Title: Explorers

Year Released/Rating: 1985 PG

Starring: Ethan Hawke, River Phoenix, Bobby Fite

Written By: Eric Luke

Directed By: Joe Dante

Genre: Adventure, Scifi

Star Rating:  5/5 stars

Where I Got It: Netflix

Trivia:

• As the boys look through the junkyard for the pieces for their ship, Rosebud (the sled from Citizen Kane) can be seen sitting at the top of a pile.
• When the helicopter pilot looks at the newspaper, one of the headlines says "Kingston Falls 'Riot' Still Unexplained". Kingston Falls was the town where the events in Gremlins(also directed by Joe Dante), took place.
• The film was never finished, and was released as a work in progress when the studio decided to move up the release date and release the film as it was, telling director Joe Dante that he was finished and they were going to go ahead and release what he had at that point.
• Wolfgang's "talking" rat is named Heinlein, after science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein, who wrote many stories about young boys experimenting with spaceflight.
• Inside Wolfgang's basement, the toy monkey from the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, can be seen.
• Feature film debut for both Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix.
• River Phoenix, who had grown up in communes in South America, was somewhat unfamiliar with popular culture and slang words. During rehearsals it became a running joke when he would attempt scripted well-known words and phrases and usually pronounce them incorrectly.

Summary: 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, and discover they have been given the basis for a starship. Setting off in the ThunderRoad, as they name their ship, they find the aliens Ben hopes they would find... but are they what they seem?

Review: This is a great movie.  I feel like I would've completely fallen in love with this movie if I had watched it during childhood. Even watching it during my 30s, I really enjoyed the movie.  We get three precocious children making contact with an alien race.  There are enough science fiction references to keep the adult geek in me entertain.  Plus, we get some awesome 80s-ness.  I think we need to introduce the boys to this movie during the summer.  Something tells me they would love it!

Best Bits: 

• Wak: Look, I know I must look weird to you but how do you think you look to me? Listen, I watched four episodes of "Lassie" before I figured out why the little hairy kid never spoke. I mean, he rolled over, sure, he did that fine but, I don't think he deserved a series for that.
• Ben Crandall: [stuttering, astounded at the violent film footage] But thi - see, this isn't real! A-a-and we don't really kill people! Well, we do, b-but n-not aliens, 'cause we haven't met any!
• Ben Crandall: I've waited all my life to say this.  Darren Woods: Be my guest.   Ben Crandall: We come in peace.
• Heinlein the Mouse: [pressing buttons] I would like... cheese... go... to... hell...
• Ben Crandall: What's that?  Wak: Uhh... Space Pirates.