Flight of the Navigator

by Michael Burton and Matt MacManus, directed by Randal Kleiser

Release: 1 August 1986
Format: Feature Film
Genre: Science Fiction
Audience: Families
Content: Definite Time Travel
Original Language: English

Twelve-year-old David Freeman stumbles down a ravine and wakes up eight years later without having aged. The explanation is that David was taken on a quick trip to the planet Phaelon, taking 2.2 hours for him while eight years passed on Earth. Relativistic time dilation, right? That’s the explanation, but it doesn’t scan because Phaelon is a full 560 light years from Earth, so at least 1120 years would have passed on Earth unless the aliens truly did have some form of time travel. The clincher comes at the end when David explicitly travels through time. Conclusion: alien time travel technology.

— Michael Main

This is totally rad. You’re like my big little brother.

DEBUT

Flight of the Navigator (at movie theaters, USA, 1 August 1986).

VARIANTS

1 English variant

TAGS(SPOILERS!)

Time Travel Methods

Alien Time Travel Technology

Themes

Relativistic Time Dilation: But actually more than mere time dilation.

Groupings

Cited in Worlds Enough and Time, edited by Gary Westfahl ()

TIME TRAVEL ITINERARY (SPOILERS!)

From Earth, 4 July 1978 ⋙ to Earth, 1986. Note: Although this is explained as relativistic time travel, but the math doesn’t work out for that, and there must be some actual time travel here.
From Earth, 1986 ⋙ to Earth, 4 July 1978. Note: And this leg obviously has real time travel.