Earth To Echo is aimed squarely at the young. I’m not sure if it’s a good sign that after seeing it with friends, one of them proclaimed that Spielberg’s all enduring classic E.T. is actually pretty terrible and only our memories of youth raise it up in esteem. So were we really comparing E.T. to E.T.E.? Our collective experience seeing Echo drew us into a discussion of really good movies that stand the test of time and whether or not youth fantasy films ever hit the level of true classic. Well, even though the stinger following the credits could set up a sequel, I doubt we will ever see E.T.E.T. (E.T.E. Two)

In the typical youth story fashion, Earth To Echo. tells the tale of three childhood friends (Tuck, Alex, and “Munch”) that go on an adventure when they realize the localized cell phone disturbance at Tuck’s house is from something bigger out in the desert. Munch is the movie’s nerd/geek/socially misadjusted kid that gets a terrible nickname because all movies about childhood nickname a kid something somewhat insulting even though I don’t personally remember nicknaming my friends that way. I think the explanation went like this: “my friends call me Munch. I don’t know why.” At least the writers admit it.

In the desert our three kids discover what turns out to be an alien. They also discover that the adult workmen building a highway in their neighborhood and forcing everyone to move out, aren’t exactly who they seem. The longer the film went, the more I figured out this is about as formulaic as kids movies get. The children are the smart ones while the parents are clueless and unobservant. The other adults are villains who want to hurt the world. The kids make multiple derring escapes from their hapless captors. Lots of faith is placed in the unknown entity because it has cute eyes. Moral lessons about not fearing things that are different from us. And in a meta-level of the tried and true, this found footage film follows the familiar formula of having the person running the camera talk incessantly and annoy the crap out of you. That would be Tuck.

Tuck – he goes on and on and he don’t stop.

Tuck is played by the worst actor in the film. I don’t really want to beat him up here because he’s still just a kid, but given that he probably made more money in those few months than I will in the next few years, I will say it is not much fun to watch him play pretend while everyone else is acting in a movie. There’s a scene where he’s motivating his friends, jumping up and down, “acting” all excited with as much believable spirit as a varsity football jock slow dancing at the school cotillion. I guess this is what you get when you hire someone who came to prominence when he auditioned for The X-Factor as a 14 year old rapper. Look it up.

Alex on the other hand has all the real gravitas. He delivers his lines with a believability that is much needed at this point. As much as a child actor can be compelling, thespian Teo Halm fairs well. A history of abuse is revealed that allows his character to connect with the alien because they are both alone and need friends more than anything. That’s really what this movie is about, the bond of friendship and how it overcomes the hardest of moments. That… and interplanetary space travel.

A boy and his space owl.

At some point they pick up the rich, seemingly insensitive female schoolmate to their group. She has everything except the respect of her parents. It’s another kiddie movie trope about not judging a book by its cover. She fights with her dad about his perception of how girls should act and in her rebellion joins the boys on their alien help mission. It seems the alien they named Echo needs assistance rebuilding its ship.

When I was a wee kid, I had a conversation with my father that Inspector Gadget is actually a cartoon for both children and adults. I was wrong. However, I think the true target audience of Earth To Echo will feel much the same way. They won’t catch the total lack of nuance in the dialog where everyone says what’s in their head, including the villainous adults who choose to just state to our group of heroes why they are digging up the town. Kids probably won’t notice that the alien is designed to look like a friendly mechanical owl so that they want to hug it instantly. They probably won’t notice that Tuck can’t act. But they will get the core message – that kids are strong, adults don’t listen, the foreign need love, and friendship is everything. And that’s not a bad thing. At it’s core level it’s an okay set of lessons for kids, wrapped up in a fantastical package. It looks good, there’s some nice moments of humor (usually provided by Munch. I guess one stereo type isn’t broken), and in the end no one gets harmed.

The movie is definitely not boring. The sleuthing in the desert is punctuated by jump scare, alien noises and near escapes from the evil adults. There’s a silly but tense enough chase scene in a truck. Following the maps from location to locations always leads to a loud scene of alien ship parts exploding out of nowhere. And in a singular moment of unexpected craziness, one of the characters dives into a moving vehicle out of some sense of righteousness. The adult in me says it’s ham handed and lacking nuance, but harmless and engaging enough. The kid in me says it’s thrilling and exciting and will want to ride my bike into the desert to find mechanical owls. As an adult the silliness does grind a bit. 89 minutes plays more like 105. But if I were ten years old, I might only think how cool it is.

The ET comparison is totally unfair.