Explorers (1985)

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:

1616 Wabasso Way, Glendale, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

There are numerous references to Looney Tunes cartoons throughout. When the boys create the sphere in Wolfgang's basement and it goes crashing out a window, the imprint in the glass looks suspiciously like Bugs Bunny's head. Also, Wak's first words to Ben and Darren are "What's up Doc?".

Goofs:

Continuity: At 07:16 on the DVD, "2517 Davana County School District" is written on the side of the school bus, but at 49:58, the sheriff's helicopter lands by a sign reading "Davanna County" and at 50:51, deputy Gordon reads a copy of the "Davanna County Gazette".

Quotes:

Mr. Müller: [to his son's "talking" rat] "Shut up, Heinlein!"

Movie Connections:

References Gremlins (1984)

Soundtrack:

ALL AROUND THE WORLD

Fantastic, imaginative, entertaining--halfway through.

Watching Explorers as a kid, sparked all the things I loved about freedom, and adventure. I was always into space, sci-fi, computers, and aliens even at a young age, and this film does a great job geeking any kid out when it comes to science, space, and adventure. I love how one of the kids had a dream about designing a circuit board, and after creating it realizes it creates a spherical force field that has virtually no speed limit, and is impossible to slow down (blasting through an entire stack of books with ease, leaving a perfect hole).

Although, once the kids get through the testing phase of the force field, and build the ship from old carnival rides (tea-cup thingie)--the movie takes another turn. Although still fun, the writer and/or director seem to lose track of the original flare, and the movie begins to wander off into a more childish, meaningless Hollywood push-out.

Over all, the film is very entertaining. I just Netflixed it so that my girlfriend could see it, and I could reminisce. It is one of my favorite childhood movies (along side the original Neverending Story).

--MR