Adler as Jeff Freeman (16 Years Old) Albie Whitaker as Jeff Freeman (8 Years Old) Howard Hesseman as Dr. Louis Faraday Jonathan Sanger as Dr. Carr Iris Acker as Janet Howard Richard Liberty as Larry Howard Raymond Forchion as Detective Banks Keri Rogers as Jennifer Bradley Casting The filmmakers held auditions for the role of David Freeman. Several actors auditioned for it, including Joaquin Phoenix and Chris O'Donnell. Production Some of the scenes with the Trimaxion Drone Ship were rendered in computer-generated imagery (CGI) by Omnibus Computer Animation, under the supervision of director Randal Kleiser's brother, Jeff. It was the first film to use reflection mapping to create realistic reflections on a simulated chrome surface. Jeff Kleiser explained that Randal had been inspired by commercial work that he had done at his previous company, Digital Effects: "Jean Miller and Bob Hoffman had written a reflection mapping software that simulated a drop of water dripping from a faucet, which had refraction and reflection on the spout and it drips off. Randal saw that: ‘Wow. Could you make the spaceship reflective, like reflecting the environment?’" The morphing effect was based on by work Digital Effects had done on a 1985 Tide detergent commercial. Effects were rendered on the Foonly F1 computer before being matted onto the film print. The computer did not have much storage space so once the frame was mapped the data was deleted to make way for the new frame. The rest were using one of two life size props or miniatures on a computer operated camera. Soundtrack The music score for the film was composed and performed by Alan Silvestri. It is distinct from his other scores in being entirely electronically generated, using the Synclavier, one of the first digital multi-track recorders and samplers. Theme from "Flight of the Navigator" "Main Title" "The Ship Beckons" "David in the Woods" "Robot Romp" "Transporting the Ship" "Ship Drop" "Have to Help a Friend" "The Shadow Universe" "Flight" "Finale" "Star Dancing" Critical reception The film received mainly positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a rating of 84% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 6.60/10. The consensus reads, "Bolstered by impressive special effects and a charming performance from its young star, Flight of the Navigator holds up as a solidly entertaining bit of family-friendly sci-fi." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times said the film's biggest plus was "its