The Magical World of Disney (TV Series) Exile (1990) User Reviews

Wonderfully fun little movie

[airikblade-1 · 7/10 · 18 December 2005]

I absolutely loved this movie. I taped it when it came on and watched it many times. Sadly, I've lost my copy of the tape, and occasionally wish I could find it to watch it again. And it's not available for purchase anywhere that I can find.

I think one of the reasons I liked it so much was that, at the time, I naively thought it would be cool to be stranded on a tropical island with a bunch of other kids. I thought it would be a fun adventure. Good thing for me that it never happened.

Nevertheless, as cheesy as the movie probably was, I enjoyed it immensely.

Gem of a simple teen drama!

[drgcrandall · 10/10 · 18 February 2023]

Yes, this was so fun to watch for years, and i even found a youtube copy to show my kids and they enjoyed it. The actors were young, but the drama and jokes were all delivered well. For a TV Movie, full of kids, it was really great.

There were so many famous actors that started during this time, also in this movie. The personalities of the characters were good, but it's not a huge budget production. It's kids in exile... without any spoilers, I'd highly recommend enjoying this teen comedy dram from the late 80s. Great stuff, and lines I still quote today!

My favorites are the little crushes that develop between the characters. Shows like 90210 didn't pull of characters nearly as good as this movie did!

Great movie

[redrose8181 · 10/10 · 11 January 2004]

This was a great movie. I remember when it first came aired. I taped it down and I still watch it. It's very interesting to see the clothing that the cast was wearing and to hear the lingo that they had used. I still find it interesting after 14 years.

Can you say "pilot"? I knew you could.

[Victor Field · 4 March 2003]

Like many instalments of "The Disney Sunday Movie," "Exile" was all too obviously a pilot for a series (thus explaining the ending, as indicated by the other person to comment on this). And like the pilot of the plane in this TV movie, it crashed. (Ever since "Gilligan's Island," no one seems willing to try anything with even a slightly similar premise ever again - see also "The New People" in the late 1960s.)

"Exile" was another attempt by Patrick Hasburgh to shake off the "21 Jump Street" tag, but neither this nor the rightly short-lived "Sunset Beat" made his name away from Stephen J. Cannell (the latter is only notable for including a then unknown actor called George Clooney). In it, a group of teens and their teacher leave the US on the E.X.I.L.E. programme for a three month jaunt overseas, but the plane they've chartered to take them on the final leg has a disreputable pilot, and they wind up on an uncharted desert isle.

A complete bummer both intentionally and otherwise - not least thanks to the dialogue in Jonathan Lemkin's script ("Steve's dead, and Karen's borderline catatonic") - the movie's open ending and the lack of a series allows me to take it from there; I say they were rescued soon afterwards, thereby providing happy endings all round (except for Steve) - they got back home, and I didn't have to speculate on any further exploits of the Exilers. (Can Sarah Buxton pick 'em or what?)