Cocoon: The Return (1988)

Home has a pull all its own, even for those who've found paradise far away. Daniel Petrie's "Cocoon: The Return," the sequel to Ron Howard's hit, brings back the adventurous retirees who left Earth for the peaceful alien world of Antarea. Five years later, they return to Florida with their alien friends for a brief four-day visit, to help rescue more cocoons threatened by undersea earthquakes. One of the cocoons is found by a marine biologist (Courteney Cox) and taken to a laboratory for study, and the friends must find a way to free it before it's too late. Reunited with their astonished families and friends, the retirees rediscover the joys they left behind, but also the frailties of human life. Ben (Wilford Brimley) and his wife (Maureen Stapleton) realize how much they've missed watching their grandson (Barret Oliver) grow up. Art (Don Ameche) and his wife, Bess (Gwen Verdon), learn that she's pregnant, and must decide where to raise their child. Joe (Hume Cronyn) discovers that his illness has returned, and when his wife, Alma (Jessica Tandy), is badly hurt saving a child, he faces an agonizing choice. Meanwhile, their old friend Bernie (Jack Gilford), who stayed behind, is overjoyed to see them and finds new romance with a feisty widow (Elaine Stritch). Steve Guttenberg, Tahnee Welch and Brian Dennehy also return. As their visit comes to an end, each must decide whether to stay on Earth or leave again, perhaps forever. It's a gentle, heartfelt sequel.