In the film Radio Flyer , Bobby is an eight-year-old boy who suffers abuse from his stepfather, "The King." To escape this abuse, Bobby and his older brother Mike build a makeshift flying machine out of their Radio Flyer wagon, inspired by an urban legend about a boy who flew off a cliff called "The Wishing Spot." At the climax, Bobby pilots the flying machine and successfully takes off from the cliff, escaping the abusive environment. The stepfather is knocked unconscious by the wing of the plane and subsequently arrested. Bobby is never seen again in person, but Mike, now an adult, continues to receive postcards from Bobby, indicating that he survived and is traveling with a traveling Wild West show called Geronimo Bill's
. The ending is deliberately ambiguous and open to interpretation. Some viewers believe Bobby truly flew away and escaped, while others think the flight is a metaphor or fantasy representing Bobby's death or escape from abuse in a non-literal sense. The film's narrator, adult Mike, suggests that history and memory are subjective, implying the story might blend reality with imagination
. In summary, Bobby's fate is portrayed as a hopeful escape through imagination and courage, though the film leaves room for darker interpretations about his ultimate fate.
