Aliens Ate My Homework

It was a good movie for young kids. The flow of the story is good find it interesting most of the time.

The movie was fine and I think kids will enjoy watching it. But personally I don't really enjoy it because I find the story was bit boring especially when they were doing the mission at school. But the plot was OK. The acts were also okay but I think Mickey's act...errhh annoying. I don't think I'd watch the next movie if there'll be one next, but yes I think kids would still love it.

3/25/18. It's Small Soldiers meets E.T. A cutesy sci-fi movie with a middle-school cast as they deal with world domination by miniature aliens. Totally watchable.

I loved the book Aliens Ate My Homework when I was in elementary school. I haven't read it in 20 years, so I can't really comment on how good the book would be to adult eyes.

Still, this film condenses and alters the plot to the point where I wasn't all that impressed. I did really like the look of the aliens, and the kids playing the younger siblings were fun and cute and a nice break from the usual sarcastic, precocious kids you see in most movies/shows.

But this film is also full of groan-worthy, and borderline inappropriate moments, ranging from the litany of horrible plant puns (from the plant alien) to a jaw-dropping shot where the main character holds a paper mache volcano at his crotch while it shoots out white foam.

Also, call me crazy, but this movie was full of references to the main character being fat and yet I felt like the actor looked like he was a healthy weight. And yet he is called "pudge-boy" and his cousin makes jokes about his diet not working out. It was weird seeing a child at a normal weight being fat-shamed. If they wanted this to be a part of the pot, then they should have found an actor who was actually overweight.

I was hoping that this would be a fun throwback to a childhood favorite, but ultimately it was pretty disappointing. Though I did realize a little ways through the film that the person playing the principal was Bruce Coville himself! If you really liked the book as a kid, maybe check it out. Otherwise, skip it. Would I show this film to a child? Probably not. Both because of the "humor" and because it's simply not that good.

Aliens Ate My Homework is a story I read in the sixth grade (the same age as "Rod" in the movie), and I'm pleasantly surprised to see a movie adaptation twenty-something years later! The movie is fun, adorable, and made me a bit nostalgic for the days I'd get dropped off at the movies without my parents to see a kids adventure film like Explorers, The Wizard, Masters of the Universe, Flight of the Navigator, SpaceCamp, etc. It's got a little bit of magical realism where something extraordinary happens in your own backyard and while dealing with the real world of bullies, bad grades or struggling parents. And who didn't have a goofy friend totally obsessed with explosive edibles?! The kids they cast are so normal and believable (imdb shows that 2 actors have been in Oscar-nominated films already) and the aliens are both mysterious and funny. William Shatner, who plays an ALIEN, is full of wordplay, a total wink to the older "kids." Since it is based on a series of books, maybe we can look forward to more adventures with the Galactic Patrol.