Aliens secretly visit Earth at night to gather plant specimens in a California forest. One of them separates from the group, fascinated by the distant city lights. U.S. government vehicles arrive and chase the startled cre… See more

• Henry Thomas as Elliott Taylor, a 10-year-old boy who befriends E.T.
• Pat Welsh, Steven Spielberg, and Kayden Green as E.T. (voiceover; uncredited)
• Dee Wallace as Mary Taylor, a single mother to Elliott, Michael an… See more

After his parents' divorce in 1960, Spielberg filled the void with an imaginary alien companion that he later recalled as "a friend who could be the brother [he] never had and a father that [he] didn't feel [he] had anymo… See more

Spielberg drew the story of the film from his parents' divorce. Gary Arnold of The Washington Post called it "essentially a spiritual autobiography, a portrait of the filmmaker as a typical suburban kid set apart by a… See more