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 .