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Imagine

I stumbled onto this movie several years ago and my 3 sons and I loved it. We understood what the messages were and for once we were allowed to view a film and use our imaginations. Everything is possible in childhood. Comfort does come from a strong gentle buffalo carring the tears of frightened hurt children and the only way to escape pain... is to fly away. These two young boys carry and adult task of capturing the hearts of the audience and they do it well The movie was on cable this morning. I cried when Mike had to let his brother go to safety.

Powerful, thoughtful, touching, charming, imaginative masterpiece!

"Radio Flyer" is one of my most loved American movies.The really great job of two boys, Joe Mazzello and Elija Wood, (in spite of terrible performance of T.Hanks at the beginning and ending...) with marvellous script of D.M.Evans and powerful and emotional directing of R.Donner plus Absolutely Incredibly Peerless Music Score of H.Zimmer allowed the "Radio Flyer" to win one of the first places in my family's rating of movies.It's so pity that that very good movie was underrating by some movie critics.I just can't help waiting to see it on DVD.

A movie worth watching

A very good drama, Radio Flyer, brings to the screen the story of two young boys whose father abandons them at a young age leaving their mother alone in providing and caring for them.
Things take a turn for the worse when a "stepfather" enters the family...
I have to admit that I did not know what to expect from the film, but as it turns out it was a really good movie that keeps you glued to your seat in anticipation of what comes next!
It is a film about human relations, hope and second chances, but most importantly about trust, love, and inner strength.

Elijah Woods, Joseph Mazzello, Tom Hanks, and the rest of the cast, have truly outdone themselves with their performances, which are outstanding to say the least. All the actors, without exceptions, give it their 100% and it really shows (the chemistry is something else)! Very well written and very well presented, the movie is without a doubt guaranteed to provide more than just a few tears. The film does a great job of describing people's every day lives and the problems they face.

In short, Radio Flyer is a movie definitely worth watching, as it will surely provide for an evening's entertainment!

Beautiful Movie

I've been searching for this movie on DVD and God willing, it will be released soon. When I saw this movie in the theatres, you could not hear a sound when Bobby and Michael say their goodbyes on top of the hill before Bobby leaves. And when it ended there wasn't a dry eye in the house. I agree that the story was told from the point of view of the children and that one needs to understand this to "get" the stereotypes of the stepfather that are presented. One of the standout scenes is when their mom takes her husband back. The cinematography and the voice-over have so much emotion, it takes my breath away. I disagree with one reviewer who said she didn't think Bobby died. He did die for a few reasons: One, Tom Hanks says "History is in the mind of the teller, and this is how I remember it." He makes a point to repeat that at the end. Two, when one of his sons asks if that is where they got Samson from, their father says "yes." Well, Samson supposedly flew away with Bobby so they must have "found" Samson when Bobby died. Three, the postcards were all cards the boys already had. I think Michael sent them to his mom to make her feel better. That he lived on. Four) Since the step-father was arrested, there would be no reason that Bobby couldn't have come back home sooner. So he couldn't have been traveling for that many years. He would never have left his mom for that long a time. And lastly, someone once offered this explanation: That there was really only one boy. Michael split himself into 2 kids, if you will. The one abused and the one that wasn't. This helped him deal with the abuse. The sad and hurt Bobby "left" at the end leaving a stronger boy. It makes sense in a way because near the end, when the boys are at school, they BOTH get stomachaches. Also, when Mike is getting beat up by the bullies, Bobby is getting beat up at home. There are a lot of dualities like that. Just a thought anyway. I urge people to see it because it's thought-provoking, well-acted and well-directed. One of my all time favorites.

The Ending! Whats with the Ending.

( Warning! spoiler!)This movie was fantastic, and brilliant, with superb acting. The story was tuching and realistic, up until the ending. I found a big problem with the ending. My problem was that the ending was completely different from the rest of the movie, not to mention impossible. The problem I found wasn't with the fact that Boby (played be Joseph Mazzello) simply flies away in a machine his brother and him built ALONE (not to mention that they were somewhere around 6 or 9 years old). But the thing I didn't like is the fact that Boby simply vanishes, yet stays alive. Boby was 6 or 7 years old and there is no way he could survive alone to adulthood the way he did. It just can't happen! Why? you ask. Well, because at age 6 or 7 you are too imature to survive alone, and especially the way Boby survived. In real life, even if the flying machine worked, someone would of stolen it, or it would have crashed. It looked about as sturdy as an umbrella!My rating: 8

For the Child in all of us regardless of our present age!

A thought provoking, peek back to the simpler times of when we were all young - the things that go bump in the night, the adults, the emotions, the highs, the lows - the movie reaches inside of you, lets you feel like a young boy and forget the troubles of being an adult. Highly recommended for all!

This was such a sad and heartwarming movie.

I can relate to all the things that have happened to the two boys. Some of them happened to me too. What is so emotional in this movie is how the boys support each other through the hard times and elsewhere. They also support their mother so much, despite all the abuse that they went through from the "King". They also had a lot of love for their dog.

Clever idea

An imaginative film that opens the imagination of one soul. A young boy and his brother are having a tough life. They suffer an abusive, alcholic father as well as neighbourhood bullies with only their dependable dog as protection.To escape their existance they build the 'Radio Flyer' a machine they believe will fly and protect them from their troubles.Good acting and a clever concept will leave you feeling fulfilled however the ending is relatively far fetched.A good movie.

a wonderful film for all

Movie came in within reasonable time. It is such a precious film in regards to the brotherhood bonding in it. Definitely an owner.

This movie will never stop giving you hope and dreams like the ones you had when you were young. It changed my life.

I first saw this movie as a younger child. My sister had told me about it and I thought it would be more of a kid's movie. However it remains to also be an incredible movie. True that the subject behind the movie is ruff but also true this movie will never stop touching your heart.I was only 6 when I first saw it and just yesterday, 7 years later, I saw it again. For the first time in a long time. Even after I knew how it ended, I knew that I had seen it a billion, bizillion times I wept like a teeny weeny little baby. When I saw it a few years back I finally got the idea and the seriousness of the film. So I stoped watching it for a while. But yesterday I didn't change the channel, I watched it. By the end I was astonished at how much it still made me laugh, cry, think, and above all, believe in mericals again. I haven't belived in a long time and this movie got me out of my shell and opened up my heart. This movie wasn't just impacting. I was also so impressed with the actors. Especially Bobby. So if you are wanting to see this movie for the first time I suggest seeing it alone. With tissues. And being ready to discover your young, sweet, innocent side and the side that still has hope. This movie touched my soul when I was only 6, and even in this time of trying to figure out who I am this movie helped me realize both what I don't and still do want to be in life.

My take on the ending (spoiler)

I won't go into detail about the synopsis, acting and music as it has been lauded adequately by others.I do wish to explain the ending (and film) as I saw it.There was no 'little brother'.He was created by the older son to take the abuse, misery and loneliness he himself was enduring. The 'escape'at the end was his goodbye to his imaginary self. His postcards to himself are a reminder of those difficult times.I haven't seen the film in years, but this idea has stayed with me from my first viewing.An excellent film.

A Child's Storytelling Perspective

First of all, this is a story told from a child's perspective. Please also be aware of the audience the story is being told to...Mike's (Tom Hanks) own children. For them to get the point of the story, Mike tells it in a way that children will understand..."How the story is told." The story does not make light of child abuse (as many reviewers have pointed out), it presents it in the way the two brothers dealt with it at the time and their support system (each other and Shane the dog). This is a wonderful story of how the two brothers deal with life's harsher side and how their family (each other and their mother) and their dog meant the world to them. It also presents the brothers' compassion and hope through adversity and physical and emotional pain. A story about how all of us at times, no matter what age, have to make tough decisions. This is tough subject matter to convey in a childrens' story, but this movie accomplishes it in an effective heartfelt way. It does it while preserving, not destroying, hope. Watch this movie with a child's eye and check your adult cynicism at the door. If you find yourself trying to analyze every scene, you're missing the point.

the secret to this movie

Glad to see that at least one other viewer figured out that there was only one boy: the weak younger brother is a figment of the older brother's imagination, created as a way of distancing himself emotionally from the physical abuse. Or, more accurately, the brothers are two aspects of the same person. The great thing about this movie is this hidden meaning ... watch this movie and look for the clues -- like when the mother tells the boys "don't forget your lunch" (instead of "lunches"). Other clues are less obvious and often have to do with coincidences -- I won't give them away. After the stepfather is removed there's no need for the younger brother; hence the ending that so many people thought was ridiculous. This movie is a real gem. It's unfortunate that its subtlety was lost on so many people.

