Flubber (1997)

An absent-minded professor discovers "flubber," a rubber-like super-bouncy substance.

Director:

Les Mayfield

Writers:

Samuel W. Taylor (short story "A Situation of Gravity"), John Hughes (screenplay),

Stars:

Robin Williams, Marcia Gay Harden, Christopher McDonald

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robin Williams	...	Professor Philip Brainard
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Dr. Sara Jean Reynolds
Christopher McDonald	...	Wilson Croft
Ted Levine	...	Wesson
Clancy Brown	...	Smith
Raymond J. Barry	...	Chester Hoenicker (as Raymond Barry)
Wil Wheaton	...	Bennett Hoenicker
Edie McClurg	...	Martha George
Jodi Benson	...	Weebo (voice)
Leslie Stefanson	...	Sylvia
Malcolm Brownson	...	Father
Benjamin Brock	...	Window Boy
Dakin Matthews	...	Minister
Zack Zeigler	...	Teenage Boy
Sam Lloyd	...	Coach Willy Barker (as Samuel Lloyd)

Storyline

Professor Phillip Brainard, an absent-minded professor, works with his assistant Weebo, trying to create a substance that's a new source of energy and that will save Medfield College where his sweetheart Sara is the president. He has missed his wedding twice, and on the afternoon of his third wedding, Professor Brainard creates flubber, which allows objects to fly through the air. It looks like rubber, so he calls it flubber. This film is based on the 1961 Disney classic, "The Absent-Minded Professor.

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Plot Keywords:

professor | college | wedding | medfield college | flying rubber | 

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Taglines:

Catch it if you can!

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for slapstick action and mild language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 November 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Absent Minded Professor

Filming Locations:

Alameda, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

DEM 5,635,547 (Germany) (20 March 1998)

Gross:

£10,728,868 (UK) (8 May 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Great Oaks Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 90 min (DVD edition)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nancy Olson:  Nancy Olson, who played Betsy Carlisle in the original _Absent Minded Professor, The (1961)_, appears as a Secretary at Ford Company (uncredited).

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Goofs

When the flubber breaks out of Prof Brainard's back pocket it makes a hole. As he is falling out of the window there is no hole in his back pocket

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Quotes

Phillip Brainard: If we were interested in making money, we wouldn't have become teachers.

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Connections

Referenced in The Nostalgia Critic: Home Alone 3 (2010)

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Soundtracks

"TIGER RAG"
Written by Henry Ragas, D.J. La Rocca, L. Shields, A. Sbarbaro, and E.B. Edwards
Performed by Florida State University Marching Band
Courtesy of Platinum Entertainment

User Reviews

Fun Mainly For The Kids

This was a fun remake of "The Absent-Minded Professor," with special-effects the main show here. We see and hear the following impossible things: inanimate objects become human (with feelings, no less!) and a flying computer called "Weebo." Obviously, this is just a far-off story designs only for laughs (I know one person who actually took some of this stuff seriously.)

Despite a bowling bowl repeatedly hitting someone in the head, it's a fairly harmless movie with no language problems, which is a rarity in a Robin Williams film. Robin is the "absent- minded professor," in this "Dr. Philip Brainiard." You can call him, "Dr. Phil." There are one or two sneaky-vulgar lines but nothing much.

With the flubber-substance making balls bounce forever, into every object, you get a lot of slapstick scenes that are either stupid or laugh-out-loud funny. The story, geared a lot more for kids than adults, has a nice lighthearted feel to it. For adults, one viewing is plenty, but kids will enjoy it multiple times.