The Best Friendly Alien Movies in Honor of 'Paul' - They Come in Peace

In most science fiction movies, when the aliens show up that's when everything goes bad. However, with the release of the movie "Paul," who is a friendly if rude alien escapee from Area 51, this seems like a good time to take a look at the other side of the coin. Not every alien can be out to destroy us or melt our brains, some of them are happy to just be friends. It's an approach to aliens that's been largely ignored since its 1980s heyday, but there are still movies worth seeking out.

"Starman"

If a movie goer were to think of a John Carpenter alien movie they'd probably think of "The Thing" or perhaps "They Live." However in between those two evil alien flicks Carpenter gave audiences "Starman." In the 1977 NASA launched the Voyager 2 which contained a message welcoming extraterrestrial life to Earth, in 1984 somebody responded. As an alien who has taken on the appearance of a woman's deceased husband, Jeff Bridges brings both warmth and otherworldiness to the role. Bridges has always seemed like he might be from another planet, so the casting was perfect and it earned him an Oscar nomination. The film sticks out like a sore thumb amongst Carpenters horror and action film heavy resume, but this dip into sci-fi romance is one worth taking.

"Explorers" and "Flight of the Navigator"

Many of the friendly alien movies out there are aimed at and star kids. The innocence of a child allows for their first reaction to an alien to not be screaming and reaching for the nearest gun as most adults would do. Two great examples of kids meeting friendly aliens are "Explorers" and "Flight of the Navigator." "Explorers" starred young Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix as a pair of friends who share identical dreams of space travel. The brainy Phoenix is able to develop a force-field that allows them and another boy to travel into space and actually meet aliens. The reveal of the aliens is still classic to this day. "Flight of the Navigator" has a bit of a complicated plot but the short version is that an alien ship (with the voice of Paul Reubens) needs the help of a young boy to find its way back home. Both are wish fulfillment adventure at its most pure and both finely balance family friendly humor with a certain sense of wonder.

"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial"

It's impossible to talk about friendly alien movies without bringing up the one-two punch of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" given to audiences by Steven Spielberg. Released in 1977 and 1982 respectively, these movies ushered in the friendly alien movies that have already been mentioned. "Close Encounters" was basically a long slow build up to the actual mother ship landing at the end, but with the central performance of Richard Dreyfuss carrying the film, it's never dull. Interestingly "E.T." started out as a horror heavy idea about an alien force that terrorized a family, however after doing the first Indiana Jones film Spielberg felt he wanted to go back to something more tranquil. The story was reworked into the family classic it is now. E.T. himself has an appearance that is uniquely alien and yet endearing and easy to love all at once. The bond he forms with young Elliot is still one of the most powerful relationships that's ever been put on film. This genre fizzled out in the last few decades but "Paul" looks to bring it back, and is aimed squarely at the adults who were kids when these movies were more common.