The story of David Freeman, a 12-year-old boy who suddenly awakens eight years in the future with no memory of what happened to him and a mysterious connection to an alien spaceship, was my favorite movie as a kid. I must have watched it at least a dozen times on VHS. And it still holds up really well today.

Much of that’s due to Joey Cramer’s heartfelt and earnest performance as David, a boy lost in time. (Sadly, Cramer’s life took a downward slide into addiction and crime, as chronicled in 2020’s Life After the Navigator documentary, though thankfully he seems to have returned to sobriety.) But the film also benefits from some innovative visual effects and clever production design, as well as Alan Silvestri’s entirely electronic score, which gives the film a suitably space-y vibe.

Unfortunately, the film’s second half gets a bit overshadowed by Paul Reubens’ Pee-Wee-esque schtick as the alien Max, but when I last watched it, I was impressed by just how well the first half maintains an enigmatic, even eerie mood that keeps you intrigued and involved in David’s plight.