New York Magazine‘s Vulture blog took a certified smell expert to see Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World in 4D this weekend, and the news isn’t good. He declared the film’s special “Aroma-scope” to be a real stinker.

The title’s fourth dimension refers to scratch-and-sniff cards that were supposed to enhance what was going on onscreen – you see vomit, then scratch the card to presumably smell it, too. (In an otherwise positive review, the Chron‘s Marc Savlov responded to the 4D with a resounding “Meh.“)

So what were the findings of Chandler Burr, the former perfume critic for The New York Times and currently the Director and Curator of the Center of Olfactory Art at the Museum of Arts and Design? He broke down eight of the scents, from bacon and blue cheese to baby poop and dog farts, and wasn’t impressed with any of ’em.

Or, as summed up by Vulture: “Vomit that smells like chocolate, candy that smells faintly like blueberry muffins, and bacon that doesn’t smell like anything at all.” Sniff.

This article appears in August 19 • 2011.

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A graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Kimberley has written about film, books, and pop culture for The Austin Chronicle since 2000. She was named Editor of the Chronicle in 2016; she previously served as the paper’s Managing Editor, Screens Editor, Books Editor, and proofreader. Her work has been awarded by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for excellence in arts criticism, team reporting, and special section (Best of Austin). The Austin Alliance for Women...