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Poster for Radio Flyer

Radio Flyer

Powered by imagination.

1992 · 1h 54m · PG-13 Drama
Directed by Richard Donner , David Mickey Evans

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Overview

A father reminisces about his childhood when he and his younger brother moved to a new town with their mother, her new husband and their dog, Shane. When the younger brother is subjected to physical abuse at the hands of their brutal stepfather, Mike decides to convert their toy trolley, the "Radio Flyer", into a plane to fly him to safety.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
35%
Tomatometer
Rotten

Donner and Evans can't find a way to extricate themselves from the impossible structure they have erected. They remain locked into the odd combination of the dreamy and the dreadful that is entirely of their own devising.

Desmond Ryan, Philadelphia Inquirer
Rotten

A very odd, expensive, ambitious failure that tries hard to achieve the Spielberg touch but succeeds only in reminding you of how few filmmakers can successfully lay claim to his territory.

John Hartl, Seattle Times
Rotten

Radio Flyer is a well-meaning failure, a muddled fantasy about child abuse that ponderously attempts to combine the grace of legend with the earnestness of a public-service announcement.

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Rotten

A movie is not a public-service announcement, and a movie that tries to squeak by on intentions doesn't generally doesn't get very far. Viewed from any normal perspective, Radio Flyer never takes off.

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel
Rotten

A queasy combination of whimsy and child abuse.

Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune

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