The Boy Who Could Fly (1986)

An autistic boy who dreams of flying touches everyone he meets, including a new family who has moved in after their father dies.

Director:

Nick Castle

Writer:

Nick Castle

Stars:

Lucy Deakins, Jay Underwood, Bonnie Bedelia

3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lucy Deakins	...	Milly
Jay Underwood	...	Eric
Bonnie Bedelia	...	Charlene
Fred Savage	...	Louis
Colleen Dewhurst	...	Mrs. Sherman
Fred Gwynne	...	Uncle Hugo
Mindy Cohn	...	Geneva
Janet MacLachlan	...	Mrs. D'Gregario
Jennifer Michas	...	Mona
Michelle Bardeaux	...	Erin
Aura Pithart	...	Colette
Cameron Bancroft	...	Joe (as Cam Bancroft)
Jason Priestley	...	Gary (as Jason Priestly)
Chris Arnold	...	Sonny
Sean Kelso	...	Bad Boy

Storyline

Charlene Michaelson, her two children - teen-aged Amelia 'Milly' Michaelson and precocious adolescent Louis Michaelson - and their dog Max move into a new house in a new neighborhood after the passing of Charlene's husband/the kids' father, Donald Michaelson. Beyond life without Donald, they are all nervous about starting a new life, which, for Charlene, means getting back into the workforce after thirteen years. Milly quickly settles into the neighborhood if only because she becomes fascinated with their next door neighbor, teen-aged Eric Gibb, who authorities believe is autistic. Orphaned Eric has never spoken a word, and without having been told about the incident, began to think he could fly at the exact moment his parents died in a plane crash. Many believe Eric's belief is because he felt he could thus save his parents. Eric's guardian is his dipsomaniac Uncle Hugo Gibb. Milly's high school teacher, Mrs. Carolyn Sherman, who used to be a special needs teacher, looks after Eric ...

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Plot Keywords:

autism | school | social worker | teacher | flying | 

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Taglines:

Wish hard enough... love long enough... and anything's possible.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 September 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chlopiec, który umial latac

Filming Locations:

Bloedel Floral Conservatory, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$204,461, 17 August 1986

Gross USA:

$7,177,431

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,177,431

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lorimar Productions, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On the UK CBS/Fox videotape of the film. There was a warning just before the start of the film, which a voiceover was heard saying "The Boy Who Could Fly. The scenes that include flying in this film are performed by professional stunt artists observing special safety rules under strict supervision. Do not in any way attempt to imitate any of the stunts performed."

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Goofs

Cables holding Eric can visibly be seen as he and Millie are falling off the roof of the school before they crash into Millie's mom.

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Quotes

Milly: I found out about the boy next door. His name's Eric Gibb. They think he's autistic.
Louis Michaelson: He's got some marbles loose, or what?
Milly: Well, they don't exactly know, but he's never spoken a word in his life and he doesn't like being around people. There's some institute that wants to come and take him away, but Mrs. Sherman says he's better off with his uncle. He's in my class at school. Mrs. Sherman, she used to teach those kinds of kids. She thinks that maybe being around normal people will help him, or ...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

The Disney Channel version of this film that aired in the late 1980's had been edited. Some scenes had been edited down or taken out, and the bad language had been dubbed. Also at the end of the program the star Jay Underwood gave a special message to young viewers telling them not to try anything they saw him perform in the film. He explained that they had special wires attached to him to make it look as though he could fly.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: The Fantastic Four (2015)

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Soundtracks

Back of the Bus
Music by Bruce Broughton
Lyrics and vocals by Nick Castle

User Reviews

They don't make 'em like this anymore.

I'm so tired of modern family movies full of fart jokes or movies where teenagers make love to pastries and it's supposed to be funny and then they staple on some superficial message at the end in an attempt to be poignant and balance out all the trash that came before. Every other week we are tortured with some nonsense of this calibre and whenever I wish for a movie that stands out from the crowd I have to go back in time and consider some overlooked gem. The Boy Who Could Fly is exactly that.

The characters seem so real and their emotions genuine, it builds at a slow pace but it never gets boring and story development is consistent. This is not a ferociously loud summer crowd-pleaser or something bloated with pointless SFX. Very few movies have the power to make a whole story out of characters and situation alone without feeling the need for some ridiculous set piece or blaring thrash metal guitars.

In fact Bruce Broughton's score is the wonderful opposite of that. The performances, especially the two leads, are flawless and the direction is far more refined than the typical. Everything in this movie comes together perfectly to make a film so unique and charming. If you have lost your faith in the current dreck that graces our screens and if you want a family movie with some meaning and subtext then check this out. And keep an eye out for director John Carpenter as on of the Coupe De Villes.

The DVD is in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen and in Dolby 2.0. It has an introduction by Jay Underwood and director Nick (Michael Myers) Castle, they also feature in a commentary with Lucy Deakins and Fred Savage.