after the simple looking little spacecraft lands in a automobile wrecking yard , out steps a steel-gray , human-like creature with aquamarine eyes and clad in a muscular suit . spencer , the boy who observes this , having seen his fill of science fiction flicks , figures this thing must be a robot from outer space . with the exception of disney and a few others , most studios view children's films as a way to ship a cheap and unimaginative product and thereby make a quick profit . star kid stands out as that rare kids' film that is undoubtedly low-budget but is also highly imaginative . remember , the robot ? it wasn't one at all but rather a " phase one assault cyborsuit . " the cyborsuit is actually a prototype combat enhancer developed by the trelkins and jettisoned for latter retrieval when they are under attack from the invading broodwarriors . the significant twist in the story is that spencer gets to go inside the cyborsuit , and the cyborsuit , nicknamed cy , has plenty of spunk . cy keeps questioning the kid about everything including words like " cool . " upon hearing that " command , " cy starts rapidly decreasing the temperature in the cyborsuit until spencer screams for him to stop . and when cy speaks , we see spencer's view , the backside of cy's lips and eyes . as 12-year-old spencer , joseph mazzello from the jurassic park film series gives a remarkably good performance as a wimpy and initially tongue-tied kid . even when enclosed in his powerful new cyborsuit , he has his fears but he learns to overcome them . " if you run away , things don't get better , whether it's bullies , spiders , or girls , " his science teacher advises him after he has difficulties dealing with all three . turbo ( joey simmrin ) , the school's chubby bully , beats up on him , spiders frighten him , and , most embarrassing of all , he can't speak when in the presence of his would-be girlfriend . with his cyborsuit on , he learns some bravery that transcends his time inside cy . spencer lives with his dad and his older teenage sister stacey , played by a smart-mouthed ashlee levitch , who looks like a younger sarah jessica parker . stacey derides her brother , whom she barely tolerates , by referring to him only as " the fungus . " this whole setup for spencer's downtrodden and delightfully funny life makes his acquisition of some superhuman powers a source of mirth and empowerment . the beauty of mazzello's performance is that you can vicariously experience his fear and share in his enjoyment when he goes after the bully to teach him a lesson he'll not soon forget . the ensuing mayhem has some of the home alone antics , but the slapstick is kept tightly under control by writer and director manny coto so that one never feels embarrassed to be laughing . the romantic angle is handled ever so delicately . when cy wishes to know if spencer wants to mate with the object of his desire , michelle ( lauren eckstrom ) , his eyes open wide in revulsion . " mate with her ! " spencer exclaims . " pllllleeeeease , i just like her that's all . " the show has many funny twists . in one , cy sees a man in a barney-like costume and begins firing at him , thinking he is an alien life-form . soon things get way out of hand , and cy and spencer have to beat a hasty retreat . as proof positive of the show's class , it actually contains tasteful bathroom humor -- thought that was an oxymoron in a kids' picture , didn't you ? cy cannot allow spencer to leave the cyborsuit , and what happens when he needs to urinate becomes both sweet and hilarious . the director's staging of this sequence is one of the film's more charming moments . oh , and eating is pretty funny too . spencer , whose idol is the comic book character " midknight warrior , " gets to face the challenge of a lifetime when a broodwarrior comes to capture the cyborsuit . spencer's valiant battle gives him a chance to find his mettle . and the action sequences in the battle manage to be quite respectable for a kids' show full of inventiveness and lacking the usual repetition . for a family movie mixing humor , fantasy , and action , star kid delivers . although it's probably not the sort of movie you'd want to see without kids , with them you'll have a magical time with a relatively straightforward but well developed story . you'll be rooting for and laughing with spencer and his buddy cy all the way through . star kid runs 1 : 41 . it is rated pg for fantasy combat . although the basically cartoonish broodwarrior might scare the littlest kids , i saw none of this in evidence in our packed screening , so i would say the show is fine for kids five and up , and possibly the younger ones . my son jeffrey , age 8 , got really excited about the picture . he called it " an especially good movie " and gave it * * * * . when i asked him to tell me his favorite characters , he mentioned almost everyone in it from the boy to the cyborsuit to the bully . 
