Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Radio Flyer

Play trailer 1:58 Poster for Radio Flyer PG-13 1992 1h 53m Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
35% Tomatometer 40 Reviews 72% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
When their parents divorce, brothers Mike (Elijah Wood) and Bobby (Joseph Mazzello) move to a California suburb with their mother, Mary (Lorraine Bracco). Soon after, she remarries a man (Adam Baldwin) who insists on being called "the King" and who beats young Bobby when Mary isn't around. The boys try to escape their harsh home life through fantasy, most of it centered on their Radio Flyer wagon. Inspired by the legend of another neighborhood boy, they hope to make it fly.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Radio Flyer

Radio Flyer

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Overlaying its whimsical concept onto a gritty story of domestic abuse, Radio Flyer is a family film that is too harrowing for children and too saccharine for their parents.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (40)
William Thomas Empire Magazine The nostalgic details are charming, there are excellent if skimpy effects (a giant buffalo, a Bigfoot cameo) and the children (Elijah Wood, Joseph Mazzello) are quite wonderful, but it's a puzzling, borderline distasteful film. Rated: 3/5 May 20, 2013 Full Review Desmond Ryan Philadelphia Inquirer Donner and Evans can't find a way to extricate themselves from the impossible structure they have erected. They remain locked into the odd combination of the dreamy and the dreadful that is entirely of their own devising. Rated: 2/4 May 20, 2013 Full Review John Hartl Seattle Times A very odd, expensive, ambitious failure that tries hard to achieve the Spielberg touch but succeeds only in reminding you of how few filmmakers can successfully lay claim to his territory. Rated: 2/4 May 20, 2013 Full Review Brian Orndorf Blu-ray.com "Radio Flyer" has managed to acquire something of a fanbase, with those sensitive to the director's earnest intent able to embrace all the shortcomings of the picture, and celebrate its unnervingly accurate read of resilient juvenile energy. Rated: B Jul 8, 2021 Full Review Malcolm Johnson Hartford Courant Too dark and upsetting for the family trade, this tale of a sadistic stepfather takes too many wrong moves to satisfy adults. Jun 7, 2018 Full Review Brian Costello Common Sense Media Child abuse, alcoholism in coming-of-age tearjerker. Rated: 2/5 Jun 20, 2017 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (480)
Carey C If it had ended like The Life of Pi did where we find out the fantasy was to cope with trauma or would have made sense… an 8 year old kid building an aerodynamic craft and flying around the world is just ABSURD! The theories that Mike actually died and the radio flyer fantasy was a way to cope with the loss makes way more sense Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 05/22/25 Full Review Josh G My brother and I used to watch this religiously. Great movie. Weird ending. Ive read that Bobby was actually killed by the king in reality.... then to cope with the trauma, the whole 'flying away in a wagon' thing was mike's only way of his mind to cope with the loss of his brother... I thank god for such a good Dad. and big brother. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/16/25 Full Review Candis S Great movie! Amazing cast and fantastic storyline. Really grabs you emotionally. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/20/24 Full Review Audience Member Sei lá, gosto muito, marcou minha infância Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member Watching this with my mother, she thinks that the boy committed suicide in the end. I always thought he did manage to fly and escape. The ending and how you see it makes the whole movie magical or cripplingly depressing. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review steve d I'm not sure who it was made for or why. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Radio Flyer

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Richard Donner

Director

Elijah Wood

Mike

Joseph Mazzello

Bobby

Adam Baldwin

The King

Lorraine Bracco

Mary

John Heard

Daugherty

More Like This

View All
Heart and Souls 58% 76% Heart and Souls Watchlist Prelude to a Kiss 63% 39% Prelude to a Kiss Watchlist Cool World 4% 31% Cool World Watchlist Mr. Destiny 35% 56% Mr. Destiny Watchlist Teen Witch 43% 74% Teen Witch Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

Radio Flyer

Radio Flyer: Trailer 1 Radio Flyer: Trailer 1 1:58 View more videos
View All

Radio Flyer

Radio Flyer (1992) Radio Flyer (1992) Radio Flyer (1992) Radio Flyer (1992) Radio Flyer (1992) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis When their parents divorce, brothers Mike (Elijah Wood) and Bobby (Joseph Mazzello) move to a California suburb with their mother, Mary (Lorraine Bracco). Soon after, she remarries a man (Adam Baldwin) who insists on being called "the King" and who beats young Bobby when Mary isn't around. The boys try to escape their harsh home life through fantasy, most of it centered on their Radio Flyer wagon. Inspired by the legend of another neighborhood boy, they hope to make it fly.
Director
Richard Donner
Production Co
Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Fantasy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA)
$4.0M
Runtime
1h 53m
Sound Mix
Surround
Most Popular at Home Now