Always loved this Disney flick, great effects and adventurous plot that is kinda 'Back to the Future' mixed with 'Explorers' purely for kids with an extraterrestrial twist. The effects were fantastic for the time and it was the first film to use environment mapping, the CG was some of the first used in motion pictures!

This is one of the best sci-fi movies I have ever seen for kids, and not just because your kid (about 8 - 12 years old) will love it. The best thing about it is that it takes a more realistic approach to an alien encounter than most adult movies in the present day. The details are a little corny and cheesy... of course... it's a kid's movie. But the basic premise is sound:1) An advanced alien species would most likely be non-belligerent explorers. The alien (actually an alien machine) in this movie views humanity with a kind of indifference, much the same way as humans look at cats... cute, but stupid and primitive.2) Despite their indifference, the aliens don't wantonly destroy life. They are curious about all life, but they don't interfere with it or destroy it. Although aloof, the alien seems sympathetic to all life... he briefly laments that one of the creatures he is observing is now homeless, as his planet was destroyed by a comet.3) The aliens possess advanced technology that the movie doesn't attempt to explain. No tired Star Trek dilithium crystal explanations. We don't even know the alien's true shape, although we assume it's the walnut shape. It can change shape at will. This would be an epic technological breakthrough for humanity, but the second Terminator movie is the only other mainstream movie to explore this idea.If you're into the whole movies as education thing (as I am), you can really engage your kid after watching this movie by discussing what you think aliens would be like.There is no sex, no violence (guns are drawn but not used), and only one or two relatively "tame" curse words.

There is a reason for the words I put in my summary. That's because I found elements in common with the films in question. Not the most original movie, then...While not tremendous, I prefer this anytime over that mediocrity called 'Grease'. This comparison only takes place because both were directed by the same person.This is the story of David Scott Freeman (decently but not greatly played by Joey Cramer, a Henry Thomas look-alike), an American 12-year-old boy who lives in 1978. In one Summer night, he mysteriously ends up in the year 1986 after a fall. Naturally, he finds out that everything around him is no longer the same. He panics and falls in despair because he doesn't understand what is going on. Although he is taken to his family, he is the only one who hasn't aged at all.David is taken to medical examinations to find out why he has the same age after 8 years but is forced to stay more 48 hours, to which he reluctantly agrees. Meanwhile, he finds out that he has to stay longer than the promised 48 hours and he can't take it anymore and that's when his journey to return to his family begins... with the help of a talking time-machine nicknamed "Max" by him.Overall, it's an okay movie although a little sappy. Despite its faults, it gives a feeling of nostalgia. A movie like this could have been made in no other time but the 80's.

When young David is kidnapped by aliens (or, to be more precise, a sentient alien spacecraft, and then dropped off 8 years in the future, everything in his life turns to complete horrible. His relationship with every member of his family has changed, not to mention the military finding him to be of extreme interest. If only the spaceship would kidnap him back, and drop off when he came from...This is a family film with an original premise, some terrific special effects (state of the art at the time, and they still stand up well), and excellent central performances, particularly from Joey Cramer in the central role of the biggest film in his short career.This film gets nearly everything right. Although there is comedy (Paul Reuben's voice performance of spaceship Max), it is not overdone. The relationships and reactions are all spot on, and the story really works.Recommended.