After considering the responses I have had while watching several films this year, I have begun to wonder if the inner child is untethered from the grown man.Could someone who detested “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” cringed at “The Goonies,” and mildly admired “Wall-E” really know anything about childhood?I don’t have answers, but in my defense I rather liked “Hook” and the recently released “Twilight.”Anyway, thoughts like these made me hesitate before watching “E.T.: The Extraterrestrial.” The film has been a favorite for audiences for over 25 years — even undergoing some digital alterations six years ago — and has also been critically acclaimed. So while I looked forward to seeing the film since beginning my filmic journey, I was wary of having a reaction that deviated from the popular sentiment.For those dozen persons who might not have watched the film, E.T. is about a young boy and his pet alien.The kid, Elliott, finds the alien in his backyard, where he lives with his divorced mom Mary, an elder brother Michael and a younger sister Gertie.The alien had been abandoned by his fellow spacemen who fled Earth when a bunch of scary looking Fed agents got hot on their trail.As all aliens who are unfamiliar with our carbon-based planet and its fattening range of food choices, E.T. gets sick and needs to be evacuated to his homeland.  With the help of the kids and a bundle of disposable items, E.T. is able to call home. But will it get help before it gets too late?E.T. joins two themes at the hip: Americans’ fascination with extraterrestrial life and our empathy with broken families and kids finding their way back home.From the science fiction tales of H. P. Lovecraft, the palpable dread of an alien attack during Orson Welles’ broadcast of “War of the Worlds,” to the Roswell landings, Americans have relished discussions of civilizations from other galaxies – though if a person inexorably affirms that these creatures exist, such claims usually lead to accusations of kookiness.Why this is so remains a puzzle. We are unable to take care of the planet Earth, we loath cultures different from ours — the “clash of civilizations” — and we are afraid of our neighbors.Besides this love (or fear) of the other person, the film also tackles broken families. Elliott broods because his dad is no longer around, but is instead in Mexico cavorting with another woman. In search of an alternate father-figure, Elliott looks up to his brother, then he switches his devotion to E.T.Like Elliott in search of a better home, E.T. is also looking to go back. After being abandoned by those who should have cherished him, E.T. is stuck in an unfamiliar territory, surrounded by people who plan on harvesting him like a lab rat.One of the beauties of the film is how the various relationships are tackled. Although it might appear to showcase the nuclear family as the ideal type, what the film actually does is push for parental interaction in children’s lives. It deals with kids coping with an absent father and how they learn to love someone completely different from them.The increasing rapport between the creature and Elliott mimics that awkwardness we have when we meet a stranger for the first time. There is fear, then apprehension, then admiration, and then finally love. To make these relationships work, the film relies on Elliott’s innocence, Gertie’s precocity and E.T.’s lifelike representation. Elliott, played by Henry Thomas and Gertie, played by Drew Barrymore, whip up our nostalgia for earlier times through a roll of their eyes.E.T., on the other hand, is a marvel of technology. Basically, a long, rubber-necked doll with immense eyes, it still manages to appear real due to the attention the special effects crew gave to its nasal sounds, its wobbly walk and its digital gesticulations.Nevertheless, despite this cloying odor of innocence, E.T. cannot escape the machinations of its director, Steven Spielberg.There is no suspense to the story — we know the man with the keys wants E.T. and Elliott will do what is necessary to protect him. We also know — this being Spielberg, after all — that the film’s optimistic ending will leave a saccharine-flavored aftertaste.Spielberg thrives on an ability to wring every last bit of emotion out of a scene. The film presents no conflict, no difficult choice to be made. Always extremely manipulative, sometimes – especially on his serious movies — intellectually shallow, Spielberg here is a cinematic make-up artist disguising his theme park fable with the guise of children’s entertainment.The film’s sentimental ending has the solace of a soaked blanket — What is supposed to be affecting, actually feels cold.Despite some directorial bungling “E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial” remains an entertaining diversion; I’m just hard pressed to know where all the love for it comes from.—-Contact Freke Ette at [email protected]