A boy obsessed with '50s sci-fi movies about aliens has a recurring dream about a blueprint of some kind, which he draws for his inventor friend. With the help of a third kid, they follow it... Read allA boy obsessed with '50s sci-fi movies about aliens has a recurring dream about a blueprint of some kind, which he draws for his inventor friend. With the help of a third kid, they follow it and build themselves a spaceship. Now what?A boy obsessed with '50s sci-fi movies about aliens has a recurring dream about a blueprint of some kind, which he draws for his inventor friend. With the help of a third kid, they follow it and build themselves a spaceship. Now what?
- Awards
- 1 win & 6 nominations
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAs the boys look through the junkyard for the pieces for their ship, Rosebud (the sled from Citizen Kane (1941)) can be seen sitting at the top of a pile.
- GoofsOn the maiden voyage of the Thunder Road, right after the sphere-field activates, the camera cuts to the front of the ship for a brief second and a half, and we can see the boys, mainly River Phoenix in the middle, waving their hands very enthusiastically and out of character for the scene. It's possible that this was an outtake that was cut into the film by mistake. Joe Dante has always said that due to studio pressure, the film released is basically a rough cut.
- Alternate versionsSome international video and television versions omits several musical cues from the soundtrack including a moment where Jerry Goldsmith's score accompanies the Mr. Ed theme sung by Wak and the 80s music Wak listens to on Darren's Walkman (in these versions, you can't hear the music at all). Several score cues are also missing aboard Wak's spaceship and in the first third of the film. It is unclear where this is a mastering issue or a music rights issue.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Phoenix Portal (2005)
- SoundtracksAll Around the World
by Robert 'Bumps' Blackwell (as R. Blackwell) and Monica Millet (as M. Millet)
Performed by Little Richard
Courtesy of Speciality Records, Inc.
Featured review
Fantastic, imaginative, entertaining--halfway through.
Watching Explorers as a kid, sparked all the things I loved about freedom, and adventure. I was always into space, sci-fi, computers, and aliens even at a young age, and this film does a great job geeking any kid out when it comes to science, space, and adventure. I love how one of the kids had a dream about designing a circuit board, and after creating it realizes it creates a spherical force field that has virtually no speed limit, and is impossible to slow down (blasting through an entire stack of books with ease, leaving a perfect hole).
Although, once the kids get through the testing phase of the force field, and build the ship from old carnival rides (tea-cup thingie)--the movie takes another turn. Although still fun, the writer and/or director seem to lose track of the original flare, and the movie begins to wander off into a more childish, meaningless Hollywood push-out.
Over all, the film is very entertaining. I just Netflixed it so that my girlfriend could see it, and I could reminisce. It is one of my favorite childhood movies (along side the original Neverending Story).
--MR
Although, once the kids get through the testing phase of the force field, and build the ship from old carnival rides (tea-cup thingie)--the movie takes another turn. Although still fun, the writer and/or director seem to lose track of the original flare, and the movie begins to wander off into a more childish, meaningless Hollywood push-out.
Over all, the film is very entertaining. I just Netflixed it so that my girlfriend could see it, and I could reminisce. It is one of my favorite childhood movies (along side the original Neverending Story).
--MR
helpful•679
- Michael_Reed
- Jun 6, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Istraživači
- Filming locations
- 920 D Street, Petaluma, California, USA(Lori Swanson's house)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $25,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $9,873,044
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,607,340
- Jul 14, 1985
- Gross worldwide
- $9,873,044
- Runtime1 hour 49 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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