Can of Worms is a Disney Channel Original Movie that premiered on April 10, 1999. It was based on the book with the same name written by Kathy Mackel (who also wrote the screenplay), directed by Paul Schneider, written by Peter Barsocchini, and starred Michael Shulman and Malcolm McDowell.
Can of Worms provides examples of the following tropes:
- Alien Animals: Barnabus looks exactly like a dog, but doesn't come from Earth.
- Alien Non-Interference Clause: Earth apparently has special protections placed on it due to the fact that humanity have not achieved a specific technological level yet - by sending the transmission, Mike ensures that the planet is no longer eligible for these protections, and it isn't long until alien races begin making their way to the planet. It isn't until the end when Barnabus manages to restore it.
- Bully Turned Buddy: Scott Schriebner starts out as a bully towards Mike at the start of the movie, but after he along with Mike and Jay tell him about his struggles, he becomes friends at the end.
- The Collector: The Thoad is an alien that likes to collect specimens from other planets.
- How We Got Here: The film starts with Mike using his satellite dish, which happens within 30 minutes in the film.
- Real After All: Mike is shocked to see that the alien race he had made up at the beginning of the movie actually exists, having encountered a specimen in the Thoad's collection of alien species.
- Refusal of the Call: Towards the end of the film, Barnabus asks Mike if he still wants to go with him, but Mike decides to reject it after things turned out good at the end.
- Talking Animal: Barnabus is an alien dog that can talk using translating device.
