
       Regan Young - Lee Pearson
       Robert Hoffman - Ricky Dillman
       Doris Roberts - Nana Rose Pearson
       Andy Richter - Uncle Nathan Pearson
       Kevin Nealon - Stuart Pearson
       Gillian Vigman - Nina Pearson
       Tim Meadows - Sheriff Doug Armstrong
       Malese Jow - Julie
       Thomas Haden Church - Alien
       J.K. Simmons - Alien
       Kari Wahlgren - Alien

• Director:

  John Schultz

• Producer:

  Barry Josephson

• Screenwriter:

  Mark Burton, Adam F. Goldberg

• Screen Story:

  Mark Burton

• Cinematographer:

  Don Burgess

• Composer (Music Score):

  John Debney

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Billy Gottlieb

• Editor:

  John Pace

• Production Designer:

  Barry Chusid

• Co-producer:

  Joe Hartwick, Jr.

• Associate Producer:

  John R. Woodward

• Executive Producer:

  Marc S. Fischer, Arnon Milchan

• Costume Designer:

  Mona May

• Casting:

  Julie Ashton-Barson

• Visual Effects Supervisor:

  Douglas Hans Smith

REVIEW:

• Elementary school kids are in for a fun ride with Aliens in the Attic, a family-friendly action romp that is geared to get them riled up and dreaming of their own battle against an alien invasion. For all other audiences, the film is exactly what it is -- a movie made for seven-year-olds. The checklist is as follows: Hits to the groin every 20 minutes? Check. A Jim Carrey-wannabe spaz acting like a clown anytime he's onscreen? Yep, it's got that, too. How about a possessed granny performing kung fu? Uh-huh. And a conceit that allows the kids to play while the parents are away? Oh yeah, the writers figured out a humdinger to explain that one. Indeed, those are cynical cheap shots -- especially for a picture that will provide the goods to its target audience. However, one thing is for sure -- a lot of time and energy was put into what will most likely be a forgotten bomb long after its days in the theatrical sun.
  
  Those who have seen the trailer have pretty much seen the film. For the uninitiated, the movie follows a family vacation where the kids discover that a scouting alien ship has landed on the roof of their rented mansion. The four aliens in question turn out to have a mind-controlling device whose powers only work on grown-ups, so the kids try and keep the adults as far away as possible from the melee going on in the top floors. Defensive measures such as firecrackers, radio-controlled cars, and a potato launcher are used against the fearsome intergalactic foes, one of whom joins the kids in their protecting (and near destroying) of their fancy leased house. Along the way, the young lead, Tom Pearson (Carter Jenkins), realizes that it's okay to be a smart kid after his brain comes in handy while battling two-foot-tall inhuman military morons.
  
  At first glance, some would lump this picture in with other creature features, such as Gremlins, Small Soldiers, Mac and Me, Ghoulies, and the Munchies films -- and they'd be semi-right. In fact, there's a veiled Ghoulies shout-out in the film, though don't expect the same kind of toilet-humor treatment to go along with the visual gag. At the day's end, Aliens in the Attic is what it is -- an action picture filled with ugly CG creatures that the small tykes will enjoy. Certainly one of the biggest complaints is that there are few surprises to this sucker, even when it dares to go Godzilla in the finale. A slew of other criticisms could be laid against the flick, but tearing it down does no more than prove this picture wasn't made for you. This is a cheap slice of entertainment for the little ones, pure and simple. Best file Aliens in the Attic with the first Scooby-Doo film -- or better yet, Alvin and the Chipmunks -- and you'll have a fine barometer for how much patience you'd have for it in the end. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi