Randall Kleiser, still best known for directing the smash musical Grease, directed this sci-fi adventure, written by Mark H. Baker, Michael Burton and Matt MacManus, and starring David Freeman as a young boy abducted by alien spaceship.
Partially shot in Florida and Norway, as co-production with the Norwegian company Viking Film, the film was released by Disney in the U.S.
Max programs the spaceship for a mind transfer, and David is shown the eight remaining alien specimens on board. He bonds with a “Puckmaren,” the last of his kind after a comet destroyed its planet, Binpuka Minor. Max performs the mind transfer on David to reacquire the star charts, but in the process he himself contracts some human attributes.
The antics of Max and David trigger UFO reports in Tokyo and other cities. Meanwhile, NASA intern Carolyn McAdams contacts David’s family and tells them about his escape in the spaceship; as a result, Dr. Faraday has them confined to the house and Carolyn is sent back to the facility.
Fearing that he would be institutionalized for life if he remains in 1986, he orders Max to return him to 1978–at any risk. After the journey, David wakes up in the ravine and walks home.
In the last scene, set during 4th of July celebration, Max flies home across the firework-lit sky, remarking “See you later, navigator!”.
