Flight of the Navigator

    Flight of the Navigator
    1986

    Synopsis

    12-year-old David is accidentally knocked out in the forest near his home, but when he awakens eight years have passed. His family is overjoyed to have him back, but is just as perplexed as he is that he hasn't aged. When a NASA scientist discovers a UFO nearby, David gets the chance to unravel the mystery and recover the life he lost.

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    Cast

    • Joey CramerDavid Scott Freeman
    • Paul ReubensMax (voice)
    • Veronica CartwrightHelen Freeman
    • Cliff DeYoungBill Freeman
    • Sarah Jessica ParkerCarolyn McAdams
    • Matt AdlerJeff (16 years)
    • Howard HessemanDr. Louis Faraday
    • Robert SmallTroy
    • Jonathan SangerDr. Carr
    • Richard LibertyMr. Howard

    Recommendations

    • 75

      TV Guide Magazine

      Not a particularly original or insightful film of its kind, and marred slightly by the whining of Cramer in the lead role, this is nevertheless enjoyable fare for kids.
    • 75

      Chicago Tribune

      The time-shift plot may be a bit too complicated for a children's film, and the sheer amount of talk necessary to explain it may cause some restlessness. But when the film shifts into the action mode in its second half --the flying saucer returns to aid in David's rescue--it becomes quite bright and lively.
    • 75

      Chicago Tribune

      The film doesn't have the pace or the scale of Back to the Future, but it does have the same sweet moment when a child declares his love for his parents because he's seen them in a different light. Joey Cramer is quite winning as David.
    • 70

      Chicago Reader

      At times a bit too precious, especially inside the young navigator's spacecraft, but the warm regard for character, as well as for our often-inhospitable planetary home, makes for a reasonably good time.
    • 70

      The New York Times

      Flight of the Navigator may not have the originality of a true classic; and while its special effects provide some dazzling moments, they are not quite fresh enough to be brilliant. But the film is so absorbing, such constant fun, that it may well be the best family film around.
    • 63

      Orlando Sentinel

      There's no mistaking Flight of the Navigator for a really first-rate children's picture like, say, The Black Stallion. But Flight of the Navigator is an enjoyable film that encourages kids to use their heads. Unlike those children's movies that spoon-feed their audiences, this film keeps setting up challenging situations that young moviegoers must think through.
    • 63

      The Associated Press

      Flight of the Navigator won't earn a place among Disney's classics, but it's a perfectly entertaining sci-fi movie that does a creditable job with the stale human-meets-alien theme. [18 Sep 1986]
    • 60

      Empire

      Never brave enough to feel far-reaching (or, ironically, far-fetched, when time-travel and space flight are so popular at the movies), Navigator still fulfills its mission, distracting the family for bang-on an hour and a half.

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