Flight of the Navigator

"You are...the Navigator!"

"Compliance!"

Flight of the Navigator is a 1986 live-action sci-fi film by Walt Disney. David Freeman, a 12 year-old boy living in 1978, falls into a ravine after searching for his younger brother, and winds up 8 years into the future, where everyone has aged but him. An analysis of his brain reveals hidden schematics and star charts, and David later discovers an alien spaceship captured by NASA, and must work with the computer program, Max, to get back home.

A remake has also been announced.

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Tropes used in Flight of the Navigator include:

• Acrophobic Bird: Averted in the film considering David tells the ship to get 20 miles away from the base, it goes that distance straight up!
• Alien Abduction: David was taken to Phaelon for study.
• Cool Spaceship: And one that looks like a watermelon seed.
• Conspicuous CGI: Notably the ship shapeshifting animations.
• Distracted By the Shiny: Max crashes his ship because he was looking at daisies.
• Extreme Omnivore: One of the aliens on the ship eats David's hat, and almost eats his head.
• Faster-Than-Light Travel: 560 light years in 2.2 hours, also used to explain why David hasn't aged.
• Fish Out of Temporal Water: Although it's only been eight years, David has difficulties adjusting to music clips or the five brands of Coke.
• Fun with Acronyms: RALF
  • "Robotic Assistant Labor Facilitator."
• Hey, It's That Guy!: Max even laughs like Pee-Wee Herman.
  • Sarah Jessica Parker from Sex and the City is the mail girl!
  • The ship is being tracked by Dr. Johnny Fever!
• Last of His Kind: Puckmaren
• 90% of Your Brain: Used to store the star charts in David's head as an experiment. Result? "It leaked."
• Popular History: If we are to believe the filmmakers, the Bee Gees were the only pop group in 1978 that preteens wanted to go see. (So up yours, KISS, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, Aerosmith, Foreigner, Styx, and Van Halen!) What makes it really ludicrous is that the Bee Gees are equated with Twisted Sister.
• Puny Earthling: see Time Travel below.
• Robo Speak: Max before getting his data back, as exemplified in the second page quote.
• Secret Keeper: David's brother knows he's got a small alien creature.
• Spheroid Dropship: Not quite, but the ships original form is roughly spherical.
• Shout-Out: "He just said he wanted to phone home..."
• Spock Speak: Max originally speaks like this.
• Time Travel: Max would normally take his specimens back in time to when they were abducted, but has reluctance at taking David, fearing it would vaporize him.
• Totally Radical: Max speaks like this after downloading the info from David's brain.

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"See ya later, Navigator!"