Relativity has released a new trailer for director Dave Green’s PG-rated sci-fi adventure film Earth to Echo.  The E.T.-meets-Super 8 story revolves around a trio of kids who each receive strange messages on their cellphones, leading them to a friendly alien being that needs their help.  The film is the latest entry in the found footage genre, as the kids’ misadventures with the alien (who they name “Echo”) are chronicled with handheld cameras.  There’s really nothing here that shouts “original”, as the story feels highly derivative and the found footage aspect seems shoehorned in.  It’s admirable that the film is aimed at a family friendly audience in the vein of the Amblin features of the 1980s, so hopefully the full feature has some more surprises up its sleeve.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film stars Teo Halm, Brian “Astro” Bradley, Reese Hartwig, and Ella Linnea WahlestedtEarth to Echo opens July 2nd.

Via Yahoo! Movies.

Here’s the official synopsis for Earth to Echo:

After a construction project begins digging in their neighborhood, best friends Tuck, Munch and Alex inexplicably begin to receive strange, encoded messages on their cell phones. Convinced something bigger is going on, they go to their parents and the authorities. When everyone around them refuses to take the messages seriously, the three embark on a secret adventure to crack the code and follow it to its source. But taking matters into their own hands gets the trio in way over their heads when they discover a mysterious being from another world who desperately needs their help. The epic, suspenseful and exciting journey that follows will change all of their lives forever.

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