Alan Ritchson’s best known for his roles in action fare, particularly the Prime Video hitReacher. But his favorite film of all time might surprise film buffs and delight science fiction fans.In a Facebook video, Ritchson said that his all-time favorite film is Walt Disney’sFlight of the Navigator.“I wanted to show my kids one of the greats,Flight of the Navigator,” he said, further elaborating on his love for the movie and how it runs parallel to his belief in God.
Flight of the Navigatordoes contain a premise that feels like a real-life miracle: David Freeman (Joey Cramer) winds up falling into a ravine and is knocked unconscious…for eight years. When he awakens, he hasn’t aged a day…and when an alien spaceship comes to Earth,its maps match David’s brainwaves. What follows is a truly unique sci-fi film, and it’s not hard to see why it captivated Ritchson.
‘Flight of the Navigator’ Features Unique Special Effects, and Appearances From a Few Surprise Stars
It’s hard to describeFlight of the Navigator’s plot, as it’s one of those films that runs more on “vibes” than a plot; the way David’s encounters with the spaceship and its computer, which he nicknames “Max”, feels like a half-remembered dream. Part of that is becauseMark H. Baker, who came up with the story forFlight of the Navigator,actually based the film’s events on a dream he had. “It was [originally] more of a serious film. In my story, they build the ship from his memory, so they’re experimenting with technology that they don’t understand but David does, and it gets to a point where he realizes they’re never going to let him go,” Smith said when interviewed for the documentaryLife after the Navigator. The rest of the dreamlike feeling comes from the visuals; the ship feels truly alien, and watching it soar through a series of mountain ranges is truly awe-inspiring.Flight of the Navigatorwas one of the first filmsto make extensive use of CGI. The most impressive visual effect concerns the spaceship changing into shiny liquid metal;James Cameroneven admitted that the effects work onFlight of the Navigatorwere a major inspiration for the T-1000inTerminator 2: Judgement Day.
Flight of the Navigatoralso features a few familiar faces and even a familiar voice.Sarah Jessica Parkerhas a small role as NASA tech Carolyn McAdams, aka the one adult who actually treats David as a kid rather than a scientific breakthrough. TheSex and the Cityalum would later dismiss her role as “just a job”, saying it wasn’t one of her favorite roles. But the biggest role went to the latePaul Reubens, who voices Max. DirectorRandal Kleiserrevealed that Reubens agreed to star inFlight of the Navigatoron the condition thathe remain uncredited: “He didn’t want any credit. He didn’t want his name on it. I guess he just is a quirky guy and didn’t want to have his real name so he used Paul Mall [like the cigarettes] as his name. But everybody knew it was him, I mean, the moment he did his laugh you knew!” Reubens apparently loved working with Kleiser enough to tap him for the second Pee-Wee Herman film,Big Top Pee-Wee.
Disney’s Attempted To Reboot ‘Flight of the Navigator’ Multiple Times
ThoughFlight of the Navigatordidn’t make much of an impact at the box office, it’s become a cult classic among sci-fi fans. As a result,Disney tapped multiple filmmakers to try and get a reboot off the ground.Colin Trevorrowand his longtime writing partnerDerek Connollywere tapped to work on a reboot, with Trevorrow potentially directing. Later,Neill Blomkampteased that aFlight of the Navigatorrebootwould be the first projectfrom his indie studio Oats Studio; like many of Blomkamp’s potential projects, it fell by the wayside. The most recent update was in 2021, withBryce Dallas Howardapproached to direct. A reboot ofFlight of the Navigatorcould definitely work in Howard’s hands, as she’s delivered some standout episodes for Star Wars shows, includingThe MandalorianandSkeleton Crew.It would also allow Disney to step back into the realm of sci-fi, after mostly letting that genre be covered by the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars. Given Alan Ritchson’s love of the originalFlight of the Navigator, maybe he could have a role in said reboot if Disney gets it off the ground.
Flight of the Navigatoris available to stream on Disney+.
Flight of the Navigator
