It was with the best of intentions that I offered to look after a friend's kids for the afternoon, but when it came to keeping them out of mischief I was at a bit of a loss - kids, they be crazy! Good thing, then, that I had a preview of the Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens from work that I could try out on them.

After attending a load of kiddies parties, surrounded by boys running around on a sugar rush - all sporting a Ben 10 T-shirt, I figured that the iconic kids' franchise is still going strong, with the upcoming Ben 10: Omniverse soon to start on Cartoon Network.

Sure enough, the pair of youngsters entrusted to my afternoon care were thrilled by the prospect of catching an early glimpse of the brand new Ben 10 movie. The four-year-old bounced around the room, giddy with excitement, while his seven-year-old brother overwhelmed me with all his Ben 10 knowledge. The gist of the information overload was that Ben 10 is actually Ben Tennyson, and wears an Omnitrix (which looks to me like a wristwatch - but as my wards assured me: "IT'S NOT A WATCH!!!") - which lets him turns into a range of incredible alien forms.

Now, aliens are a little out of my comfort zone, but after I pressed play, these kids weren't just at home with Ben 10's adventures - they were absolutely enthralled!

As the story unfolded of Ben 10's grand adventure with his grandpa Max and cousin Gwen, as they try to stop an alien from destroying their home city of Bellwood, I was amazed - and I'll admit a little taken aback - by the explosions and bullets flying across the TV screen. But the boys seemed more than okay with it, declaring the action to be, and I quote: "So cool!"

Thanks to Ben’s antics, due in no small part to his perpetually malfunctioning wristwatch  (oops I mean Omnitrix), the boys attention never once drifted from the screen. Instead they spent just over an hour cheering Ben on, as he ran away from the vengeful alien hunter who proved to be the movie's main baddie.

The movie just zipped by, and both kids and I made it through quite happily.

So parents, the great news about Ben 10: Destroy All Alien is that it will entertain the young 'uns without any trouble at all. It will make a great birthday gift - or form part of a Ben 10 marathon, if you're looking to put on a theme birthday party. 

And with Ben 10: Omniverse premiering soon on Cartoon Network, you can count on any self-respecting Ben 10 fan to be ecstatic to get their hot little hands on the latest Ben 10 movie. It's due out in the shops soon, but if you're in the market for a marathon session, you can't go wrong by investing in the whole of the first season of Ben 10: Ultimate Alien on DVD.