Earth to Echo - C

Rated PG, 85 minutes

Unoriginal "Earth to Echo" short, sweet and jumpy

As my movie buddy Ellen describes it, "Earth to Echo" is "E.T. on steroids." That would describe the derivatively plotted but energetic sci-fi adventure "Earth to Echo" and it would also aptly describe the shaky, documentary-style photography that the movie heavily utilizes. Tuck (Brian Bradley), Munch (Reese Hartwig) and Alex (Teo Halm) are a trio of inseparable friends whose lives are about to change. Their neighborhood is being destroyed by a highway construction project that is forcing their families to move away. But just two days before they must part ways, the boys begin receiving a strange series of signals on their phones. Convinced something bigger is going on, they team up with another school friend, Emma (Ella Wahlestedt), and set out to look for the source of their phone signals. Directed by Dave Green with a script by Henry Gayden, "Earth to Echo" is a mildly entertaining but unoriginal sci-fi film geared for the Nickelodeon set, who will no doubt enjoy the charming, unknown cast and creature known as Echo, which reminds of a miniature, live-action version of "WALL-E" though the story and plotting most resemble the classic "E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial" which this generation doesn't know. "Earth to Echo" is a Disney castoff, literally. Developed, produced and shot by Disney, they later sold it Relativity, who certainly has high hopes of being a hit, though the low-key marketing efforts reflects that this studio is unsure of that. Problematic is the murky, ADD script, which is a little all over the place and short on character, not to mention a no-name yet charming cast and all the excessively jumpy camera movements, which may make you a little dizzy (especially when the camera is positioned on a bicycle). Still, Echo the creature is cute and so is the cast, and it speeds along to a finale that seems a little rushed, but should no doubt still please the young crowd it's geared for. All in all, the thin, mildly enjoyable "Earth to Echo" isn't much to scream about and given how unmemorable it is, it isn't surprising that Disney sold it off. You're better off renting "WALL-E" or "E.T." to show kids these days what real sci-fi adventure is all about.

Wes's Grade: C