PET SHOP is a laughable kid's fantasy flick from the team at Full Moon Entertainment. The setting is an ordinary pet shop, where a couple of evil aliens show up and disguise themselves in vaguely human-ish form in order to devour mankind. Thankfully, some local kids are wise to their ways and decide to fight back. This low budget comedy is an oddball concoction of laughs, overacting, and random special effects sequence. Much of the running time is occupied by four 'cute' alien creatures - basic puppets which look a bit like Gizmo - which periodically turn into their Earthly counterparts. It's occasionally sweet but mostly insignificant, although it does scream "1990s" for nostalgia lovers.
7 Reviews
Aliens in a small town
stefanozucchelli14 November 2021
A couple of aliens with cowboy hats want to conquer the world with some strange animals.
Unlikely plot and very badly aged special effects. It is a movie for children, simple and unpretentious, with atmospheres suitable for the years in which it was made but which is now quite unwatchable.
Unlikely plot and very badly aged special effects. It is a movie for children, simple and unpretentious, with atmospheres suitable for the years in which it was made but which is now quite unwatchable.
magical feel
petitepishe11 October 2006
I used to rent this movie over and over again as a kid. It has an eerie feel which I was very attracted to. But then again, I was a weird kid. It's sort of like a toned down Tim Burton film.....magical, abnormal things go on against the backdrop of a normal, seemingly boring town. The cinematography is cool; it's set in a small town in Arizona during the summer. Although it's definitely a kid's movie, there's almost something adult about it. It's been a long time since I've seen it, but I haven't forgotten it during all of these years. I've been trying to locate a copy of it (it's not on DVD, only VHS) to buy. The only other similar movie I can think of is a movie directed by a Michael Davis called Beanstalk (1994). I loved that one too.
Here's a cute detail
angelynx27 December 1998
...the pet shop of the title is in a mall where all the stores have strictly generic signs, not names. Early on we see that the sign "Pet Shop" has lost its "P" and so now reads "ET SHOP" - it is, of course, about to be taken over by aliens selling alien pets....
Pet shop
ashmarg066 February 2008
This movie was absolutely hilarious. I used to watch it over and over when I was a kid. I highly recommend seeing it for a few quick laughs and cowboys with cone-heads!!! Touche to the person who thought this up. I will never have any desire to see this again, but my life would't have been the same without it. One of the reasons I want to be a director is "Pet Shop". Definitely gives you a strange sense of happiness with a touch of western music thrown in. Overall, you should see this movie and make fun of it. But remember that someone's very hard work went into this, not to mention a lot of money and props, so respect the work.
Truly a work of art.
reinx22 July 2004
Seriously, hilarious, I was laughing out loud, even at 7:30am. Some people are hard on this movie for it's crappy plot, crappy acting, etc. but believe me, without those things, it would have been unbearable.
For B (or C?) movies like this, it's better if everything is done poorly to enhance the real genuine entertainment value of the film. We need more movies like this. The puppets for the "alien" pets look like they took about 30 minutes to make if that.
I'd pay good money to see it. I'm curious to see what other things the director has done. Only rarely does a work of art come about that is this superb.
For B (or C?) movies like this, it's better if everything is done poorly to enhance the real genuine entertainment value of the film. We need more movies like this. The puppets for the "alien" pets look like they took about 30 minutes to make if that.
I'd pay good money to see it. I'm curious to see what other things the director has done. Only rarely does a work of art come about that is this superb.
Harmless but awful SF/comedy
angelynx27 December 1998
Pretty, um, unique - a sci-fi comedy for little kids? Definitely trying for a Spielberg-type E.T./Goonies feel, but it's all just too cheap and silly to convince; c'mon, child-snatching villains from outer space whose earthly disguise is Nashville-style cowboy suits and "Western" accents? Other special effects are even cheesier. The kids try hard but are locked into playing "types". The whole budget was probably spent on building robots to animate the five different alien pets, which work fairly well and are cute as heck (one of them looks more like a "Furby" toy than Gizmo the Gremlin does!) --Overall harmless, but pretty awful...
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