Movies like Flight of the Navigator

As a seminal work of family-friendly science fiction, E.T. captures the wonder and innocence of childhood with a poignant tale of a young boy's friendship with a lost alien. A similar blend of adventure and heart to Flight of the Navigator, E.T. remains a touchstone in the genre for audiences looking for a blend of emotional storytelling and fantastical elements.

Short Circuit introduces us to Johnny Five, a military robot that gains sentience and befriends humans. This film also captures the era's fascination with technology and its potential for companionship, offering a story that fans of Flight of the Navigator’s sentient spaceship, Max, are likely to appreciate.

Cocoon deals with the themes of extraterrestrials and eternal youth, offering a more mature take on the concept of alien encounter, but with the same sense of wonder and the benign presence of otherworldly beings that appeals to an audience who enjoyed the positive depiction of aliens in Flight of the Navigator.

The Last Starfighter revolves around a teenager recruited by an alien defense force to fight in an interstellar war, a premise that resonates with Flight of the Navigator’s themes of a young protagonist on an otherworldly adventure. It's a cult classic that combines the thrill of space with coming-of-age storytelling.

Explorers features a group of kids who build their own spaceship and venture into the unknown, which hits the same notes of childhood wonder and the innocence of exploration found in Flight of the Navigator. It's a movie that celebrates the imagination and resourcefulness of young minds.

SpaceCamp is about a group of teens who accidentally get launched into space while attending a NASA camp, leading to an adventure where they must work together to return home. The hook of kids in space engaging in a mission echoes Flight of the Navigator’s thrilling outer space journey combined with youthful camaraderie.

D.A.R.Y.L. presents the story of a seemingly normal boy who is revealed to be a government-created supercomputer in human form. This film shares the '80s sci-fi aesthetic and the focus on a child protagonist grappling with extraordinary circumstances, similar to Flight of the Navigator’s young hero's journey.