The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Flight of the Navigator
Family · Science Fiction · Adventure · 1986
12-year-old David is accidentally knocked out in the forest near his home, but when he awakens eight years have passed. His family is overjoyed to have him back, but is just as perplexed as he is that he hasn't aged. When a NASA scientist discovers a UFO nearby, David gets the chance to unravel the mystery and recover the life he lost.
Movie details
Flight of the Navigator
“David Freeman is eight years late for dinner, and his family wants to know why. But David's got an absolutely fantastic excuse.”
1986 Family · Science Fiction · Adventure 1h 30m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.0 / 10
Community rating
12-year-old David is accidentally knocked out in the forest near his home, but when he awakens eight years have passed. His family is overjoyed to have him back, but is just as perplexed as he is that he hasn't aged. When a NASA scientist discovers a UFO nearby, David gets the chance to unravel the mystery and recover the life he lost.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Flight of the Navigator?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Meet the Robinsons
Animation · 2007
Lewis, a brilliant young inventor, is keen on creating a time machine to find his mother, who abandoned him in an orphanage. Things take a turn when he meets Wilbur Robinson and his family.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Adventure · 1982
An alien is left behind on Earth and saved by the 10-year-old Elliott who decides to keep him hidden in his home. While a task force hunts for the extra-terrestrial, Elliott, his brother, and his little sister Gertie form an emotional bond with their new friend, and try to help him find his way home.
Explorers
Sci-fi · 1985
Middle schooler Ben spends his free time watching sci-fi films, playing video games and reading comic books. Surprisingly, his affinity for all things fantastical yields a real result – when he has a vivid dream about technology, his prodigy best friend Wolfgang manages to create a working spacecraft. Joined by their buddy Darren, the boys take off into outer space and encounter some very odd extraterrestrial life.
Lilo & Stitch
Family · 2025
The wildly funny and touching story of a lonely Hawaiian girl and the fugitive alien who helps to mend her broken family.
Scooby-Doo! and the Gourmet Ghost
Animation · 2018
The Scooby gang visits a culinary resort run by Fred's uncle, Bobby Flay. While enjoying the sights, a ghost attacks the guests and destroys the resort, leaving the gang to put a stop to its threat.
The Adam Project
Adventure · 2022
After accidentally crash-landing in 2022, time-traveling fighter pilot Adam Reed teams up with his 12-year-old self on a mission to save the future.
Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost
Comedy · 2019
Mystery Inc. withdraws from solving crimes after botching a case. When Vincent Van Ghoul contacts the gang about an unfinished investigation from Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby's past, the gang springs into action to finish the job that involves catching the 13th Ghost that escaped from the Chest of Demons and is still at large.
Crater
Sci-fi · 2023
After the death of his father, a boy growing up on a lunar mining colony takes a trip to explore a legendary crater, along with his four best friends, prior to being permanently relocated to another planet.
Extinct
Animation · 2021
Op and Ed, two adorable donut-shaped animals - flummels - accidentally time-travel from 1835 to modern-day Shanghai. There they discover traffic, trans fats, and worst of all, that flummels are now extinct. It's up to this bumbling pair to save themselves and their species...and, just maybe, change the course of history.
Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century
Family · 1999
Zenon Kar, a 13-year-old girl who lives on a space station in the year 2049, gets into some trouble and is banished to Earth. With help from some Earth friends she must find her way back.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Randal Kleiser
Written by
Michael Burton · Matt MacManus
Joey Cramer
David Scott Freeman
Paul Reubens
Max (voice)
Veronica Cartwright
Helen Freeman
Cliff DeYoung
Bill Freeman
Sarah Jessica Parker
Carolyn McAdams
Matt Adler
Jeff (16 years)
Howard Hesseman
Dr. Louis Faraday
Court is in session
Put Flight of the Navigator on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.