Flight of the Navigator starts out strong. After a family outing on the Fourth of July, 12-year-old Joey is sent to fetch his annoying little brother from a friend’s house, but along the way big brother falls into a ravine and knocks himself out. When he wakes up and hoofs it back to his house, some old lady answers the door. She has no idea who he is. His parents are nowhere to be found. It turns out he’s been missing for 8 years. His parents, now visibly aged and haggard, break down when the police return him. His little brother is now his big brother.
This is pretty dark stuff for a Disney film, but it quickly becomes sort of an E.T. meets Close Encounters clone, with a dash of D.A.R.Y.L. and a pinch of Explorers. As the kid and his family are trying to figure out what’s going on, NASA discovers a crashed alien spacecraft. Dr. Faraday (Howard Hesseman from WKRP and Head of the Class) smells a link between the unaged Joey and the alien ship, and moves the kid to a scientific facility for observation. Hip teen rocker Carolyn (Sarah Jessica Parker) befriends Joey and eventually helps him bust out and get to the ship (a presence inside has been calling to him telepathically).
You can figure out what happens next. It’s a fun little movie with some substance, back when filmmakers treated kids with some respect.
2 Warps to Neptune 