#178: Flight of the Navigator

Release Date: August 1st, 1986

Format: Streaming (Disney+)

Written by: Michael Burton and Matt MacManus

Directed by: Randal Kleiser

4 Stars

1986’s Flight of the Navigator is a great kid’s movie, maybe a perfect kid’s movie. 

The story involves David, a 12-year-old boy who falls into a small ravine in the woods behind his parents’ home and knocks himself unconscious. When he awakens hours later and returns home, he finds that his parents and kid brother are gone, and the house is refurnished and now occupied by an elderly couple whom he’s never met before. He’s understandably distraught, and the couple have no other recourse than to call the police for this poor boy who is seemingly lost.

It’s at the police station that authorities confirm his identity: David Freeman, 12-years-old, went missing on July 4th, 1978. They even confirm that David was declared legally dead years earlier.

But where has David been the past 8 years? And more importantly, how has he not aged during that time? Surely this all must be some sort of clerical mistake.

It’s not until they return David to his parents that they learn this is no mistake. David is shocked to see his father’s hair receded and fringed with gray, and worry lines now crease his mother’s brow. His kid brother, Jeff, is 16 and bigger than he is. 

It’s a captivating plot conceit, adapted from a story by Mark H. Baker, which is given another layer of complexity when we learn that just a few miles from the site of David’s disappearance, a space ship has crash landed into power lines on the outskirts of Ft. Lauderdale. NASA officials are quick to arrive and contain the scene, and when they learn of a newly discovered missing boy who hasn’t aged the past 8 years, they suspect that the two phenomena must be more than a coincidence.

The plot works so well that one can’t help but wonder how it might fare if it were made in different genres. Would it be even better as a horror sci-fi? How about as a straight adult drama? Or an edge-of-your-seat action thriller?  

These possible iterations are fun to consider. What we end up getting with Flight of the Navigator is a kid’s movie that never talks down to its young audience. It explores interesting and sometimes frightening concepts such as time travel, extinction, and aging; it’s honest in its presentation of childhood, especially in regards to a child’s powerlessness in an adult world; and, ultimately, it affirms a belief in friendship, family, and bravery.

The direction, by Randal Kleiser, is assured and evocative. I loved the score by Alan Silvestri, fresh off his work on Back to the Future. And the performances are just great, especially Joey Cramer as David. It’s a demanding role, and he’s able to hit every note, from fear to wonderment to triumph. He’s the heartbeat of the film.

It’s just a wonderful movie, whether you’re a kid or not.