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The Boy Who Could Fly

  • 1986
  • PG
  • 1h 54m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
6.9K
YOUR RATING
Lucy Deakins in The Boy Who Could Fly (1986)
Official Trailer
Play trailer1:40
1 Video
50 Photos
DramaFantasyRomance

An autistic boy who dreams of flying touches everyone he meets, including a new family who has moved in after their father dies.An autistic boy who dreams of flying touches everyone he meets, including a new family who has moved in after their father dies.An autistic boy who dreams of flying touches everyone he meets, including a new family who has moved in after their father dies.

  • Director
    • Nick Castle
  • Writer
    • Nick Castle
  • Stars
    • Lucy Deakins
    • Jay Underwood
    • Bonnie Bedelia
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    6.9K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Nick Castle
    • Writer
      • Nick Castle
    • Stars
      • Lucy Deakins
      • Jay Underwood
      • Bonnie Bedelia
    • 46User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
    • 67Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 5 nominations total

    Videos1

    The Boy Who Could Fly
    Trailer 1:40
    The Boy Who Could Fly

    Photos50

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    Top cast35

    Edit
    Lucy Deakins
    Lucy Deakins
    • Milly
    Jay Underwood
    Jay Underwood
    • Eric
    Bonnie Bedelia
    Bonnie Bedelia
    • Charlene
    Fred Savage
    Fred Savage
    • Louis
    Colleen Dewhurst
    Colleen Dewhurst
    • Mrs. Sherman
    Fred Gwynne
    Fred Gwynne
    • Uncle Hugo
    Mindy Cohn
    Mindy Cohn
    • Geneva
    Janet MacLachlan
    Janet MacLachlan
    • Mrs. D'Gregario
    Jennifer Michas
    • Mona
    Michelle Bardeaux
    Michelle Bardeaux
    • Erin
    Aura Pithart
    • Colette
    Cameron Bancroft
    Cameron Bancroft
    • Joe
    • (as Cam Bancroft)
    Jason Priestley
    Jason Priestley
    • Gary
    • (as Jason Priestly)
    Chris Arnold
    • Sonny
    Sean Kelso
    • Bad Boy
    Meredith Bain Woodward
    Meredith Bain Woodward
    • Female Administrator
    • (as Meredith B. Woodward)
    Raimund Stamm
    • Attendant #1
    Dan Zale
    • Attendant #2
    • Director
      • Nick Castle
    • Writer
      • Nick Castle
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews46

    6.66.9K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    8mjarvis0

    Lovely movie and there could be an interesting sequel

    Like other commentators before me I watched this film as a young man and it touched me. In fact it moved me to tears. Now I am older I am still touched by the simplicity of this film and yet it is complex in showing us that from adults to children we all have things to deal with. The reason why Eric Gibb could fly is the most touching of all and in case there are people who do not believe that it is possible for one to sense tragedy in one close to you, believe me it's real.

    As I pen this comment I have just watched it again and cannot help but feel that even twenty years plus since this movie came out there is the scope for a sequel 'The Man who could fly' I am not talking about a TV series but a one off movie showing our stars meeting again in adult hood. Something to think about. I liked this movie and I would like to own it on DVD should it be released for the European audience.
    7sixtwentysix

    Flying Dangerously Close To The Ground

    A classic 80's film that nears cheesy pap but still avoids and retains heart through excellent pacing, dialog and acting. It might not hold up as well as when I first saw it because the family film concept had not yet been run into the ground yet for me.

    Fred Savage does a good job in an interesting subplot that involves a bully and funerals for GI JOE soldiers. Fond memories of his confrontation with the neighborhood bullies still color my memory of this film.

    A fun warm family fantasy that seems to be in short supply as of late due to it being nearly impossible to make something realistic because of the amount of film cliche in the modern world. Still, the film is very watchable and fun. 7/10
    8SnoopyStyle

    gentle sensitive family film

    Milly Michaelson (Lucy Deakins), her little brother Louis (Fred Savage) and mother Charlene (Bonnie Bedelia) move into their new home. She gets a new friend in pushy Geneva Goodman (Mindy Cohn) while Louis gets bullied by Geneva's brother and his friends. Charlene has a difficult time to start anew after losing her husband. Eric Gibb (Jay Underwood) is a mysterious mute boy living in the room facing Milly. His drunken uncle Hugo (Fred Gwynne) is his guardian. People think Eric is autistic. He started to believe that he could fly at 5 when his parents died in a plane crash. Milly wonders if he could truly fly. Their teacher Mrs. Sherman (Colleen Dewhurst) works to keep him from being institutionalized with Milly's help.

