Projects » Radio Flyer

Production Year: 1990
Production Year: 1990
Directed by: Richard Donner
Genre: Drama
Tagline: Powered by imagination.
Rating: 6.5/10 (2,583 votes)
Runtime: 114 min
Country: USA
Language: English
Certification: Argentina:13/Australia:PG/Chile:14/Spain:13/UK:PG/USA:PG-13

Plot Outline: A father reminisces about his childhood when he and his younger brother moved to a new town with their mother, her new husband and their dog, Shane. When the younger brother is subjected to physical abuse at the hands of their brutal stepfather, Mike decides to convert their toy trolley, the "Radio Flyer", into a plane to fly him to safety.

Awards

Radio Flyer won 1 award and received 2 nominations.

Young Artist Awards 1993 - 1 Win, 1 nomination
Best Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture, Elijah Wood; - WON
Best Actor Under Ten in a Motion Picture, Joseph Mazzello - Nominated
Best Family Motion Picture - Nominated

Cast

Lorraine Bracco .... Mary
John Heard .... Daugherty
Adam Baldwin .... The King
Elijah Wood .... Mike
Joseph Mazzello .... Bobby
Ben Johnson .... Geronimo Bill
Sean Baca .... Fisher
Robert Munic .... Older Fisher
Garette Ratliff Henson .... Chad
Thomas Ian Nicholas .... Ferdie
Noah Verduzco .... Victor Hernandez
Isaac Ocampo .... Jorge Hernandez
Kaylan Romero .... Jesus Hernandez
Abraham Verduzco .... Carlos Hernandez
T.J. Evans .... Big Raymond

Trivia

Originally to be directed by writer David M. Evans, but he was replaced by Richard Donner due to his inexperience.
A poster for X-15 (1961) (also directed by Richard Donner) is visible outside the movie theatre.
The train station in Novato, California where the boys walk the tracks was not shown in any detail because it was damaged by fire in the early 1980s. The restoration did not begin until 1995.
The blue houses featured in the film are former Hamilton Air Force Base housing, and later sold to the Coast Guard for its housing. Residents of the housing referred to it as, "Smurf Village".
The sacking of original director 'David Mickey Evans' , replacing him with Richard Donner, and later re-shoots following test screenings meant that this modest little film's budget jumped from $15 million to $30 million.

Goofs

Anachronisms: A "Transformers" comic from the '80s can be seen as they browse the comic books in the store. The movie was set on the late '60s and early '70s.
Continuity: When Mikey and Bobby are running through the sewer, both of them fall several times into the dirty sewage. However, there is no sign of grime or sewage on their clothes when they face the bullies.
Continuity: When Bobby and Mikey's family first arrive at their new house in California, the king rips off the sign by the door that says "The Marshalls". The sign reappears in the next shot and then disappears again when the king comes back out.
Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Mike and Bobby are looking for Shane, their German Shepard dog, Mike runs through the gate to look for him. When Bobby finds him lying in pain, he calls for Mike, but the voice he says it in is not his voice, it is Mike's voice.