The Blue Yonder


The Blue Yonder is a 1985 American science fiction adventure film directed by Mark Rosman and starring Peter Coyote, Huckleberry Fox, Art Carney, Dennis Lipscomb, and Joe Flood. It was written by Mark Rosman and produced by Alan Shapiro and Annette Handley. The film is also known as Time Flyer.

Premise

Jonathan Knicks is an 11-year-old who travels back in time from 1985 to 1927 via a time machine built by his neighbor Henry Coogan from the theoretical blueprints of Jonathan's own grandfather. There Jonathan meets his less than illustrious grandfather, Max, and must desperately find a way to prevent Max's fatal attempt at a solo trans-Atlantic flight and invariably change the course of history in the process. Max had perished trying to beat Charles Lindbergh in being the first to fly across the Atlantic Ocean solo.

Cast

As part of The Disney Sunday Movie, the film was renamed Time Flyer and had footage that was cut in the VHS releases.

Reception

The movie was given 3 out of 5 stars in Creature Feature by John Stanley. He praised the twist ending and the movie's handling of the time paradoxes. The Los Angeles Times also gave the movie a positive review, stating that while it lacked a big budget, "writer-director Mark Rosman effectively extracts charm from the simplicity", and praising the portrayal of the grandfather/grandson relationship.