Earth To Echo review

The day before three best friends – Tuck, Alex and Munch – have to leave their Nevada town, and each other, and relocate due to a building project, they discover that all their mobile phones are acting strangely. Munch figures out the weird images on their screens lead to a spot in the desert, so the three kids set out on their bikes at night to unravel the mystery. Armed with a handful of cameras – including one in a pair of glasses – they head off after conning parents that they’re at a sleepover, and their adventure leads them to a little flying alien robot thingie whom they nickname Echo. Of course, there may be some shady government types who are on his trail, too.

Paying homage to eighties kids films like The Goonies and, of course, ET: The Extra Terrestrial, this features three natural young actors who are fun to watch and some nice special effects for the cute alien (older members of the audience will be reminded of the robotic owl from Clash Of The Titans). It’s a simple enough story but has that sense of wonder that’s often absent from slick 21^st century kids films – and the use of the kids’ footage gives a delightful modern day twist to a film that harks back to some of the best family movies from the past. A real treat.