Super Babies: Baby Geniuses 2

Super Babies: Baby Geniuses 2 is rated PG: for action violence and some rude humor.

Stan Bobbins (Scott Baio) is about to sign the biggest contract of his career. His deal with German media mogul, Bill Biscane (Jon Voight), will take his little daycare operation and turn it into a worldwide franchise of seismic proportions.

But while Stan and his wife Jean (Vanessa Angel) go through the contortions of contract negotiations, the kids at the center catch a whiff of something bad. And it's not just dirty diapers.

The white-haired Bill is a painfully obvious villain, with a thick accent and a staff of minions dressed all in black. While Archie (Max and Michael Iles), Finkleman (Jared and Jordan Scheideman), Rosita (Maia and Keana Bastidas) and Alex (Josua and Maxwell Lockhart) can't quite place their small pudgy fingers on what he is up to-- they know it's no good.

Discussing their suspicions around the lunch table, these superbabies (who are partially animated to allow them to carry on adult conversations) appear to be merely jabbering to Kylie (Skyler Shaye) and the other caregivers who have no clue how to speak "baby".

Luckily, the legendary Kahuna (Gerry, Leo and Myles Fitzgerald), a pintsize hero with a secret lime green concoction that gives him electrifying powers, can understand them. He swoops in on a super-charged go-kart just in time to power punch his way through a group of thugs who are trying to kidnap the babies.

World domination was the premise of the 1999 prequel Baby Geniuses, so it should come as no surprise that yet another scoundrel is trying to control the planet using young minds in SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2. But unfortunately evil scientists with ill-conceived ideas aren't the only things the two films have in common.

An abundance of dim-witted, distracted or totally evil adults are paraded across the screen in order to make the preschoolers look smarter than ever. Although most of the interactions between the kids and grown-ups are exaggerated to cartoon-like levels, Kahuna and the toddlers do resort to poking eyes, punching and kicking when it comes to dealing with the bad guys. Parents may also be concerned when Kahuna hooks a rope onto the back of a moving vehicle and hitches a ride down the road on his roller blades.

Encouraging kids to turn off the lame programming on television may be one positive message this film promotes. But it may leave many others questioning why they are sitting through this stinker of a movie when there are smarter things to do.

Studio: 2004 Sony PIctures Home Entertainment. Visit the official movie site.

Viewing numbers drop dramatically when the kids discover other things to do besides watch TV. What kinds of activities do you enjoy participating in?

Which of Kahuna’s gadgets would you like to own?

Because of laws regulating the amount of time a child can work on a film set, twins or triplets are often cast to play young characters. To see what the laws are for your state, go to: http://www.dol.gov/esa/programs/whd/state/childentertain.htm

If you are into mini heroes, check out a group of little miners who come to the rescue of a beautiful princess in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs . In Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, a father accidentally minimizes his children and their friends with his latest invention.