La grande idée

An imaginative film that opens the imagination of one soul. A young boy and his brother are having a tough life. They suffer an abusive, alcholic father as well as neighbourhood bullies with only their dependable dog as protection.

To escape their existance they build the 'Radio Flyer' a machine they believe will fly and protect them from their troubles.

Good acting and a clever concept will leave you feeling fulfilled however the ending is relatively far fetched.

A good movie.

I love this film. It is so multifaceted. I read Melissa's comment and the first time I saw it I agreed with her. The ending with Bobby flying away doesn't make sense. Surely the mother would have fetched him back etc. Then I saw it again and the clue is in the end when 'Mike' (Tom Hanks) finishes telling the story and says to his sons something like...'Now you see what I mean about history being in the mind of the teller? That's the way I choose to remember it.' My reading of the film then changed. Bobby flying away to somewhere safe was merely a metaphor. He never made it. The 'King' eventually killed him. If you don't agree then watch it again.

I love it. I love children and the way their minds work and I think Tom Hanks does a terrific job in bringing the narration to life. The two young boys are absolutely marvellous and both went on to bigger and better things.

This is one of my favourite films.

In reply to "State of Confusion" The dogs injuries do seem to disappear rather abruptly, but that may have only been an error in continuity. But, as for the kids trying to build a plane out of junk, it's just a simple matter of imagination. These are two very young kids who have extremely active imaginations and they must rely on those imaginations to keep themselves from being exposed to the reality of the level of abuse that goes on in their home from their stepfather. As for the stepfather, it's very interesting that the director chose to no show his face. That makes him seem more monstrous. If you show his face, then that character becomes a person and not just this "monster" who is terrorizing the childhood of these two innocent children. By showing only the concequences of his abuse and not focusing scenes on the abuse itself, the children then become the main focus of the movie. This film has no loose ends, but runs just as a father's tale to his children would. It has embelleshments. This is a fine American classic.

Sure this movie is kind of unrealistic and sometimes boring but all in all it's a very sweet movie that evokes many wonderful childhood memories.Would I have watched Radio Flyer had it not starred Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazzello?Perhaps not.Wood and Mazzello are incredible in their roles as Mike and Bobby,considering they were only 9 and 7 at the time they started filming the movie.The rest of the cast is alright,no particularly impressive performances from any of them but like I said it's Wood and Mazzello who carry the show through.There was one big surprise though,Tom Hanks.As narrator,well,let's just say after he started off at the beginning of the movie I was this close to switching the T.V off and thus missing quite a good movie. I was disappointed to find out that Radio Flyer didn't exactly hit it off at the box office,I suppose juggling such themes as child abuse and building getaway planes for a 7 year old to fly can be a difficult task. However despite its faults ,I found myself shouting insults at The King when he hit Bobby and laughing at the antics of the boys and their dog Shane.Sure you need a good imagination to enjoy it but we can cough a little of that up can't we?!

When I first saw this movie, I first started to hate it because of the violence of abuse, but what got to me, was the music of the movie, and the acting that went with it. I, admit, a dream about a talking buffalo was a little weird, but what got to me was the music through the dream, and the VERY COOL performances of Elijah Wood, as the confused brother, torn between about what he knows, and what he can not say. Promises not to say as a special PACT with his younger brother, who tells him not to say anything to the mother.. A BRILLANT DEBUT of Joseph Mazzello, who moves you with the music, as he see his destiny, before it happens, of getting away from the King, the Abuser, by building a airplane, out of a toy wagon. Let me tell, nothing gets you like the end of the movie, and the younger brother is ready to take off the flyer, they built. One brother gives his favorite jacket, as sign of love to remember him by. Out of *****, I give this movie a *****.