Explorers (1985)

A boy obsessed with '50s sci-fi movies about aliens has a recurring dream about a blueprint of some kind, which he draws for his inventor friend. With the help of a third kid, they follow it and build themselves a spaceship. Now what?

Director:

Joe Dante

Writer:

Eric Luke

Stars:

Ethan Hawke, River Phoenix, Jason Presson

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ethan Hawke	...	Ben Crandall
River Phoenix	...	Wolfgang Müller
Jason Presson	...	Darren Woods
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
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
Robert Picardo	...	Starkiller / Wak / Wak and Neek's Father

Storyline

This space adventure stars Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix as misfit best friends whose dreams of space travel become a reality when they create an interplanetary spacecraft in their homemade laboratory. Ben Crandall is a young visionary who dreams of space travel while watching late-night B monster movies, pouring over comic books, and playing Galaga in the confines of his bedroom. But one night he has a vivid dream of flying over a space-like circuit board and shares his visions with his best friend Wolfgang Muller, a young scientific genius who is able to translate his dreams into a complex computer program that actually works. With the help of their new friend Darren Woods, they create a homemade spacecraft and embark on a secret adventure to another galaxy where they find that things are not always as different as they seem.

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Plot Keywords:

child flying spacecraft | alien | spaceship | dog | junkyard | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild language and action, and a brief scene involving beer

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cherie Currie was considered for a role but, according to her autobiography, she was in the throes of drug dependency and could not even succeed to a meeting.

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Goofs

When the boys are christening the "Thunder Road," Ethan Hawk's character tries unsuccessfully to break a beer bottle on it. Then after they each take a drink from the bottle he throws back over the space ship into the creek where you here an exploding sound and glass breaking. The sound of the beer bottle breaking is actually the sound of a light bulb be broken. A beer bottle would not make a popping sound like that because even if were under pressure from the carbonation of the beer it would have to be in a vacuum, which it isn't. Light bulbs implode rather than explode causing the popping sound due to the vacuum they are in. The beer bottle should have sounded more like a small window being broken.

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Quotes

Ben Crandall: I've waited all my life to say this.
Darren Woods: Be my guest.
Ben Crandall: We come in peace.

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Alternate Versions

The shorter version released on home video as "A special home video version of Explorers", actually contains a scene which does not appear in some theatrical versions. In this scene, Ben falls asleep in class and finds himself in a dream where all his classmates have disappeared. With his glowing gift from his alien friends in hand, he rises out of his seat to find the Thunder Road in the corner of the classroom looking brand new. (It had fallen into the lake while returning home after their visit with the aliens.) Ben then finds himself flying with Wolfgang, Darren and Lori.

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Connections

Referenced in Men in Black (1997)

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Soundtracks

Free Ride
Composed and Conducted by Jerry Goldsmith

User Reviews

Classic kids' adventure, hugely underrated

All kids should watch this - between the ages of 6 and 13. I saw this when it came out on video - I was 8 - don't know how I missed it at the cinema - it couldn't have had a big release in the UK. I loved the detail and imagination within this movie - like the one dream that the three boys all share, the sphere they create from their computer, the guard dog they give bubble gum to, the amusement ride seat they turn into their spaceship, with windows made from the fronts of washing-machines and TVs. And our three heroes make a great team. They are all very different in character, yet share that same dream of escape and adventure. Ethan Hawke is the main hero - the one that most viewers will relate to - the average 80's kid hooked on television, daydreaming during school lessons and a huge crush on the girl next door. River Phoenix is his nerdy computer-whiz friend with an Einstein-like crazy father (played by James Cromwell) and Jason Presson is the mature, yet weird kid with a troubled home-life. The magic of this movie is in its innocence and the dreams that the kids are able to turn into reality. The first half is pure 80's kids' adventure movie. The second half becomes pure "Dante", as it dives into 50's-style B-movie sci-fi - exactly what Dante is referencing and sending up, yet paying homage to at the same time. What our heroes find out in space is certainly not what they expect or what we expect. They feel let down by their discovery and in some way, we do too. But there are so many great scenes in this film - the chemistry between the 3 main actors is great - they really bond well together and we get drawn into the film because of Dante's attention to detail in these characters. It's a funny combination of child adventure and B-movie sci-fi but kids will love it, and as you grow up, you learn to see (like many great kids' films) many new details that pass you by as a kid but keep you entertained all over again from a different perspective. A highly overlooked 80's adventure movie, almost as good as The Goonies, but far less commercial, due to Dante's unique approach. Go and see it now, or see it again or watch it with your kids - you will all love it.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

12 July 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Explorers

Filming Locations:

Aviation High School - 2025 Manhattan Beach Boulevard, Redondo Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,607,340, 14 July 1985

Gross USA:

$9,873,044

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,873,044

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1