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 | punishment | school | social worker | teacher | 

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Taglines:

Between a silent boy and a beautiful girl lies an amazing secret.

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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

The band Thrice released a song based on the film, titled "A Song For Milly Michaelson" on their 2007 LP The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV The song is based on the character Milly from this film..

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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

Psychiatrist: Tell me about your accident.
Milly: I was on a bridge, reaching for a flower and I fell over the railing.
Psychiatrist: You told your mother something about a boy who rescued you.
Milly: What are you, a shrink?
Psychiatrist: Yes.
Milly: Great, now I'm wacko.
Psychiatrist: It's important that you tell me everything you remember about this. Let me be the judge of whether you're wacko or not, okay?
Milly: Yeah, okay. I fell fifty feet without a mark on me, except for this.
[points to the small bandage on her forehead]
Milly: And I got this when I hit the railing. I didn't ...
[...]

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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

Featured in At the Movies: Runaway Bride/The Iron Giant/Twin Falls Idaho/Deep Blue Sea/Genghis Blues (1999)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

A warm and poignant tale.

In an atmosphere of fantasy, the movie explores several real human issues. The story centers on a mother (Bonnie Bedelia), her young teenage daughter (Lucy Deakins), and her pre-teen son (Fred Savage) as they struggle to cope after the beloved father's sudden passing. Their grief is intensified by the manner of his death and their almost immediately having to adjust to a new life, a new home, a new neighborhood, and for the kids, a new school and new friends. Into this mix enters Eric (Jay Underwood), the apparently autistic teenage boy next door, who is coping with demons of his own as a result of his parents' sudden death in an airplane crash. So grief is involved, and adjustment, and trying to fit in, and acceptance of human differences, and courage, and love - love within a family group and among people, as well as real boy/girl love. Writer-director Nick Castle deals with these issues with respectful sensitivity, as does the excellent ensemble cast of Lucy Deakins, Jay Underwood, Bonnie Bedelia, Fred Savage, Colleen Dewhurst, Fred Gwynne, and Mindy Cohn. That fantasy might be important to plot movement shouldn't be surprising, considering the movie's title. However, whether that fantasy is allegorical or real, or both, is in the eyes of the beholder. In any case, it's a warm and poignant tale, and it deserves a high place in the literature of motion pictures.