Explorers

Drive-in totals for this yardsale of 80s kid movie standards:

No dead bodies
No breasts
1 bloody nose
2 child stars (Ethan Hawke, River Phoenix)
1 kid with head in the clouds
1 unlikely kid scientist
1 cynical kid, implied child abuse
4 inattentive parents
1 dad's new girlfriend
1 prepubescent blond babe
1 school bully, with goons
1 math test
2 times called on in class while daydreaming
2 times obnoxious bitch raised hand, answered correctly
5 cool hangouts (rooftop, hilltop, creek, basement lab, workshed)
1 talking mouse, vulgar
1 troublesome cat
1 vicious junkyard dog
1 humorous gopher
1 Masters of the Universe comic book prop
128kB RAM
2 Star Wars references
1 Star Trek reference
1 shout-out to Bruce Springsteen
1 Maltese Falcon reference
1 Citizen Kane reference
4 homages to Chuck Jones (Joe Dante trademark)
4 classic sci-fi movie clips (The War of the Worlds, The Day the Earth Stood Still, This Island Earth, It Came From Another World!)
1 lovable stop motion robot
3 lovable alien muppets
1 spaceship fashioned out of derelict carnie ride
2 alien spaceships ripped off from A New Hope
3 counts substance use by minors
2 inexplicable chewing gum gags
1 instance move made at drive-in
gratuitous I want my MTV-era music video interlude
coed hand-holding
smooching
continuous headphone usage
multiple cloud-flying sequences
multiple Tron ripoff sequences
abundant Atari Tempest-based FX
NASA worship
show-stopping cameo by Dick Miller (Joe Dante trademark)
exploding shed
exploding concession stand
helicopter chase (no crash)
spaceship crash (no burn)
playground fu
psychic lightning fu
inertia fu
Flubber fu
3 stars — check it out