Flight of the Navigator (1986)

 

Almost everyone knows the big Disney classics, no contest. Yet there were a slew of films (often direct to video) that may not be supreme masterpieces yet left a lasting legacy and imprint on those who saw them at a young age. Case and point 'Flight of the Navigator', which is in essence an okay throwaway adventure, but should you have seen this one as a child you will remember it fondly.

It doesn't really hold up all that well years later, but it's... fine, I guess?

David Freeman is a twelve-year-old kid in 1978 who wants to teach his dog how to catch a frisbee. The film even opens with dogs catching frisbees during the opening titles and it's really weird. When he has to go get his younger brother at night, he falls down a small ravine and when he wakes up, it turns out it's 1986. However David hasn't aged a day. At the same time, Nasa discovers a spaceship that rammed an electrical pylon. 

Coincidence? Me thinks not.

David is being prodded and poked but manages to escape into the hanger where the ship is. Turns out it is from a planet called Phaelon and was sent to examine specimens, including David. The reason it is 8 years later, is because the ship's AI Max feared David's body would not endure time travel. But now they have to evade the authorities and try to get back home, one way or another. 

It's pretty by-the-numbers all the way and it's fine. I mean, it's nothing special, everyone does their job but it isn't special or anything. Most notably, the voice of the spaceship is done by Paul Reubens (aka Pee Wee Herman), but he didn't want people to know. 

So maybe the story is bog standard, but the spaceship itself is the most memorable part of the entire film. It has a very unique design and with its reflective surfaces it still look really odd yet cool. And what little kid wouldn't dream of having his/her own spaceship? Come on, admit it. 

Heck, I still want one. 

This is one of those fairly typical 80s kids' flicks that fly by and just are. No big lessons, no major takeaways, nothing really to make it stand out from about a million others, except the spaceship in this one. But like I said: if you saw this as a kid, it will probably have left a massive feeling of nostalgia and warm fuzziness.