DVD

This item was a gift so I did not view the video but assume it was fine. The dvd became loose inside the box so I had a little concern of scratching but it did not appear scratched when it was opened. I think all went well.

Very Good.

I Like This Movie Because It Stars 2 Kids Who Are Building A Airplane By The Same Name. Bobby Wanted To Get Away From His Abusive Drunken Step Father. I Didn't Like What He Did To Bobby. The Mother Marrys Him. But In The End She Found Out That He Was Hitting Bobby With An Electrical Cord.

A difficult, mixed movie (WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!)

In many ways, Richard Donner's Radio Flyer is magical. There are some really terrific moments. But often enough, it lacks a certain fineshing, and leaves you feeling unsatisfied, mainly because it doesn't know what audience it should target.Radio Flyer is the story of two young brothers, Mikey and Bobby (Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazzello), aged 10 and 8 respectively, whose father deserts them and their mother (Lorraine Bracco). She takes them to live in California where she meets a new man (Adam Baldwin) who likes to be called 'The King' by the kids. They marry, and she is finally happy. But the children are not, because, unknown to their mother, their stepfather drinks a lot and starts to beat young Bobby. The kids don't tell their mom, not wanting to upset her, and take refuge in their imaginations, living out imaginary situations and fantasies, particularly with the project to convert Bobby's Radio Flyer truck into a getaway plane for him.Unfortunately, it's this very important side of the movie that causes a problem: the importance of imagination. The narrator, a grown-up Mikey (Tom Hanks), explains that kids live in a world where anything can happen that becomes lost once you turn 13 and you start the long road to adulthood. As such, Mikey and Bobby's antics are closer to the hearts of children, and Radio Flyer could thus be seen as a kid's movie. However, the subject of child abuse is a difficult one that is well approached here but that is more directed at a mature audience and could even be seen as unsuitable for children. We end up with a mixed bag of a movie that has a theme directed at adults yet that is seen from the perceptive of children, which is, in the film's own words, lost on jaded, cynical adults.But it's a nice idea, and Radio Flyer has some nice touches. Donner's directing is impressive, whereas most directors avoid artistic touches in sentimental movies, focusing solely on the emotion. (something even the wonderful The Cure, the master of the genre, is guilty of.) The scenes with 'The King' are the most striking, as you never properly see his face. He is always filmed either from the waist-down, or behind, or partly obscured by shadows. Donner thus turns him into a beast figure, a monster that, unlike the others, are not imaginary and cannot be beaten by "conventional" means. !Spoiler! The scene when he seriously beats up Bobby and lands him in hospital is also very well filmed. Donner uses parallel editing between the violence of 'The King' and the violence of the neighbourhood bullies who beat up Mikey. That scene and Mikey's return home is very powerful. !Spoiler finished! And Radio Flyer is very emotional as well. The much talked-about ending must also be noted for it's emotional power as well as it's ambiguity, although I'll get to it later.But there are negative touches as well. Firstly, the much-acclaimed music. I found it to be overly-cutesy, relying too often on plinking (for want of a better word), Beethoven-like tunes. It was only really impressive during the violent scenes and during the emotional bits like when !Spoiler! Bobby flys away. !Spoiler finished! If you want to get an idea of plinking music, just check out the end titles and the playing scenes (e.g. the scene where they cook some anti-monster brew). Again, the music is a mixed bag of touching and sappy. Shame. If you want true quality music, watch The Cure, The Mighty or Stand By Me. Also, Lorraine Bracco's character is a farce. It's possible that, as she works late, she might not notice what's going on. But she proves to be nothing but a weakling, letting 'The King' back into her family's life after he put Bobby in hospital. She doesn't get my sympathy, she just seems pathetic. Plus, she's not in the movie as much as the kids or even 'The King', yet she gets first billing in the credits. So does John Heard, and he's only in the movie for ten minutes. It's just like The Mighty. On top of that, neither of them gives a particularly brilliant performance (Bracco is ten times better in Goodfellas-and she's in that more!-and Heard isn't around long enough to make an impression). But the kids do. Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazzello are two of the best young actors out there, and it shows in Radio Flyer. My only gripe is that Donner tries to over "cutesify" Bobby, which makes the film too sappy. It's a pity, because otherwise Mazzello gives a trademark performance, touching and realistic, impressive seeing as he's only eight years old.!SPOILER! MAJOR-LEAGUE SPOILER! And now for the ending. It's true that, if taken literally, the ending seems implausible and rediculously sappy, and too many people have taken it literally, hence the frequent poor reviews in this comments section. If you're going to take films word-for-word each time, then you are bound to hate most decent movies and love a lot of awful one, and you'll end up being a Stalone fan with very little in the way of imagination. And Radio Flyer is about the imagination. I believe that in the case of the ending, Tom Hanks' character made it up. He probably made the whole thing up. It's possible that Bobby died, it's a hypothesis. But the whole thing might be made-up to teach Mikey's own kids the value of a promise and of the imagination. As it is often pointed out, there's the line "History is in the mind of the teller". It's true that the postcards that Bobby supposedly sent lead to confusion and I think Donner should have left them out. If he had, the ending would have made the movie a lot better as it would have had a less sappy ending and one that would have provoked even more reflection. As it is, the postcards make Radio Flyer even more confusing and mixed up. But I think that if you take the ending so literally as to think that there is no second meaning to the ending, then it's not entirely the movie's fault. It just takes a little thought and it's actually a very good ending (except for those darned postcards!). !Spoilers over!All in all, Radio Flyer just doesn't what it wants to say or who it wants to say it to. It has trouble choosing its audience and trouble conveying its message. It alternates between profound emotion and over-the-top sappiness, between intense, thought-provoking drama and confused messages. It's a shame because the child abuse theme is a powerful one, the direction is good and the acting from Wood and Mazzello is great. I think it just needed a little more work. 6.5/10Uppers: 1)The child abuse theme; 2) The realistic and touching portrayal of imagination; 3) Mazzello and Wood are great; 4) Donner does some great directing; 5)Emotional and thought-provoking; 6)The thought-challenging ending.Downers: 1)Sometimes a little too sappy; 2)Doesn't know which audience to target; 3)Weak supporting cast given too much credit space; 4)confused over message; 5)Overly cutesy in places; 6)Tom Hanks' narration gets in the way at times; 7)Postcard scenes are unnecessary and confusing.

