SPOILER ALERT! - I was mesmerized by the acting of the two young boys who maintained such innocence and vulnerability throughout the movie. Some scenes were hard to watch, especially when the boys both got stomach aches and ran home to find their wonderful dog dead, or we're led to believe he's dead for a few seconds, but he's actually wounded and bleeding at the hands of the abusive stepfather. After being puzzled by the ending where the younger brother, Bobby, flies away in a home made flying machine, I had to go back and rethink the movie. Conclusion - I think the boys did build a flying machine. A flying machine that in reality was not capable of flying having been built by school age boys in 7 days. I think Bobby died going down the hill in his flying machine right after he said "I'm going down". It was Mikey's imagination that gave the Flyer the ability to soar and take Bobby off to safety. I think inside both boys knew that he was going to die but it was his only escape from the abuse he was suffering, since Mom didn't have what it took to protect her sons. The older brother Mikey had to believe that somehow Bobby made it and was still alive out there somewhere. But in reality a boy Bobby's age,if he had flown away, wouldn't have made it through a week without being discovered by someone who would have alerted authorities. I don't think Bobby was a figment of Mikey's imagination. My conclusion is based on the following: Bobby made the statement a few times in the movie "that it won't be long now" and you got the feeling that somehow he was going to be free from the abuse or that he knew he was going to die. And there was the scene at the gas station when they were filling the flyer up with gas and the gas station attendant was a young guy with a limp who had also tried to "fly" and his injuries which caused the limp had made the newspapers. To me that was an indication that realistically things were not going to go well. The really sad part is that in the end, Mikey is still trying to protect his weak mother when she still can't face what is really happening. Mikey sends her postcards that he wrote to look like they were from Bobby. Postcards that arrived after Bobby's death to assure her that everything was alright. Extremely BRAVE boys played superbly! Horrible mother! Wonderful dog! GREAT story told with sensitivity! Outstanding directing! The ambiguous ending drives home the point that there is no nice, tidy, happy ending in an abusive situation. The damage caused by domestic violence is deep and lasts a lifetime, destroying the ability to truly trust anyone.

SPOILERS THROUGHOUT REVIEW.This is one of my all time favorite movies. I saw if for the first time when I was about 10 years old and have since then began to fully understand the ending of this movie. I think that their are a few possibilities for the ending, the first being that Mike, created Bobby, as an imaginary friend. I don't think that this is right because I think that there would have been bigger clues..and that it would have been more obvious. The Second, is that Bobby died and the story is how Mike coped with his death. If you listen closely at the beginning Hanks says, "History is all in the mind of the teller, truth is all in the telling," meaning that the truth is revealed in how the story is told..not what is being told. Then before that he talks about why a promise is so important and about the weight it carries...he's talking about the promise he made to his brother. I believe that the younger brother was killed and that creating this escape was the way that he came to terms with his brothers death.

Even people who dislike the film, usually because they find the ending confused, should appreciate the strong acting of Elijah Wood & Joseph Mazello who played the two young leads in this movie.Spoiler WARNING: At a literal level, the ending makes no sense. People who think the ending makes some sense at other levels are divided between those who 1) think the younger brother was killed by the step-father either the one time Mike (the older boy) was away dealing with the neighborhood gang, or flew off the wishing spot in his wagon to escape the situation through death & those 2) who think the younger brother is imaginary & his flying off in the wagon transformed into a flying machine signals his overcoming the abusive situation.I favor 2). It makes a lot of sense in terms of the way many children deal with abusive situations. It is not uncommon for an abused child to split his or her psyche & project the abused self into something else; a stuffed animal, even an imaginary friend. This way, it makes a lot more sense that it is always the younger boy who is abused & never Mike. In reality, it is unlikely for one of two brothers to get all the abuse, although that does happen. Also, it is Bobby, the younger brother who is also the encouraging one, the one who insists that they can overcome the situation. Also, the death of a real-life sibling through abuse would have been too shattering for an adult with this in his history to transform into as upbeat a fantasy ending as this.

Ever sense i was a kid i have loved this movie. i have always been a fan of Joseph Mazzello. the kid had pure talent in both this movie and Jurassic Park. I have been looking for the DVD or VHS to purchase at a store near me i cant seem to find it i hope it goes on DVD! well anyways great movie. If anyone knows where i can find this please contact me at [email protected] . Also can anyone really explain what happened with bobby. was her real or was he fake and was he mikes imaginary friend and his escape? lol I'm clueless. my favorite part had to be definitely where they made the monster juice and spilled it all over the kitchen its funny but also a sad part as well because of what happens to bobby due to the mess.. i would've liked to see the boyfriends face because he played his part pretty good. i think the mother was a great actress i think her name is Lorraine Bracco or some sorta name like that.. well thats all please contact mewrp24