You probably haven’t heard of Stephen Chow, Asia’s #1 comedy star/director, and it’s a shame.

His previous film, 2005’s Kung Fu Hustle, was a masterful exercise in silly CGI slapstick that wore its many American influences - from West Side Story to The Matrix – on its sleeve. Kung Fu Hustle carved out a nice little niche stateside, raking in a respectable $17 Million, and is the second highest grossing film in Hong Kong history, trailing only Titanic. (A sequel to the film is currently in the works.)

For his latest film CJ7, Chow has made his first foray into family film territory. Channeling E.T., he’s also paying homage to the man who inspired him to become a director, Steven Spielberg.

Chow (in an unusually restrained performance) plays Ti, a poor but dedicated father who slaves away all day at a construction site to make sure his son Dicky Chow (actress Xu Jiao, in her film debut) can attend an elite private school. In fact, the two are so destitute, that a favorite hobby of theirs is playing whack-a-mole with all the cockroaches in their dingy hut.

Despite his friendliness, Dicky sticks out like a sore thumb: his face is caked in dirt, his clothes and shoes are in shambles, and since his family is so poor, he can’t afford any of the high-tech toys his schoolmates regularly flaunt. The most popular toy is the “CJ1” – a tiny, robotic dog owned by Dicky’s snobby nemesis. Dicky finds himself the object of ridicule by everyone at his school, including his mean teacher Mr. Cao (Lee Sheung Ching) who derides Dicky for his idealism.

Dicky’s only confidante is the stunning (albeit underutilized) teacher Miss Yuen (Kitty Zhang), and his only friend comes in the form of a girl who possesses superhuman strength, as well as a shrill voice that belies her man-child physique. In a rare moment exhibiting Chow’s trademark cartoonish CGI gags, Dicky’s bodyguard engages in a schoolyard duel with a bully, heaving him into another dimension.

Since Ti can’t afford to get Dicky the “CJ1,” he goes to the junkyard and stumbles across a mysterious green orb which he brings home for Dicky to play with. To Dicky’s surprise, the orb turns out to be an extraterrestrial dog-like pet with extraordinary powers. The “pet,” which Dicky names “CJ7,” is incredibly cute. With a furry head and giant, round eyes, it looks like a Furby (remember those?), and is twice as lovable. (Apparently, “CJ” is the designation for Chinese ‘Primary Trainer’ aircraft.)

However, when Dicky brings the perky little alien to school to try and fit in with the uppercrusty kids, chaos ensues.

Okay, the pet is REALLY cute. In fact, it belongs in the pantheon of cute cinema critters, along with Gizmo and the Ewoks. Unfortunately, the li’l critter is by far the most interesting thing about Chow’s film.

Shot in widescreen in filmmaker Chow’s hometown - the port city of Ningbo, just south of Shanghai – the film is imbued with rich colors that makes even the junkyard look splendid. While actress Xu Jiao is fantastic as young Dicky Chow, whenever the action leaves the schoolyard, the movie tends to drag. And this may be a cultural difference, but the father/son dynamic between Ti and Dicky is far from charming.

When it’s revealed that the film’s most exciting sequence – where the CJ7 arms Dicky with alien boots that allow him to soar into the stratosphere and bend balls like Beckham – is merely a daydream, one can’t help but feel duped, since these awe-inspiring scenes hint at the thrilling film that could’ve been.