*batteries not included

In a rundown New York apartment building marked for demolition, the few remaining tenants refuse to move. Frank and Faye Riley run a small diner on the ground floor, and with a former boxer, a young Puerto Rican woman and an artist, they make up the last resistance against a developer's campaign to clear the block for a new skyscraper. When a pair of tiny extraterrestrial craft takes shelter in the building to recharge, the visitors side with the residents, using their abilities to turn the pressure tactics back on those trying to force everyone out.

The film was directed by Matthew Robbins, his fourth feature after Corvette Summer, Dragonslayer and The Legend of Billie Jean, from a screenplay he wrote with Brad Bird and Brent Maddock. Ronald L. Schwary produced for Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment. Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy play the Rileys, with Frank McRae, Elizabeth Peña, Michael Carmine and Dennis Boutsikaris among the cast of thirty-one credited performers. Made for about 25 million dollars, it took roughly 65 million worldwide, a solid return for a family-oriented effects comedy.

Audience responses have been warmer than critical ones: on IMDb it holds 6.6 from around 40,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.7 from 839 votes, while the critics' rating stands at 5.4 from 20 reviews.