Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

       View All       Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

      The Boy Who Could Fly

      PG 1986 1 hr. 48 min. Fantasy List
      64% 33 Reviews Tomatometer 69% 5,000+ Ratings Audience Score Kindly adolescent Milly (Lucy Deakins) moves in next door to autistic teen Eric Gibb (Jay Underwood). The mute Eric, whose parents were killed when he was 5 years old, lives with his hard-drinking uncle, Hugo (Fred Gwynne), and is obsessed with birds. His tendency to stand on rooftops and window ledges posed as if he's flying alarms his social workers, but when Eric saves Milly from a potentially deadly fall, she begins to believe that the boy really can take flight. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Jan 23 Buy Now

      Where to Watch

      The Boy Who Could Fly

      Fandango at Home Prime Video Apple TV

      Rent The Boy Who Could Fly on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

      The Boy Who Could Fly

      What to Know

      Critics Consensus

      Writer-director Nick Castle's careful command of tone keeps The Boy Who Could Fly from fully surrendering to its story's sentimental tendencies.

      Read Critics Reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (365) audience reviews
      Steve D Sickeningly sweet and full of cheese. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 03/05/23 Full Review Audience Member Probably would receive major backlash if it had come out today. Super slow paced. Overall just painful. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member A family, coping with loss, must overcome adversity while adapting to their new surroundings all while the kid next door thinks he can fly. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Best movie I've ever seen!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie does not hold up well at all. It was laughably bad most of the time. Never really got into it. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member yeah but he cannot talk Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

      Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

      More Like This

      View All Best Movies to Stream at Home
      29% 45% 18 Again! 88% 86% Field of Dreams TRAILER for Field of Dreams 68% 58% Always 67% 65% The Rocketeer TRAILER for The Rocketeer 21% 41% Masters of the Universe Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

      Photos

      View All The Boy Who Could Fly photos

      The Boy Who Could Fly

      The Boy Who Could Fly (1986) The Boy Who Could Fly (1986) The Boy Who Could Fly (1986) The Boy Who Could Fly (1986) View more photos

      Critics Reviews

      View All (33) Critics Reviews
      Derek Malcolm Guardian The fable just about holds together. At any rate it doesn't have much need of the glue of its soupy score. But you know Hollywood. We need to have a little pain around if we are to believe in the magic. Mar 28, 2023 Full Review Victoria Mather Daily Telegraph (UK) What is likable about this film is that it extols children being kind to each other. Mar 28, 2023 Full Review Gavin Bainbridge Empire Magazine A commendable rarity: a sensitive children's film that neither patronises them nor insults their intelligence. Jul 16, 2020 Full Review Philip French Observer (UK) A piece of sentimental uplift for the Reagan era. Mar 29, 2023 Full Review Roger Hurlburt South Florida Sun-Sentinel Everyone has dreams about flying. Here, with The Boy Who Could Fly, one feels it just might be possible -- if not in the head, at least in the heart. Jul 16, 2020 Full Review Ángel Luis Inurria El Pais (Spain) Its vision is light and full of personality. [Full Review in Spanish] Jun 5, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Kindly adolescent Milly (Lucy Deakins) moves in next door to autistic teen Eric Gibb (Jay Underwood). The mute Eric, whose parents were killed when he was 5 years old, lives with his hard-drinking uncle, Hugo (Fred Gwynne), and is obsessed with birds. His tendency to stand on rooftops and window ledges posed as if he's flying alarms his social workers, but when Eric saves Milly from a potentially deadly fall, she begins to believe that the boy really can take flight.
      Director
      Nick Castle
      Screenwriter
      Nick Castle
      Rating
      PG
      Genre
      Fantasy
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Oct 3, 2008
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $6.3M
      Sound Mix
      Surround
      Most Popular at Home Now