    It's a wonderful sensitive film that is good for the whole family. Lucy Deakins is endearing and sweet. There is a gentle magic about the movie. It's very romantic in the simple childlike way and also surprisingly funny. The family drama is poignant. It's a live action fairy tale.
    7runamokprods

    Gentle, touching and intelligent 'family film'

    Sappy? Yeah, I guess at times… but this also mostly earns its big heart, and treats early teens with more far dignity and insight than most films.

    Lucy Deakins is terrific as an intelligent, thoughtful 14 year old, who slowly grows to care for the autistic boy next door. He doesn't speak, but dreams only of flying away, a condition brought on by the deaths of his parents in a plane crash years before. Now he's in the care of an alcoholic uncle (the always wonderful Fred Gwynne), and the powers that be think he might be better off being institutionalized.

    Almost all the acting is top notch, which is crucial in this character based story. Jay Underwood walks various fine lines as the titular boy, named Eric. By turns mysterious, locked in, charming he seems believable as an emotionally isolated adolescent as well as a possible source of magic. Colleen Dewhurst doesn't have a lot of screen time, but makes something rich and real out of a concerned teacher who doesn't want to see Eric locked away, knowing it will kill his spirit. And Bonnie Bedelia makes a touching warm and understanding widowed mom.

    There are some scenes where the comic relief is more than a little forced, and a sub-plot about a little brother taking on neighborhood bullies seems grafted on from a far more Disney-ish film. But this Capra-esque gentle, bittersweet fantasy is a great 1980s film for tweens even today, and not a bad one for adults as well.
    10gkearns

    A warm and poignant tale.

    In an atmosphere of fantasy, the movie explores several real human issues. The story centers on a mother (Bonnie Bedelia), her young teenage daughter (Lucy Deakins), and her pre-teen son (Fred Savage) as they struggle to cope after the beloved father's sudden passing. Their grief is intensified by the manner of his death and their almost immediately having to adjust to a new life, a new home, a new neighborhood, and for the kids, a new school and new friends. Into this mix enters Eric (Jay Underwood), the apparently autistic teenage boy next door, who is coping with demons of his own as a result of his parents' sudden death in an airplane crash. So grief is involved, and adjustment, and trying to fit in, and acceptance of human differences, and courage, and love - love within a family group and among people, as well as real boy/girl love. Writer-director Nick Castle deals with these issues with respectful sensitivity, as does the excellent ensemble cast of Lucy Deakins, Jay Underwood, Bonnie Bedelia, Fred Savage, Colleen Dewhurst, Fred Gwynne, and Mindy Cohn. That fantasy might be important to plot movement shouldn't be surprising, considering the movie's title. However, whether that fantasy is allegorical or real, or both, is in the eyes of the beholder. In any case, it's a warm and poignant tale, and it deserves a high place in the literature of motion pictures.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Fred Savage's film debut.
    • Goofs
      Cables holding Eric can visibly be seen as he and Millie are falling off the roof of the school before they crash into Millie's mom.
    • Quotes

      Bad Boy: So you thought you could make it around the block?

      [Louis pulls out a water pistol]

      Bad Boy: Oh, so now I'm supposed to be scared of a water pistol?

      Louis Michaelson: There ain't no water in this gun.

      Bad Boy: So what's in it?

      Louis Michaelson: Piss!

    • Alternate versions
      The Disney Channel version of this film that aired in 1987 had been edited. Some scenes had been edited down or taken out, and the bad language had been dubbed. Also at the end of the program the star Jay Underwood gave a special message to young viewers telling them not to try anything they saw him perform in the film. He explained that they had special wires attached to him to make it look as though he could fly.
    • Connections
      Featured in Motormouth: Episode #1.1 (1988)
    • Soundtracks
      Walkin' On Air
      Written and Performed by Stephen Bishop

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    FAQ19

    • How long is The Boy Who Could Fly?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 15, 1986 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Canada
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Si quieres puedes volar
    • Filming locations
      • Bloedel Floral Conservatory, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada(Milly falls in the park)
    • Production companies
      • Lorimar Film Partners
      • Lorimar Motion Pictures
      • William F. White International
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $7,177,431
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $204,461
      • Aug 17, 1986
    • Gross worldwide
      • $7,177,431
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 54 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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