Explorers (1985)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Joe Dante

Writer:

Eric Luke (written by)

Release Date:

12 July 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Sci-Fi | Fantasy | Adventure

Tagline:

You don't need a driver's license to reach the stars.

Plot:

Ben Crandall, an alien-obsessed kid, dreams one night of a circuit board. Drawing out the circuit, he and his friends Wolfgang and Darren set it up...

Plot Keywords:

Dream | Space | Alien | Alien Contact | Exploration

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Ethan Hawke	...	Ben Crandall
River Phoenix	...	Wolfgang Müller
Bobby Fite	...	Steve Jackson
Bradley Gregg	...	Steve Jackson's Gang
Georg Olden	...	Steve Jackson's Gang
Chance Schwass	...	Steve Jackson's Gang
Amanda Peterson	...	Lori Swenson
Danny Nucci	...	Nasty Kid at School
Jason Presson	...	Darren Woods
Dana Ivey	...	Mrs. Müller
Taliesin Jaffe	...	Ludwig Müller
James Cromwell	...	Mr. Müller
Brooke Bundy	...	Science Teacher
Tricia Bartholome	...	Girl in Classroom
Eric Luke	...	Darren's Teacher

MPAA:

Rated PG for some mild language and action, and a brief scene involving beer. (special home entertainment version)

Runtime:

109 min | 100 min (restored video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Netherlands:MG6 | Argentina:Atp | Peru:PT | West Germany:12 | Australia:G | France:U | South Korea:12 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

920 D Street, Petaluma, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The view of the "city lights" is a model which includes a suburb that looks suspiciously like a circuit diagram, complete with logic gates and an integrated circuit.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Darren puts the headphones on Wak's head, he puts them on the side of his eyes. His ears are much lower on his head.

Quotes:

Heinlein the Mouse: [pressing buttons] I would like... cheese... go... to... hell...

Movie Connections:

References Citizen Kane (1941)

Soundtrack:

ALL AROUND THE WORLD

Great sci-fi for the family.

I had the pleasure of seeing this movie with my parents when I was ten and I really enjoyed it. In fact, whenever I see it on now I still enjoy it. This movie is a movie the whole family can get behind. This one is not about some obnoxious little brats outsmarting their parents or some other adults at every turn ala "Home Alone", this one is about kids doing something that all kids really enjoy exploring. Though they do their exploring at a very extreme level. It starts with a series of dreams that one friend tells another and pretty soon they make the device that was seen in the dreams. It apparently makes some strange spherical airtight shield. They decide to make a ship to put the device around and they put in some air tanks so they can breath. They then take their device for a rather humorous test drive, but near the end of their first run something seems to take control of their ship...they avoid disaster and then another dream shows them how to make a device that seems to provide air. The next time they try the ship they let the force take them to a spaceship far away. In it they meet up with some aliens. The movie goes at a rather good pace and is very funny. I really enjoyed it at the theater and so did my parents at the time. A few surprises are also included as well in this one.