Flight of the Navigator

FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR was a five star movie that I would endorse for almost any family looking for good general entertainment. My boys enjoyed it very much as did my wife.

As a Disney film it used the never worn out Disney theme of a family separated by circumstances beyond their control. In this case the young hero of the movie is abducted by an alien spacecraft piloted by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) who sounded very familiar. The abducted boy is missing for a period of years only to be returned to his family not a day older but eight years later.

After a series of medical tests conducted at a local hospital to explain the mystery (which has the family as well as the police baffled), NASA steps in and "borrows" the boy for a few days of further testing trying to understand a recently recovered and very secret UFO. This is when the movie really takes off and is extremely entertaining.

When my family some years later visited Disneyworld we found on their back lot two beautiful full size UFO mockups used for the filming of this movie. The first had no door and was used to represent the impenetrable UFO and the second was modeled with the door open. It was great fun to see the very stylish and full scale UFO mockup in the "flesh".

i had seen the movie before. i found it to be funny suspenceful and very intertaining my 4 year old nephew fell in love with it and we had to watch it 3 times in a row. its good for all ages

Remember that era of the movies that seemed to touch our hearts. The ones before we really understood how movies were made, and before we started to loose that magic touch of adolescence and didn't care how sappy or poorly acted films were, because well, we just didn't care. It didn't matter because films like this, 'Explorers', 'Neverending Story', 'D.A.R.Y.L.', 'Enemy Mine,' all seemed to be part of the USA Saturday morning routine, and for years I would always say in my minds eye, how they were my very favorite films as a child.

Many state that films like Flight of the Navigator can't hold up to the test of time. That is such a boldly ignorant statement, at least for me. I watched it yesterday for the first time in a decade, and it was as touching and memorable as the first time I saw it. Joey Kramer, in his only leading role, before dropping off the face of the earth, carried the whole entire film in that Henry Thomas/Barrett Oliver way, and if Paul Reubens wasn't beyond brilliant as the voice of Max, the computer alien aboard the spacecraft, and how can you not love Veronica Cartwright, as the endearing mother, I mean honestly.

Before the world became bills and deadlines, there were movies that shaped many girls and boys growing up in the eighties, and I for one can type with a smile that goes from cheek to cheek, how wonderful it was to have lived my childhood through films that truly touched at our hearts. Flight of the Navigator, sap et all, is certainly one of those timeless classics.

Cheers

A Simple plot, and visual effects of the 80's. It all adds up to a great movie that just captures your imagination and attention. You can't avoid watching it many times over.

I was in junior high when this movie came out and really enjoyed it. Watching it now, as a 35 year old, I still find it to be an entertaining science fiction film. The acting is nothing special and the lead character (David) can be annoying at time, as is Pee Wee Herman as the alien entity. And even though the science (including space time travel) is theoretically possible, the movie is a bit far fetched at times. However, it is a fun film that will capture your imagination, much like E.T. It's nice to see the occasional (rare) science fiction film that portrays alien species as "friendly" and not hostile aggressors looking to overthrow our planet. This is a good Disney film.