I was???? 4 I think when I went to see it the first time. 5 maybe? I was excited to see it but I thought Elliot was dork. I remember reading a review somewhere with a person saying it's a glorified boy and his dog movie posing as sci-fi and that's spot on IMHO. Not Spielberg's best work, but I get what you are saying. I was a twisted little kid and didn't enjoy Hollywood treacle.