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Flight of the Navigator poster

Movies that feel likeFlight of the Navigator (1986)

12-year-old David is accidentally knocked out in the forest near his home, but when he awakens eight years have passed. His family is overjoyed to have him back, but is just as perplexed as he is that he hasn't aged. When a NASA scientist discovers a UFO nearby, David gets the chance to unravel the mystery and recover the life he lost.

If you loved Flight of the Navigator, the closest films we have are The Incredible Journey (1963), Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). All three share Flight of the Navigator's warm and cozy feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Journey of Natty Gann (1985).

🍅 85% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.9 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Randal Kleiserwarmcozycerebralepic
12 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Disney Plus

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If Flight of the Navigator hit the spot, these will too

The Incredible Journey poster
The Incredible Journey
1963 · dir. Fletcher Markle
🍅 89%★ 7adventure · familyDisney+

Two things both keep coming back to: dog and pets

The difference: Takes it somewhere less cerebral than Flight of the Navigator does

The story of three pets, a cat and two dogs, who lose their owners when they are all on vacation. Can they find their way home?

Escape to Witch Mountain poster
Escape to Witch Mountain
1975 · dir. John Hough
🍅 87%★ 6.3adventure · fantasy · science fictionDisney+

Both land warmth and comfort at once

The difference: Sits closer to fantasy than Flight of the Navigator does

Tia and Tony are two orphaned youngsters with extraordinary powers. Lucas Deranian poses as their uncle in order to get the kids into the clutches of Deranian's megalomaniacal boss, evil millionaire Aristotle Bolt, who wants to exploit them. Jason, a cynical widower, helps Tia and Tony escape to witch mountain, while at the same time Tia and Tony help Jason escape the pain of the loss of his wife.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial poster
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
1982 · dir. Steven Spielberg
🍅 99%★ 7.9adventure · science fiction · familyStarz

Common ground in both: farewell and flying saucer

An alien is left behind on Earth and saved by the 10-year-old Elliott who decides to keep him hidden in his home. While a task force hunts for the extra-terrestrial, Elliott, his brother, and his little sister Gertie form an emotional bond with their new friend, and try to help him find his way home.

The Black Stallion poster
The Black Stallion
1979 · dir. Carroll Ballard
🍅 90%★ 7.4family · adventure

Family with a pulse of scale, in both cases

While traveling with his father, young Alec becomes fascinated by a mysterious Arabian stallion that is brought on board and stabled in the ship he is sailing on. When it tragically sinks both he and the horse survive only to be stranded on a deserted island. He befriends it, so when finally rescued both return to his home where they soon meet Henry Dailey, a once successful trainer. Together they begin training the horse to race against the fastest ones in the world.

Journey to the Beginning of Time poster
Journey to the Beginning of Time
1955 · dir. Karel Zeman
★ 7.1adventure · fantasy · family

One thread runs through both: time travel

The difference: 31 years apart, and the 1950s show

Four schoolboys go on an awe-inspiring expedition back through time, where they behold landscapes and creatures that have long since vanished from the earth.

Swiss Family Robinson poster
Swiss Family Robinson
1960 · dir. Ken Annakin
🍅 81%★ 7.1adventure · familyDisney+

Warm adventure, and it commits to that

After being shipwrecked, the Robinson family is marooned on an island inhabited only by an impressive array of wildlife. In true pioneer spirit, they quickly make themselves at home but soon face a danger even greater than nature: dastardly pirates.

Explorers poster
Explorers
1985 · dir. Joe Dante
★ 6.4science fiction · adventure · family

Both keep coming back to the same thing: alien

Middle schooler Ben spends his free time watching sci-fi films, playing video games and reading comic books. Surprisingly, his affinity for all things fantastical yields a real result – when he has a vivid dream about technology, his prodigy best friend Wolfgang manages to create a working spacecraft. Joined by their buddy Darren, the boys take off into outer space and encounter some very odd extraterrestrial life.

Mira poster
Mira
2022 · dir. Dmitry Kiselyov
★ 5.8science fiction · drama · adventurePrime Video

Cerebral science fiction in both cases

Near future. Lera Arabova is a 15-year-old girl who lives with her family in Vladivostok. Lera's father has been working at the orbiting space station "Mira" for many years and has long lost contact with his daughter, turning only into a voice on the phone. After a meteor shower hits the city, Lera has only one chance to save her loved ones and the city from a new disaster. Her father helps her in this - through satellite surveillance systems and the telephone, he uses every opportunity to send a message to his daughter, watching from above from the station her every step.

Return to Oz poster
Return to Oz
1985 · dir. Walter Murch
🍅 59%★ 6.7adventure · family · fantasyDisney+

Family built on comfort, twice over

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, finds herself back in the land of her dreams, and makes delightful new friends, and dangerous new enemies.

The Journey of Natty Gann poster
The Journey of Natty Gann
1985 · dir. Jeremy Kagan
🍅 91%★ 7adventure · family · dramaDisney+

Both lean on scale more than on adventure

America is in the depths of the Great Depression. Families drift apart when faraway jobs beckon. A courageous young girl confronts overwhelming odds when she embarks on a cross-country search for her father. During her odyssey, she forms a close bond with two diverse traveling companions: a magnificent, protective wolf, and a hardened drifter.

Time Bandits poster
Time Bandits
1981 · dir. Terry Gilliam
🍅 92%★ 6.9family · fantasy · science fictionMax

The same preoccupation in both: time travel

Young history buff Kevin can scarcely believe it when six dwarfs emerge from his closet one night. Former employees of the Supreme Being, they've purloined a map charting all of the holes in the fabric of time and are using it to steal treasures from different historical eras. Taking Kevin with them, they variously drop in on Napoleon, Robin Hood and King Agamemnon before the Supreme Being catches up with them.

The Dark Crystal poster
The Dark Crystal
1982 · dir. Frank Oz
🍅 78%★ 7.1adventure · family · fantasyPeacock

Warm science fiction in both cases

On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal and restore order to his world, before the grotesque race of Skeksis find and use the crystal for evil.

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The best-reviewed films that share Flight of the Navigator’s defining feeling.