Explorers
1985, PG, 109 min.
Directed by Joe Dante, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Ethan Hawke, River Phoenix, Amanda Peterson, Dick Miller, Meshach Taylor, Mary Kay Place.

Hawke and Phoenix made their acting debuts in this movie about three kids who invent a spaceship in their backyard and are contacted by aliens. Explorers can be seen as part of the legacy of 1982’s E.T. Released during the summer of 1985, Explorers belongs to 1985’s school-break abundance of wacky science-project movies including Back to the Future, Gremlins, The Heavenly Kid, Weird Science, and My Science Project. Explorers is neither the best nor the worst of the lot. The Saturday Morning Fun Club continues every last Saturday of each month, and is co-sponsored by Ain’t It Cool News, Sapient, The Austin Chronicle, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

This article appears in April 20 • 2001.

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Marjorie Baumgarten is a film critic and contributing writer at The Austin Chronicle, where she has worked in many capacities since the paper's founding in 1981. She served as the Chronicle's Film Reviews editor for 25 years.