Aliens in the Attic

Did You Know?

• The film was originally scheduled for January 2009 but was pushed back to July 31, 2009.
• The United Kingdom release included a charity auction for Save the Children, where celebrities sold items from their attics.
• The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 3, 2009.

Plot

A meteor shower in space conceals four glowing pods that turn toward Earth. Tom, a techno-geek, deliberately fails classes to avoid bullying but is caught hacking his school's website to change his grades. Bethany's boyfriend Ricky arrives claiming car trouble to stay overnight. As the family settles, four pods land on the roof, and a crew of little green aliens emerges: commander Skip, soldier Tazer, female soldier Razor, and four-armed engineer Sparks. Tom and Jake discover the aliens, and Ricky is shot with a mind-control plug, allowing the aliens to control him remotely.

Production

20th Century Fox picked up the script by Mark Burton and Adam F. Goldberg in March 2006, then titled They Came from Upstairs. Marc Resteghini oversaw the film for Fox, with Kara Francis Smith for Regency Enterprises. Barry Josephson was the main producer. Thor Freudenthal was initially hired to direct but was replaced by John Schultz.

Pre-production began in March 2007. Ashley Tisdale was cast in January 2008, followed by Robert Hoffman, Carter Jenkins, and Austin Butler. Doris Roberts signed on in February 2008. Josh Peck voiced the alien Sparks.

Tisdale recorded the song Switch for the film, written by Kate Akhurst and Vince Pizzinga, and included on her album Guilty Pleasure. John Debney composed the original motion picture soundtrack, released on August 18, 2009. Principal photography began in late January 2008 in Auckland, New Zealand, running 30–40 days from January 28 to April 18, 2008, with no weekend filming. The film was shot in a 1915 villa transported from Remuera to rural North Auckland in 1997, with $700,000 spent on restoration. Principal photography ended in mid-March 2008, with reshoots in April 2009.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 34% rating based on 70 reviews, with an average score of 4.6/10 and a consensus calling it inoffensive and kid-friendly but light on imagination. Metacritic gives a score of 42 out of 100 from 10 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews. CinemaScore audiences gave an average grade of B+. Entertainment Weekly described the film as a pointless and harmless family adventure.

Variety noted it would appeal primarily to tweens and preteens, while The New York Times singled out Carter Jenkins and Austin Butler as having more personality and Robert Hoffman as providing occasional funny moments. The Los Angeles Times called it an enjoyable kid-friendly film but not a classic. Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter said director John Schultz played everything for laughs and earned more than a few. Radio Times gave the film three out of five stars, calling it a thrilling children's yarn with enough pop-culture references for adults.

Video game

A video game based on the film was released on August 4, 2009, in North America and internationally on August 6, 2009. Developed by Revistronic for Wii, PlayStation 2, and Microsoft Windows, and by Engine Software for Nintendo DS, it was published by Playlogic. The game follows the movie's storyline and offers two gameplay perspectives depending on the platform. Players can control Tom, Hannah, Jake, Sparks, Skip, Tazer, or Razor across 15 missions. In the game, Tazer is renamed Spike for unknown reasons, as seen in dialogue, booklet, and cover.