Hank Williams :horrible music?????

It's very hard to film children.European have often succeeded at this terribly hard task:in France ,François Truffaut ("l'argent de poche" )and Yves Robert ("la guerre des boutons" "la gloire de mon père"),in Italy Luigi Comencini ("l'incomprese" "cuore"),in England Kenneth Loach ("Kes") made memorable movies.Could Richard Donner ("the omen" " Superman" "Lethal weapon" and other Hollywood blockbuster)rise to the occasion:partially,only partially,and mainly because the children completely outshine the adults because most of the time on the screen is given over to them.Take Adam Baldwin's part for instance:he's no more than an ectoplasm,a cartoon character,whose face we almost never seen.His only raison d'être is his can of beer and his music .There's the rub.Hank Williams ' classic country music seems to epitomize evil here ;every time the youngest son is mistreated,here's "son of a gun ,we"ll have some fun on the bayou" as Williams sings."Still this horrible music"the mother says.As for her,it's extraordinary it took her so much time to realize her husband was a brute !Ditto John Heard's cop who hardly appears ten minutes for a pointless performance.The two children avoid some of schmaltz pitfalls but not all:the dog's part, for instance, remains a hackneyed cliché of melodrama (the likes of "Lassie").The boy coming from the poor side of town and brilliantly succeeding at the university is another one.On the plus side,let's mention uncredited Hank's part who teaches us (-thru the agency of his children-that it's not the story that counts,it's the way you tell it.And probably,the young brother's story was not the one we saw on the screen.THe radio flyer becomes a metaphor for something best left unspoken.Richard Donner's movie,even if he does not cut the masters'best I mention above,remains watchable ,after all.

An emotional and unexpected turn out ! !

I was ten years old when I first saw this film. Truthfully, I never really understood it until I got older. Judging by the title, "Radio Flyer", I would have never thought of what was in the film to be in the film. Initially, I was not too keen about the issues contained in this film. Then as the years went by, I understood completely why the way things were.

As many know, there are several issues in this film, that as a child are curious about. Believe me, I was one of them. This film has its many ups and downs. It explores elements brotherhood, happiness, normality, and abuse. Domesticity was an enormous problem shared in the hands of two innocent brothers, Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazzello, their biological mother, Lorraine Bracco, and their intoxicated and abusive stepfather, Adam Baldwin.

I don't want to give other people a horrible impression of this movie due to how I started this out. As electrifying and courageous this film is, it proves that two brothers can help each other out and be there for each other. Also, I say this film is unexpected because of the conclusion. Courage is the key word to not just the ending, but to the film as a whole. It tells audiences to get out there and take a chance.

