Explorers is yet another gem from the criminally underrated Joe Dante. After Dante struck box office gold with Gremlins, nothing else he has done since has achieved the same level of success. Explorers was the first film he made after Gremlins, but it failed to strike a chord with audiences. A shame really because I think it's one of Dante's best films. Slightly flawed perhaps, but it's a fairly intelligent kids film, not to mention quite charming.<br /><br />Explorers was one of a series of films that followed in the wake of ET. But I've never really been much of a fan of ET. It seemed a little too calculated to me, too geared to be a crowd-pleaser, and too mired in Spielberg's preoccupation with friendly aliens to work as a coherent story. I've always found Joe Dante to be a refreshing alternative to Spielberg because of his sly, irreverent style of storytelling. He brings a healthy dose of pessimism to Explorers but balances it with the right amount of child-like wonder, that in Spielberg's hands would have become excessively mawkish.<br /><br />The film begins inside a surreal dream sequence, where a young boy Ben Crandell (Ethan Hawke's film debut) is flying above a circuit-board that is a dizzying array of colours, electrical flashes and breakers. Ben has no idea what the dream means, but he feels compelled to draw a diagram of the circuit-board. He shares this with his best friend Wolfgang Muller (the late River Phoenix) a young scientist.<br /><br />After hooking up with another lad, Darren Woods, the three are all sharing similar dreams. Each dream they have seems to convey more information to them, eventually coming to the conclusion that it is scientific data. It allows them to construct a perfect sphere of self-sustaining energy. They decide that this sphere could be used to travel through space, theorising that may have been the purpose of their dreams. They build a spaceship out of a Tilt-A-Whirl and use it to encase the sphere. And take off on an incredible adventure.<br /><br />Explorers really is a quite charming film. The first half dwells on the three lads gradually coming together, and combining their skills for the common goal of exploring space. Dante directs these scenes very well, the dream sequences have a surreal, engaging beauty, and there is a refreshing lack of over-sentiment in the dialogue exchanged by our heroes.<br /><br />There is something so appealing to me about the premise of three children building a spaceship. The fact that the ThunderRoad, as they name it, is constructed from a fairground ride with TV screens and washing machine doors for windows seems to add to it's charm. And the science is surprisingly intelligent for a kids film. The scenes where they create the ball of energy lead up to some marvellous special effects sequences.<br /><br />Two scenes that spring to mind are the ball flying out of control. Once in Wolfgang's laboratory where it ricochets off the walls, and another where Wolfgang is inside the sphere and it takes him on a journey overground, and under!<br /><br />Some of the special effects are really magical, which is all the more impressive considering Explorers was made over 20 years ago. The sight of the ThunderRoad flying over the American continent is exhilarating, especially when they crash into a drive-in, and are intercepted by a police helicopter, ironically being mistaken for a UFO.<br /><br />But when the ThunderRoad goes into orbit, the story takes an odd turn. They are captured by an alien ship, which shows off some pretty impressive set designs. The alien ship has a vastness in scale that quite takes one aback, with a very weird scene with a mechanical spider thing that checks out Ben and Wolfgang.<br /><br />Then we meet the aliens. But they're not what we're expecting. They're bizarre in the extreme. Bright green, antennas. That in itself is not so unexpected, but when we have aliens performing stand-up routines and quoting Bugs Bunny, it's hard not to think the film's gone off course.<br /><br />Explorers was an unfinished film, because the studio moved up the deadline, so it's not too surprising the ending feels a bit chaotic. In fact it's quite a hodgepodge of clashing styles. Bits of comedy mixed with serious points. These aliens have picked up TV broadcasts from Earth, and are familiar with lots of different SF/horror films. Especially the ones where humans attack aliens. They didn't visit Earth because they're afraid humans are really like that, and believe we will annihilate ourselves unless we change our ways. Which is why they communicated through dreams to the boys, to get to know a human, up close and personal.<br /><br />There is a nice message buried under all the chaos and Little Richard numbers at the end if you look hard enough. With the amount of film references, this is where Dante's trademark in-jokes come to the fore. It's nice to see it taking on a different form this time rather than just playing in the background. It's allowed to take centre stage.<br /><br />I was a bit disappointed by the sudden manic change in direction but a bit amused to discover the two aliens were teenagers who took their Dad's spaceship for a joyride. Robert Picardo, who voices one of the aliens, Wak, makes him into one of Joe Dante's most memorable creations.<br /><br />Explorers may have an odd ending, but I still feel it's a high point in Dante's career, and it's refreshing to see a kids film with a modicum of intelligence. Which is a rare thing these days. Great theme from the late Jerry Goldsmith too.