Disney is digging in its vaults to introduce a new generation to the films that made the studio such a powerhouse to begin with. We have already been given an updated Race to Witch Mountain, and now the next classic to blow the dust off of will be Flight of the Navigator.
Brad Copeland (Wild Hogs) is writing the remake, but no director is currently attached.
The 1986 original told the story of a 12-year-old boy who is abducted by an alien spacecraft in 1978 and reappears eight years later, still the same age and with no memory of what happened. NASA scientists discover a connection between the boy and a downed spacecraft and try to exploit the boy, who ultimately escapes with the ship and attempts to reunite with his family.
It starred a young Sarah Jessica Parker and Paul Reubens as the voice of Max, the robotic pilot of the alien ship.
Now I am not going to go off on some knee jerk rant claiming they are “raping my childhood” or even care that they are doing a remake. If remakes were so bad, no one would go to them, and films no one goes to stop getting made (see: Serenity). I am not even going to be like every other whiner claiming “Hollywood has no ideas left” because remakes might hit the top of the publicity pile, they are in the minority of scripts and projects in production, and just as hard if not harder to make.
So again we get to play the TMB Rules of a Remake game.
1) The original has to have a good story
Absolutely. The original had a whimsical charm and sense of wonderment that was unmatched in that day. The Magic of the Mouse reigned supreme and this film is a shining example as to why.
2) Majority of current audience hasn’t seen the original
This film seems to have a near cult following. It doesn’t instantly leap to the forefront of anyone’s memory but still holds a special spot for a lot of people (myself included) but it still manages to elude a lot of people’s library. Also, this remake will likely be aimed at kids to young teens, while remaining family friendly for adults too (just as the original was) and even though I take educating my kids on movies I loved, they still haven’t seen this one.
3) Original has to be at least 20 years old
The film turns 23 this summer. Check.
4) The story would benefit from a modern telling
The story still stands. This would be my only issue here is that despite its clear cultural references to the mid 80s, and that certain feel of family films of that time, the movie still holds up. Is there anything that could benefit by making this a 2009 setting? Not really. The effects maybe, but the Almond (what we called the ship) was pretty amazing back then. I have no doubt they could make a cooler looking ship, but I don’t think it NEEDS that as much as it would just be cool to see.
Overall I think this passes the test. It stands to benefit a great deal from a remake, and revisiting the story could be a lot of fun for kids of all ages.
I look forward to seeing how it shapes up and if it stands a chance against the whimsical charm of the original.
