Flight of the Navigator is a fun little family film that’s best for children (probably boys slightly more so) aged around 8-12, but isn’t too painful for adults to watch either. It features a 12 year-old boy (David Freeman – played by Joey Cramer) who, walking through the woods one day in 1978, is unconscious for a few seconds after a fall – however, when he wakes up it is 1986! Everything is different and he finds that though only seeming like minutes to him, everything else in the world – including his parents - has aged 8 years. He has several things to try to work out – what happened to him, who did it, why, how to undo it, why is he seen as a major scientific breakthrough / national security threat, and what has this all got to do with an alien ship that has been found but that no-one can get into? Also, just whose side it the weird Dr Faraday (Howard Hesseman) on anyway? (I wonder if the character named after the famous English Scientist?… but I guess it isn’t really important.)

It’s all pretty predictable stuff though there are one or two bits of the plot that are actually reasonably clever. Joey Cramer does well in the lead role, and the acting’s not terrible all round though I’d hardly call it could. It’s one of those real flight-of-fantasy films that you can’t really suspend your belief for even for a minute (unless you’re a pre-teen… perhaps), but that’s cheesily enjoyable anyway. It’s also quite amusing to see a 23 year-old Sarah Jessica Parker in one of her early film roles. The on-board computer with a personality is voiced by none other than Pee-Wee Herman (which explains why it gets annoying so quickly…) The overall theme is of a boy discovering just how important his family are to him, amid a background of aliens and flying Frisbees… no wait, I think that should have read flying saucers…

On the plus side there are plenty of laughs to be had with some funny scenes and occasionally witty dialogue. The special effects actually aren’t that bad, they’re not exactly what you’d call impressive by today’s standards but some of them still look pretty good, and the creatures that David comes across are quite cool. Some of them are also cute / funny to various degrees, and to me the little creature that David forms a friendship with is the real star of the show. The music score is typical of a lot of 80s films, with lots of synth music and sounds that you would expect to find in Blake’s Seven. Since it’s composed by one of the most reliable of all movie composers, Alan Silvestri, it still sounds good despite the cheese factor.

Overall Flight of the Navigator isn’t am amazing film but it’s one that younger ones can enjoy while there’s enough in it to keep older ones relatively amused as well. There are no scenes in it that even very young ones are likely to find particularly scary, of it’s a good choice for keeping toddlers occupied as well. Not that I would really know, not having any toddlers myself, but it sounds logical enough to me! :-D I think most teenagers would quickly get bored with it though, as they’re not yet old enough to realise that they’re not too old for this sort of film. Inoffensive, fluffy entertainment – nothing more, nothing less.

Other Information

Directed by: Randal Kleiser (probably most famous for directing “Grease” and “The Blue Lagoon”)

Rating: U (UK) PG (USA)

Runtime: 90 minutes (about right)

Listen for the ET jibe (when they’re at the petrol station).


See also: Top Ten Children's Movies


Recommended: Yes