Although there are many, memorable moments of laughter, sadness, and excitement, this film also asks us all a question, "CAN THIS BE DONE IN REAL LIFE?"

This film has my absolute blessing to be passed onto another !

frustration---100% SPOILER

SPOILER NOTHING BUT SPOILERI have to add my name to the list of folks who feel that the other viewers just don't get it. But no one has even mentioned the "s" word so far as I have seen.While I agree that the kid died I think we can be more specific: he committed suicide. He races down the slope in an old wagon, shoots off the cliff and..."flies away". Maybe the whole account of the form of death is allegory or maybe he does commit suicide in a wagon as laid out. In either case, he "flies away" (c'mon, not that tough a metaphor).Maybe I just have a thing for Tom Hanks, but I was ok with the narration. Besides he is raising $ for the WW2 memorial and you gotta love him for that.Oh yeah, I loved the movie and found it incredibly moving.

Excellent acting in a highly underrated film

Basically, Radio Flyer is a story with two main themes: the horrors of child abuse and the seemingly inevitable loss of innocence and imagination. Mike (Elijah Wood) and Bobby (Joseph Mazzello) are moved to a new town with their mother Mary (Lorraine Bracco) who meets "The King" (Adam Baldwin). It isn't long before The King moves in with the three and begins taking his frustrations out on young Bobby. Mike does his best to try and protect his little brother, but has promised Bobby he would not tell. So, in the hopes of saving his little brother, Mike comes up with "The Big Idea".Both Mazzello and Wood do a fantabulous job playing the young brothers.
Their acting is superb and Mazzello plays the part of an abused child in a fashion that could put most adult actors to shame. It's just too bad we don't see much of this young actor any longer. Wood is equally good, but he's always been a fantastic child actor and has proven himself once again in Radio Flyer.You don't see much of Bracco throughout the movie, but I think that was rather the point: a single, working mother who wasn't home much. Quite possibly this is how she "missed" much of what was happening to her son(s). Even when she does discover, however, you go from being proud of her for protecting her children to hating her for allowing The King back into their lives. I didn't find this unrealistic in the least. This happens all too often, unfortunately.The part of The King was done well although you didn't see much of the actor himself. The direction in scenes with the King is incredible...never really truly showing his face. This made him much more menacing and also allowed the audience to view him through more child-like eyes.I've read that not a lot of people found this movie to be realistic. I disagree entirely. The fact that Mike was not abused while Bobby was isn't all that uncommon. Many abusers prey on the weakest, and undoubtedly Bobby was the "weaker" of the two brothers. Furthermore, many abusers also go after those that are less likely to tell. Mike probably would have said something, and would have if not for the promise he made to Bobby. As far as the ending, granted, if you took it at face value without any thought, not only are you going to miss the point entirely, but of course you're going to end up thinking the movie is entirely unrealistic and full of "fluff". WARNING...SPOILERS AHEAD!My take on the ending: I do not believe that Mike was an only child and Bobby was his imaginary friend or the personification of his "inner self".
While I find that a valid argument, to me it simply didn't fit in with the movie itself. The older Mike (Tom Hanks) mentions Bobby to his young sons and I doubt that would be done had Bobby never really existed. Furthermore, the King would not have been arrested that last time at the wishing spot (thus the end of "Bobby the inner child") due to the fact that he hadn't yet done anything (at least not since the LAST time he was arrested). Sure, he was about to, but he'd not have been arrested for "thinking about hitting" the boys. Nevertheless, I believe that Bobby truly existed and was killed by The King. As far as the movie goes, Mike did everything his young mind could think of in order to save Bobby. He kept him out all day, made the "monster repellent" and yes, I believe he tried to make the Radio Flyer really fly. However, before Mike had a chance to get Bobby to safety, The King killed Bobby. It was easier for his young mind to believe that he got Bobby away and Bobby was OK. As for the postcards, it's not unthinkable that those were written by Mike as a way to enforce his belief that his brother was still alive.As the older Mike said "At least that's how I choose to remember it". That was a huge clue that Bobby ended up dying and Mike simply couldn't handle the guilt that he couldn't save his little brother.End SpoilersOverall, I give the movie a 9/10. Although it touches on a horrible subject, it is done with tact and in such a way that even younger kids can watch the movie. Highly recommended.