Explorers

Year:

1985

Duration:

109 min

Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

IMDB rate:

6.6

Director:

Joe Dante

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Details

Country: USA

Release Date: 1985-07-12

Filming Locations: 1616 Wabasso Way, Glendale, California, USA

Earnings

Budget: $25,000,000

Opening Weekend: $3,607,340 (USA) (14 July 1985)

Gross: $7,395,796 (USA) (21 July 1985)

Cast

Actor

Character

Ethan Hawke

Ben Crandall

River Phoenix

Wolfgang Müller

Bobby Fite

Steve Jackson

Bradley Gregg

Steve Jackson's Gang

Georg Olden

Steve Jackson's Gang

Chance Schwass

Steve Jackson's Gang

Amanda Peterson

Lori Swenson

Danny Nucci

Nasty Kid at School

Jason Presson

Darren Woods

Dana Ivey

Mrs. Müller

Taliesin Jaffe

Ludwig Müller

James Cromwell

Mr. Müller

Brooke Bundy

Science Teacher

Tricia Bartholome

Girl in Classroom

Eric Luke

Darren's Teacher

Robert Picardo

Starkiller / Wak / Wak and Neek's Father

Karen Mayo-Chandler

Starkiller's Girlfriend

Robert F. Boyle

Starkiller's Girlfriend's Father

John P. Navin Jr.

Couple at Drive-In

Mary Hillstead

Couple at Drive-In

Simone Blue

Snack Bar Girl

Meshach Taylor

Gordon Miller

Dick Miller

Charlie Drake

Leslie Rickert

Neek

Frank Welker

(voice)

Fred Newman

(voice)

Joan Gerber

(voice) (as Joanie Gerber)

Belinda Balaski

(voice)

Roger Behr

(voice)

Roger Peltz

(voice)

Neil Ross

(voice)

Marilyn Schreffler

(voice)

Bill Ratner

(voice)

Jane Kean

(voice)

Bob Holt

(voice)

Jay Stewart

(voice)

Mary Kay Place

Mrs. Crandall (uncredited)

Did you know?

Trivia

Although Robert Picardo received the actor credit for the father alien, his voice was actually provided by Frank Welker.

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WILHELM SCREAM: Heard during an explosion in the Drive-In movie "Starkiller".

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Cherie Currie was considered for a part but, according to her autobiography, she was in the throes of drug dependency and couldn't even make it to a meeting.

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Goofs

When Ben and Darren walk over to Wolfgang's house, Ben is wearing brown corduroy pants. Then when they go down to the basement, he's wearing blue jeans for a few shots. And then he's back to wearing his brown corduroys for the rest of the scene.

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At 07:16 on the DVD, "2517 Davana County School District" is written on the side of the school bus, but at 49:58, the sheriff's helicopter lands by a sign reading "Davanna County" and at 50:51, deputy Gordon reads a copy of the "Davanna County Gazette".

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When the spaceship "Thunder Road" crashes through a building, it is supposed to be encased in an impenetrable force field. Yet debris and rubble is shown directly on the surface of the ship.

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Quotes

Ben Crandall: If this is all a dream, what's gonna happen when we wake up?

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Darren Woods: [about "beings" on other planets] Maybe it's a bunch of Amazon rainforest women that wanna breed a new race.

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Ben Crandall: [stuttering, astounded at the violent film footage] But thi - see, this isn't real! A-a-and we don't really kill people! Well, we do, b-but n-not aliens, 'cause we haven't met any!

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Faq

Q

What are the differences between the DVD Versions and the original Theatrical Version?

A

The German VHS version is based on the Theatrical version and offers two more scenes than the DVD version. The latter, however, contains a scene which is missing in the Theatrical Version. The missing scenes are featured in the bonus material of the DVD version, though. A detailed comparison between both versions with pictures can be found here.

Q

What happened to the plot toward the end?

A

The story goes that the studio executives who originally greenlit the film left Paramount Studios midway through production. Joe Dante was called in to show a progress report of the unfinished film. Wanting to put up something against "Indiana Jones And The Temple of Doom" that summer, the executives ordered the film to be released in its present form. Dante was unable to do any reshoots or pick up shots. What we see is the unfinished version, giving us a glimpse at what the finished film was originally intended to be.

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