Radio Flyer ending explained: What happens to Bobby?

Ever wondered what could possibly have happened to Bobby in the ending of Radio Flyer?

In the ending of the film, the boys succeed in restoring justice with the power of their imagination. The brother duo set on a flying stint with their constructed airplane at the cliff called 'The Wishing Spot'.

As The King tries to interrupt them, he gets attacked by the brothers' pet dog Shane. He then further gets attacked by the wing of the aircraft, which is driven by Bobby. He continues to fly off the cliff and then we do not witness him again.

Radio Flyer, helmed by Richard Donner, is a 1992 film that revolves around two brothers, Mike and Bobby, who, to escape their abusive stepfather, Jack Mackenzie a.k.a. The King, use their imagination and creativity to be the means to restore justice and free themselves from his abuse.

The film stars Mary Marshall, Elijah Wood, Joseph Mazzello, Adam Baldwin, Tom Hanks, John Heard, and many others.

So, coming back to its ending, what really happens to Bobby at the end of Radio Flyer?

Let us unravel its details!

Radio Flyer ending explained: What happens to Bobby?

In the ending of Radio Flyer, what really happens to Bobby?

Is it true that he really flew across the Wishing Point and went to another side of the world, travelled everywhere, and periodically wrote postcards to his brother?

Or did he just fall off the cliff and meet his end?

Well, many possible theories can explain Bobby's fate in the ending. As they show in the film, the ending is rather ambiguous and kind of bizarre. After Bobby's flight, we practically do not see him again. However, The King gets convicted by the police, and Mary, their mother, is not able to buy the idea that Bobby in fact, has literally flown away to the skies.

But here is the interesting part: Mike then starts receiving postcards from Bobby, which establishes the fact that he is alive. Bobby reveals to Mike that he is accompanied by Geronimo Bill. Since then, Mike keeps on receiving postcards from Bobby from various locations of the world.

So is it true that Bobby is in some other part of the world (or different parts of the world for that matter) and is writing to his brother at times? Or could it be possible that this is just a fragment of Mike's imagination, and Bobby could be dead after his flight stint?

Going by logical reasoning, it is very much possible that Bobby has met his end in the fall from the cliff. It is important to note that previously, in the film, there are mirages of fantastical elements. What seems to be a fantastical event is not quite one. In one instance, the brother duo think there is a monster out there, only to be revealed that it was actually their pet dog, Shane.

It may also happen that the airplane born out of the Radio Flyer toy might not have existed at all, and neither did Bobby. It could all be a product of Mike's imagination to escape from his abusive surroundings. Or if at all Bobby existed, it could also be possible that he might have deliberately ended his life to free himself from The King. After all, Bobby was the one The King had been predominantly violent towards.

Radio Flyer explores the depths of a child's imagination, so it could be a conscious creative decision by the makers to ambiguous and open-ended. The narrator of the story, an older Mike, retells the story to his children years after this event took place. The narrative is reliant on what Mike reminisces and interprets to be true. After finishing the story, he says to his children by saying: