Aliens in the Attic (2009)

A group of kids must protect their vacation home from invading aliens.

Director:

John Schultz

Writers:

Mark Burton (screenplay), Adam F. Goldberg (screenplay)

Stars:

Ashley Tisdale, Robert Hoffman, Carter Jenkins

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Carter Jenkins	...	Tom Pearson
Austin Butler	...	Jake Pearson
Ashley Tisdale	...	Bethany Pearson
Ashley Boettcher	...	Hannah Pearson
Henri Young	...	Art Pearson
Regan Young	...	Lee Pearson
Doris Roberts	...	Nana Rose Pearson
Robert Hoffman	...	Ricky Dillman
Kevin Nealon	...	Stuart Pearson
Gillian Vigman	...	Nina Pearson
Andy Richter	...	Uncle Nathan Pearson
Tim Meadows	...	Sheriff Doug Armstrong
Melise	...	Julie (as Malese Jow)
Megan Parker	...	Brooke
Maggie VandenBerghe	...	Annie Filkins

Storyline

Stuart Pearson heads with his family to spend a summer vacation in Creek Landing, Michigan, with his brother Nathan Pearson and his sons and their mother Rose in an old lake house they had rented. When the television has trouble with the image, Stuart's son Tom and the arrogant boyfriend of his sister Ricky Dillman go to the attic and then to the roof, where Tom meets his cousin Jake and they find the antenna dish totally destroyed. Sooner they discover four alien invaders that are preparing an invasion of the Earth that use a mind control weapon that only affects adults and they lock the quartet in the attic. Now they need to a find a way to force the adults to leave the house and discover the vulnerability of the invaders to plot a defense plan to save our planet.

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Plot Keywords:

attic | alien | mind control | boyfriend | nintendo ds | 

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Taglines:

They came from upstairs.

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for action violence, some suggestive humor and language

Details

Official Sites:

20th Century Fox [France] 20th Century Fox [United States]

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 July 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

They Came from Upstairs

Filming Locations:

Albany, Auckland, New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,008,423, 2 August 2009, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$25,200,412, 22 November 2009

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$57,881,056

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox,Regency Enterprises,Josephson Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At 17:10, Sparks, the first alien Tom and Jake encounter while on top of the roof, tells them "Hello, humans. We come from upstairs." This line was probably intended as a joke, where the word "upstairs" is mistakenly used to mean "space". It is also the likely source of the working title "They Came From Upstairs".

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Goofs

Ricky is seen removing a relay from under his camaro hood to make it inoperative. He is actually pulling the relay for fog lamps / 92-97 camaro. This would not prevent his car from starting.

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Quotes

Stuart Pearson: If you're smart enough to hack into the school's computer, you're smart enough to pass math.

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Crazy Credits

Out takes are shown during the end credits

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Connections

Featured in Great American Road Trip: Gateway to the West (2009)

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Soundtracks

Switch
Written by Kate Akhurst and Vince Pizzinga
Performed by Ashley Tisdale
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.
By Arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

Not everyone's movie, but a lot of fun if it's your kind

I'm in my twenties, and I loved this film. If you look at the title and the cover and know for certain you won't like it, then you probably won't. But if you think you might, then I'd recommend giving it a try, because I was a little unsure but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The plot is pretty simple: while vacationing in a large rental house over the Fourth of July holiday, the Pearson family is forced to stop an advance team of four aliens from bringing eternal enslavement and/or instantaneous death to the human race. The alien technology allows them to control the adults (leading to a lot of slapstick comedy, some of which will be funny to adults, but all of which the kids will enjoy), so it's up to our hero Tom (17 years old or thereabouts), his siblings and his cousins to stop them.

I thought the acting was quite decent. Carter Jenkins brings a lot of good energy to Tom, who is very likable and sympathetic. All of the kids do a great job, and the voice talents behind the aliens bring a lot of personality to those characters in only a few scenes. Thomas Haden Church as Tazer really stood out to me and J.K. Simmons is always fantastic.

The messages I came out of it with were 1) family is cool, 2) fishing can be just as fun as video games, and 3) being different is OK, and being smart is OK. Ashley Tisdale's Bethany doesn't start out as a particularly sympathetic character, especially when taken with her sleazy boyfriend, but she soon shows herself to be a good role model, demanding that her boyfriend respect her and her family.

I laughed plenty – even the jokes which were easy or cheap didn't make me groan or roll my eyes.

I would definitely let my kids watch this movie. Not only do I approve of the general morals espoused by the film, but they'll almost certainly enjoy it. And, except for believing Grandma had gotten into the Pinot Grigio, Miss Tisdale bouncing around in a skimpy bikini, and a scene of Bethany and her boyfriend putting lotion on each other including a reference to "second base", the film is totally clean. And even those things are hardly worth mentioning.

It's not supposed to be smart, it's supposed to be fun. And it's targeted towards kids. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone I know, but I know a couple of people who would definitely enjoy it, so don't discount it so quickly based on other reviews if you think it might be your kind of movie.