Earth To Echo (2014)

 

Genre: Sci-Fi/ Adventure

Time: 1h 31mins

Director: Dave Green

Quick Summary: After receiving a bizarre series of encrypted messages, a group of kids embark on an adventure with an alien who needs their help.

Simple and fun, you can't really argue against that.

For a kid's film, made for kids, this was pretty good. It definitely had kids in mind as watching this as an adult, it's kind of boring. Less focused on the plot, it plays out a sweet little journey between a small group of friends who are dealing with things like moving, divorce, and growing up in general. They're gentler on moral issues, which are heavy enough so that they're relatable for kids but they still feel a lot of emotion towards them, even if they are over-dramatic at times. Because to them, it is a big deal. So sorry for you guys who are looking for twists.

As fun and sweet as this is, I need to address some of the massive plot holes which honestly, I find pretty funny. Firstly, the fact that the kids leave their house unnoticed by anyone. Like these pre-teens go missing for a couple of hours and nobody notices? Secondly, how the hell do these kids manage to travel miles of open highway on bicycles in just a few hours. The lack of cars on a major highway makes this even more silly, especially since they're in almost pitch black by the time they get to where they're going. Lastly, the ease with which the kids are able to break into businesses, without facing any questions or obstacles, is wild. Does nobody lock their doors? 

As for the first-person camera angle, it is much more stable than some of the films, but there are a few points where it gets dizzying, often when they are doing a panorama shot or fleeing from the cops. As someone who isn't a massive fan of Footage films, this was okay to deal with. The angles were pretty odd at times, but it makes sense for it to be literally kids behind the camera so I can't really argue against it. Honestly going into this, I wasn't expecting the formant to be like it, and I would have preferred a more traditional approach to it. Maybe I just don't like shaky cam?

As far as children go, they were semi-interesting. A lot of the time they were pretty dull, but I can say they were behaving like children would. It was like they grabbed a bunch of them and threw them into this film saying just be you. One I found adorable though above the rest, that being Munch. Obviously, Autsim coded, though dubbed just being a bit quirky. A lot of his dialogue and reactions to things make me chuckle, especially how extreme everything was to him. Moving became such an extreme task as he had to alphabetically sort his whole room into boxes that were literally wall-to-wall of stuff. However, there was one character they introduced halfway through the film that I felt was just so little girls would feel more inclined to watch a film about a robot. 

Speaking of, I was sad to find out this adorable little guy who speaks through beeps and chirps, barely gets any screen time. Given that this film is about him, I really thought you would see more of him. There wasn't really much emotional connection towards him either for the ending, which honestly felt really abrupt and sudden. At least he looked cute for the little bit we got to see of him. His interactions with him and the kids were pretty cute too as they try to get him to his ship. 

Not a lot actually happens in this either. It's basically one long chain of fetch quests thinking about it while the kids talk about things. Although this is simplistic and predictable, the adventure is fun and entertaining for kids and the kid at heart. It's sweet, and a simple watch. Don't expect anything groundbreaking though.

5/10

"Tuck: All right, mom, I'm leaving. Spending the night at Alex's house so we can play a new video game.

Theresa Simms: [busy talking] Have whatever you want, honey.

Tuck: You know what, I lied, actually. We're gonna ride our bikes out into the desert, at night, alone. Without supervision.

Theresa Simms: [still busy talking] Okay, see you then, sweetie.

Tuck: Also rob a bank. Go to Mexico. Maybe even start a new life."