Watch the original Flight of the Navigator on Disney Plus

From the safe: As the streaming arena continues to grow, more and more extensive studio catalogs are becoming available. This includes lost and forgotten jewels, bad-it-good duds, and just plain weird bits of film history. And you probably won’t find them waiting for streamers to put them in front of you. In from the safe Android authority aims to save these titles from the algorithm graveyard and help you get more out of your streaming subscriptions.

With a fresh start now in the works led by Bryce Dallas Howard, it’s a perfect time to revisit the Navigator’s original flight. And you can stream it on Disney Plus.

The family-friendly sci-fi adventure was a real pioneer of visual effects and also told an exciting, original story.

Definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already.

The 1980s saw a number of family-oriented science fiction films following the success of Steven Spielberg’s 1982 classic ET The Extra-Terrestrial. Some of them were pretty blatant (and inferior) copycats like Mac and Me or Nukie.

Flight of the Navigator sometimes falls into this category, but it marched to its own tune.

Despite a “Phone Home” joke, Flight of the Navigator managed quite well at standing on its own and capturing some of the ET magic, but finding another lead for itself.

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In Fort Lauderdale in the 1970s, 12-year-old David Freeman finds himself transported into the future. After a walk in the woods near his family’s house, he returns to find an elderly couple who live in their house. After contacting the police, he finds it has been eight years since he migrated from home. His parents have moved and his “little” brother is now 16 years old.

David realizes that he was kidnapped by an alien ship named Max. Armed with complex new knowledge implanted in his head during his studies, David must now work with Max to find his way back home to his own timeline.

Flawed, but worth seeing

The special effects in Flight of the Navigator are immediately noticeable. Some of the CGIs are certainly out of date, but released in 1986, they are way ahead of their time in many ways. The shape change of the spaceship looks fantastic and in combination with its practical effects the film is way ahead of its time.

The acting is pretty good too. Paul Reubens, then known as Pee-wee Herman, speaks to Max and gives the AI ​​a very human personality. Veronica Cartwright and Cliff DeYoung play David’s caring suburban parents who come to terms with the return of their son. And Sarah Jessica Parker even makes a welcome gig, made famous before sex and the city.

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The navigator’s flight sometimes feels too small. It indicates an incredibly rich and diverse universe without ever showing us. That is fine in and of itself, and even brave and interesting. But the film doesn’t convince us that everyone is interested. Or that we should take care of it. It’s an odd choice and, despite other strengths, not one that ultimately works.

For the most part, the film was well received by the critics and stood out among the family fare of the day, if not enough to become the great classic from ET, Cocoon, WarGames, or Tron.

But maybe it’s worth a second look.

Flight of the navigator for a new generation

There have been a few attempts to revive Flight of the Navigator over the years. Colin Trevorrow and Neill Blomkamp were both linked to direct reboots at different times.

Little is known about the restart of Flight of the Navigator other than that it will feature a female lead. Whether it will be a sequel or a remake, whether it is planned as a series or a film, is unclear. It will be a great opportunity to explore some of the ramifications of the first film, from time travel to intelligent galaxy life to state cover-ups of extraterrestrial life.

Howard previously worked with Disney Plus and directed two episodes of the Star Wars series The Mandalorian. She is also directing an upcoming episode of The Book of Boba Fett.

Until we see what she has planned for the reboot, you can check out the Navigator’s original flight over at Disney Plus.