The Boy Who Could Fly

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The Boy Who Could Fly

PG

1986

1h 48m

Fantasy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

59%

Tomatometer

32 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

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.

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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.

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Derek Malcolm

Guardian

Mar 28, 2023

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.

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Victoria Mather

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Mar 28, 2023

What is likable about this film is that it extols children being kind to each other.

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Gavin Bainbridge

Empire Magazine

Jul 16, 2020

A commendable rarity: a sensitive children's film that neither patronises them nor insults their intelligence.

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Dan Webster

Spokesman-Review (Washington)

Jul 27, 2024

2.5/4

Too much fantasy can spoil the tale, and that's just what happens in this story.

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Philip French

Observer (UK)

Mar 29, 2023

A piece of sentimental uplift for the Reagan era.

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Erik B

@Atma-X Aug 21, 2026

Melodramatic nonsense. AEB says: "Thanks, I needed to be MORE depressed." she said sarcastically.

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thiago S

@Thiagostone Jun 13, 2026

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Ethan G

@ethdrew05226 Sep 27, 2025

He’s fly like Peter Pan

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Steve D

@RT35616104 Mar 5, 2023

Sickeningly sweet and full of cheese.

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May 28, 2020

Probably would receive major backlash if it had come out today. Super slow paced. Overall just painful.

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May 30, 2017

A family, coping with loss, must overcome adversity while adapting to their new surroundings all while the kid next door thinks he can fly.

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Nick Castle

Director

Lucy Deakins

Milly

Jay Underwood

Eric

Bonnie Bedelia

Charlene

Fred Savage

Louis

Colleen Dewhurst

Mrs. Sherman

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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
Producer: Gary Adelson
Screenwriter: Nick Castle
Rating: PG
Genre: Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 3, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.3M
Runtime: 1h 48m
Sound Mix: Surround

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