Flight of the Navigator **** (1986, Joey Cramer, Cliff De Young, Veronica Cartwright, Sarah Jessica Parker, voice of Paul Reubens) – Classic Movie Review 10,974

Flight of the Navigator (1986) is notable as one of the first Hollywood films to use extensive CGI effects, and as one of the first to feature an entirely electronic score.

Director Randal Kleiser’s 1986 Flight of the Navigator is a delightful, entertaining sci-fi family adventure, with a good balance between special effects and Walt Disney-style drama, about a 12-year-old boy David Freeman (Joey Cramer), taken aboard an alien spacecraft sent to study life on Earth in 1978. He shocks his parents (Veronica Cartwright and Cliff DeYoung) by returning home eight years later, still aged 12, and then a flying saucer entangled in power lines is found.

There is much for children to enjoy in PSO Productions/ Viking Film’s darkly whimsical boy and his alien movie, especially the fascinating interstellar vehicle, the cute wisecracking robot Max (with the voice of Pee-wee Herman, aka Paul Reubens) and the action-packed finale.

The derivative yarn owes much to E.T., The Last Starfighter, Explorers and Back to the Future, but it still finds some fresh ground and it is thoroughly engaging in its own right, and is a fondly remembered film of its rather exciting, imaginative movie era. It also features an early appearance by Sarah Jessica Parker as Carolyn McAdams, who befriends David in his time of need.

It is a little technological marvel as well. The visual effects are an astounding achievement for the era. Kleiser employed as visual effects supervisor his brother Jeff, who oversaw the use of reflection mapping software to create the ship’s chrome-like appearance. It is one of the first successful examples of what was later known as CGI effects – five years before the groundbreaking T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). It is the first use of image-based lighting, and an early use of morphing in movies.

The groundbreaking score is composed and performed by Alan Silvestri, in a venture entirely different from his other scores. It is one of the first Hollywood films to feature an entirely electronic score, composed using a Synclavier, one of the first digital multi-track recorders and samplers.

It has become a cult classic with a following of sci-fi and Disney fans.

Also in the cast are Matt Adler, Howard Hesseman, Robert Small, Albie Whitaker, Jonathan Sanger, Iris Acker, Richard Liberty and Raymond Forchion.

Flight of the Navigator runs 90 minutes, the screenplay is by Michael Burton and Phil Joanou [Matt MacManus] from a story by Mark H Baker, the music is by Alan Silvestri and the Technicolor cinematography is by James Glennon, with Production Design by William J Creber and Art Direction by Michael Novotny. It is distributed by Buena Vista Pictures (US) and PSO Productions (international).

It is partly shot in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and in Norway, as a co-production between the Producers Sales Organization and the Norwegian company Viking Film.

Walt Disney turned it down but later agreed to distribute it in the US. It cost $9 million and earned $18,564,613.

It was announced in September 2021 that a reboot was in development, with a female protagonist and Bryce Dallas Howard to direct.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 10,974

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