The Forgotten Sci-Fi Movie Ethan Hawke Starred In Before Becoming Famous

Joe Dante, best known for directing 1984's "Gremlins" and its sequel, thrives in the 1950s B-movie genre. Flashes of cartoon comedy can also be found in his work, such as 2003's "Looney Tunes: Back in Action," along with satirical dark comedic aspects in films like "The Burbs." The '80s experienced a boom in sci-fi adjacent films that mimicked the Spielbergian formula where the wondrous nostalgia of childhood mixed with the otherworldly awe of extraterrestrial existence, and Dante incorporated aspects of this in his 1985 science fantasy, "Explorers."

There are several factors behind the commercial failure that greeted the film on its release: a rushed production, along with the release of "Back to the Future" around the same time, overshadowed most of the film's merits, which were appraised positively by critics at the time. Although "Explorers" is no "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," the film's innate charm helped it garner a cult following over the years, despite the fact that it bombed at theaters at the time of release.

Most of the endearing charm that "Explorers" exudes can be traced back to the three child actors who bring the central trio to life. With "Explorers," Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix launched their theatrical debuts as teen best friends Ben and Wolfgang, while Jason Presson played Darren Woods, a punk youngster with a knack for assembling machines with access to the local junkyard. This aspect plays an important role, as the boys end up constructing a spaceship and traveling to outer space, guided solely by a vision of a circuit board that forms the basis of the craft's design. Of course, the far-fetched nature of the premise falls within the ambit of science fantasy, where anything is possible and the limits of suspending disbelief are stretched to the fullest.

So, what happens in "Explorers," and why is it so beloved? 

Ben's strongest suit is his vivid imagination, which often spills over to waking dreams about fantastical science-fiction premises, given his deep love for the genre and a burning curiosity for the unknown. His best friend, child prodigy Wolfgang, urges him to work on a circuit board design that he keeps seeing in a vision, and the two develop a microchip while juggling school work and evading bullies. Once Darren gets involved, the boys brainstorm and are able to generate an electromagnetic bubble that can move at near-limitless distances and speeds, without being affected by the laws of inertia. How are they able to accomplish this feat? Frankly, the specifics do not matter as long as the methodology feels somewhat plausible: what matters is that these kids are passionate enough about their interests to build a working spacecraft out of an abandoned Tilt-A-Whirl car, which they affectionately name Thunder Road.

Parts of "Explorers" feel suitably goofy enough for a film that wants to underline the magic of limitless imagination and the unstoppable power of friendship, but things start to get really, really eccentric around the third act. Their spaceship gets hijacked and tractor-beamed mid-flight, and the boys meet two young aliens, whose idea of humanity is solely based on pop culture (especially how films depict our hostile attitudes towards extraterrestrial life). This is a sweet enough idea, as we see the boys bond with the young aliens, but parental intervention exposes them to the darker aspects of such groundbreaking discoveries, but the matter is readily resolved once everyone talks it out.

The manner in which these revelations occur is super whacky, with an ever-optimistic Ben steering the story forward toward an equally surreal ending where his dreams turn into a sandbox for actualizing his deepest desires. I'm sure that watching "Explorers" as a child is bound to feel much more magical than as an adult, but the pull of dreamlike make-believe is often stronger than reality, even if it is fleeting.