Plot
A meteor shower rockets through open space. Four glowing pods are seen hiding behind the meteor shower. Suddenly the meteor shower makes a hard right and heads towards a distant planet Earth.
In a Chicago suburb, Stuart Pearson (Kevin Nealon) and his wife Nina (Gillian Vigman) head a family that includes 7-year-old Hannah (Ashley Boettcher); 17-year-old sister Bethany (Ashley Tisdale), who's just returned from a secret outing with her boyfriend Ricky Dillman (Robert Hoffman), and 15-year-old techno-geek Tom (Carter Jenkins) whose high school grades are low. Deciding the family needs some good old-fashioned togetherness, Stuart takes them to a holiday home in the middle of nowhere. Joining them is Uncle Nate (Andy Richter), Nate's 14-year-old son Jake (Austin Butler), Nana Rose (Doris Roberts), and identical 12-year-old twins Art (Henri Young) and Lee (Regan Young). Ricky also arrives unexpectedly and talks his way into staying overnight.
That night dark storm clouds swirl around the house. Suddenly, the four glowing pods land on the roof. An alien crew emerges, made up of Skip (J. K. Simmons), the tough commander, Tazer (Thomas Haden Church), a muscle-bound dude armed to the teeth, Razor (Kari Wahlgren), a lethal female alien soldier, and Sparks (Josh Peck), a four-armed techie, who is the only non-threatening intruder. Since the aliens knocked over the satellite dish Ricky and Tom are sent to fix it. Ricky then reveals to Tom that he lied about everything so far, his car didn't break down, his parents don't own a lake house,and he's a lot older than 18. Ricky is actually in college and is five years older than Bethany. They find the satellite is beyond repair. Investigating further they discover the aliens. Skip tries to lull Tom and Jake into a false sense of security, but fails. Ricky is captured and implanted with a mind control device. The aliens, called "Zirkonians", via Ricky, lay claim to the planet (when asked why they didn't just say it themselves Skip responds, "This way is more fun.") Like a puppet/robot, Ricky grabs the boys – but Tom and Jake break free.
It isn't long before all five kids have seen the aliens. Tom takes charge and the kids discover the mind control device only works on grownups, giving them a fighting chance. They realize they have a responsibility to protect the adults by keeping the aliens' existence a secret. Left on their own, the kids create makeshift weapons, like a home made potato spud gun. They even obtain and learn to use the mind controller. They soon take control of Ricky and turn him against the aliens.
The adults remain oblivious and insist the youngsters go on a fishing expedition. Meanwhile Hannah and gentle tech Sparks become friends. Unlike his alien cohorts, Sparks hates battle; he just wants to return home to his family. As the aliens attack, the kids start to fight back. Meanwhile, Jake gets captured by the Zirkonians and is tied up and in the basement. Nana Rose comes under the control of the mind control device, which gives her super-human strength and agility. Under the control of the kids, she comes to their rescue and fights off Ricky, who is again under alien control. Nana gives Ricky a huge electric jolt, causing the alien plug to dislodge. Ricky then and there breaks up with Bethany because she talks about feelings and family too much.
The kids finally reveal to Bethany what's going on, and Sparks helps by making weapons for them. He also reveals the aliens want a device hidden under the basement which will make them grow giant. After rescuing Jake, the kids defeat Skip, Tazer and Razor, who flee on their teleporting machine. Sparks calls off the invasion and returns home. The rest of the vacation goes back to normal, except the kids grew closer to each other during their adventure. In the distance, Skip (apparently thrown clear when his ship left) appears, bent on revenge against the humans, but meets his demise when a crow flies by and carries Skip off to its nest to eat him.
During the credits, Bethany and Tom take revenge on Ricky by making him look like a fool in front of his new girlfriend, using the alien mind control device. Bethany comments "I am so keeping this".
Read more about this topic: Aliens In The Attic
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)