Saw this back at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Okay I get it, this is a children movie. Children movies are meant to be entertaining for young viewers to sit back and be in awe with something funny, fast paced and highly enjoyable. I understand. But "Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out" is one of the worst children films that I have seen.

The film suffers from a lack of charm as the characters, setting, and environment doesn't offer much to make the story creative or interesting in the slightest. The main story feels like it would work perfectly for Television either on Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon but the way it was written and it's direction doesn't make things better and very sloppy. Many of the performances were not good and the actors were trying their best but they seem to really struggle on trying their best. Most of the humor felt stale and the dialogue moments were really poor and felt forced as if the film was trying it's hardest to be in the TikTok eras. The special effects and costumes were poor as if they looked like something you would seeing from the early 2000s, the soundtrack was annoying, and the direction was all over the place.

Most of the characters were really uninteresting and if I had seen this a child, I may have been invested with them. I saw this online and I allowed my young siblings to see it since they enjoy watching science fiction stories. While he did enjoy some moments, he didn't seem to be able to fully grasp the film and did almost fall asleep halfway. That's really saying something. At the end, this is mainly for children and I understand this isn't a film for my demographic. I am sure many children might enjoy this film as there are characters and scenes they would like. But honestly, this was really really bad.

Rating: F.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, not expecting the gut-punch it provided. The two leads, Jacob Buster as Calvin and Emma Tremblay as Itsy, provided outstanding performances. They were adorable, even though they both played outcasts. (Lesson: It's okay to be different. You don't have to change so you can belong to a certain group.)

It was a movie of laughs and tears, a movie for the entire family. It had the annoying little brother with his uncool antics as well as the parents who were deemed uncool by Itsy. There was the typical high school politics with the mean girl and the lone boy who was ridiculed. It was heart-warming to see the two main characters evolve.

I'm anxiously awaiting distribution of this entertaining film so I can see it again.

Audience: Family

Rating (in my opinion): PG

This film delighted my family and I. The story and performances are adorable. Justin (Calvin) and Emma (Itsy) drew me in and gave solid performances. Well done you two. I found the main family to be endearing.

It made me laugh, cry a bit, and laugh some more. Funny, cute, and touching. My family was very entertained and kept guessing as to how it would end.

A lower budget film, but I didn't mind because I enjoyed the story and characters enough not to care.

Also, we recognized some areas in our home state of Utah. And recognized some familiar faces as well. Loved that.

Overall, I loved finding a wholesome family show we could all enjoy together. (Online viewing during Sundance Film Festival 2023). It's full of charm, innocent fun, and a bit of heart. I'm a fan. Watching it together with my family created a good memory for us.