Explorers

A young Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix head the cast of this underrated sci-fi adventure, in which three boys intercept a message from outer space. Discovering it contains instructions for creating their own spaceship, they set out to trace the signal to its source. But the aliens they encounter at the end of their journey aren't quite what the young astronauts expected them to be. Joe Dante's follow-up to Gremlins is an entertaining, family-friendly addition to the director's canon, featuring refreshing performances from the sprightly cast. Co-starring Jason Presson, Dick Miller, James Cromwell and Robert Picardo in three different roles