Cocoon

Play trailer

Cocoon

PG-13

Released Jun 21, 1985

1h 57m

Fantasy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

49 Reviews

60%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Oscar-winning fantasy in which the residents of a Florida rest home get a new lease of life when they stumble across an alien "fountain of youth" in a disused holiday home. Unbeknown to them, aliens have been using the swimming pool in the house to store their cocooned brethren, giving the waters a powerful, rejuvenating quality.

Critics Consensus

Though it may be too sentimental for some, Ron Howard's supernatural tale of eternal youth is gentle and heartwarming, touching on poignant issues of age in the process.

Read Critics Reviews

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

"Cocoon" is one of the sweetest, gentlest science-fiction movies I’ve seen, a hymn to the notion that aliens might come from outer space and yet still be almost as corny and impulsive as we are.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 12, 2023

Full Review

Rick Lyman

Philadelphia Inquirer

Though the film is impressive in most details... Cocoon is most compelling for the tone of tearful hope that Howard has been able to create.

Rated: 4/4

Nov 12, 2023

Full Review

Joe Pollack

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Cocoon" really is a pretty enjoyable film; it's optimistic, and filled with warmth and love.

Nov 12, 2023

Full Review

Rick Chatenever

Santa Cruz Sentinel

Even the heartrending "E.T." was basically old-fashioned melodrama in a new sci-fi wrapping; this one, in contrast, manages to be quite provocative at the same time it's thoroughly entertaining.

Nov 12, 2023

Full Review

Robert W. Butler

Kansas City Star

Mr. Howard has a terrific sense of humor, compassion for his characters, and a willingness to look beyond the obvious for revelatory details and touches. “Cocoon” is a first-class example of popular moviemaking.

Rated: 3.5/4

Nov 12, 2023

Full Review

Malcolm Johnson

Hartford Courant

From the very start, "Cocoon" wraps us in a spell.

Nov 12, 2023

Full Review

Read all reviews

thiago s

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca que junto pessoas velhas com ets, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajudou a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/14/25

Full Review

Rich S

Let's get old together, folks! I waited 40 years to see this Academy Award-winning film. It was worth the wait and yet I don't regret waiting so long to see it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/27/24

Full Review

Joseph C

Cocoon is one of the best mainstream science fiction flicks of the 1980s.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/20/24

Full Review

R B

You probably have to be elderly to fully appreciate this film. While it is an interesting story, I think it is one of the more overrated films of the 1980's.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/27/23

Full Review

sarah h

Cocoon is awesome! One of the best non-serious scifi movies of it's day. I loved seeing all the classic black and white actors again. They've all died now, and we have this cute little ditty to remember them by.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/07/23

Full Review

Torin F

COCOON's fun-loving elderly cast and location setting makes for a really engaging and enjoyable first half. The movie fatally falters, however, with absurd plotting (the aliens' invitation after their apparent loss) that turns the film into a clumsy, sentimental analogy for the promise of the afterlife.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

06/19/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Ron Howard

Director

Don Ameche

Art Selwyn

Wilford Brimley

Ben Luckett

Brian Dennehy

Walter

Hume Cronyn

Joe Finley

Jack Gilford

Bernie Lefkowitz

Wings of Desire

95%

93%

Wings of Desire

Watchlist

Paperhouse

100%

71%

Paperhouse

Watchlist

Radio Flyer

35%

72%

Radio Flyer

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Radio Flyer

Cool World

4%

31%

Cool World

Watchlist

Mr. Destiny

35%

56%

Mr. Destiny

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Brandon Routh’s Five Favorite Films

Definitive Ron Howard Movies

"Scary Movie 4": Interview with Regina Hall

View more photos

Synopsis

Oscar-winning fantasy in which the residents of a Florida rest home get a new lease of life when they stumble across an alien "fountain of youth" in a disused holiday home. Unbeknown to them, aliens have been using the swimming pool in the house to store their cocooned brethren, giving the waters a powerful, rejuvenating quality.

Director: Ron Howard
Producer: Richard D. Zanuck, Lili Fini Zanuck, David Brown
Screenwriter: Tom Benedek
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox, SLM Production Group, Zanuck/Brown Productions
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 21, 1985, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $75.9M
Runtime: 1h 57m
Sound Mix: Surround