Flipper (1996 film)

Flipper

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Alan Shapiro
Produced by James McNamara
Perry Katz
Written by Ricou Browning
Jack Cowden
Starring
Music by Joel McNeely
Cinematography Bill Butler
Edited by Peck Prior
Production
company
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
  • May 17, 1996 (1996-05-17)
Running time
 95 Minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $25 million[1]
Box office $20,080,020

Flipper is a 1996 adventure film remake of the 1963 film of the same name, starring Paul Hogan and Elijah Wood. The movie is about a boy who has to spend the summer with his uncle, who lives on the Gold Coast. Although he expects to have another boring summer, he encounters a dolphin whom he names Flipper and with whom he forms a friendship.

Plot

Sandy Ricks is sent off for the summer to stay with his Uncle Porter in the seaside town of Coral Key. Initially, Sandy is unenthusiastic and disappointed that he is going to a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert. His mood remains unchanged even after meeting Kathy, a local shopkeeper with whom his uncle carries on a flirtatious relationship, and Kim, a girl his own age.

While out on Porter's fishing trawler, they meet Potter's enemy, Dirk Moran. Nearby, a pod of dolphins is frolicking near Dirks boat. As a big game fisherman, Dirk Moran makes it plain that he hates just about every other fish-eating animal on earth. Sandy meets a dolphin, Flipper.

The next day, Porter and Sandy are paid a visit by the sheriff, who explains that they could not keep the dolphin unless he is in captivity. That night, Sandy and Kim set out on a dinghy to look for Flipper. They fail to locate the dolphin, but see dumping of barrels off of Dirk Moran's boat. The next morning, as Kim arrives looking for Sandy, Sonny, Porter's pet brown pelican, comes running, as if asking her to follow him. Sonny leads Kim to Flipper who is beached on the shore and sick. They manage to cure Flipper anyhow.

Kathy determines that Flipper has been poisoned by toxic waste, which is also shown to have been ruining the local fishing. The group uses Flipper's ability of echolocation and a special camera attached to his head to help them locate the barrels of toxic waste. Flipper also manages to locate the rest of his pod, and reunites with them, in the process, dropping the camera. Porter rushes back to alert the sheriff about the barrels. Sandy, however becomes concerned that something has happened to Flipper; without informing anyone except Kathy's young son, Marvin, who sets off in the dinghy to find him.

Sandy barely survives an encounter with Dirk Moran's boat, which dismantles the dinghy. He sees an approaching dorsal fin and thinks it is Flipper, but it is actually a hammerhead shark. Sandy swims for his life towards Dirk's boat. As the shark is about to attack Sandy, Flipper appears and starts nose-butting the shark in the gills. There is a harrowing moment when the shark proves stronger than Flipper, but Flipper's dolphin pod comes to his aid in the nick of time. Dirks Moran is arrested by the sheriff for illegally dumping toxic waste.

The next day, when Sandy's mom and younger sibling arrive to pick him up, there is a commotion. It is Flipper, who has come to see Sandy off.

Cast

Production

The film was shot in the Bahamas.[2] Animatronic dolphins, designed by Walt Conti and his team, had to be used extensively, such as in scenes where Flipper interacts with the human characters, or is shown swimming along. Conti stated that using real dolphins does not work as well as many might think.[3]

Reception

Joe Leydon of Variety criticized the plot but appreciated the performances of Hogan, Wood, Wesson, Hayes and Field, as well as the animatronic work on the film.[2] Dwayne E. Leslie of Boxoffice noted the scene where a hammerhead shark attacks a seabird, which brings to mind similar footage from National Geographic, may be shocking for very young children.[4]

The film's tagline, "This summer it's finally safe to go back in the water." references the tagline of the 1978 feature film Jaws 2, "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..."

Box office

The film debuted at No. 2 with $4.5 million.[1] Flipper ultimately grossed $20 million domestically, on a $25 million budget.

DVD release

The film was released on DVD in 2003 by Universal Studios Home Entertainment, available in both 16x9 anamorphic widescreen and 4x3 fullscreen editions. In 2007, a widescreen-only print of Flipper was released in a four film package alongside The Little Rascals, Casper, and Leave It to Beaver (film). Dubbed "Family Favorites 4 Movie Collection: Franchise Collection", all four films are based on popular TV shows. Flipper was later released on Blu-ray on February 8, 2011.

References

  1. 1 2 Brennan, Judy (1996-05-20). "Twister Sustains Box Office Momentum in 2nd Week". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  2. 1 2 Leydon, Joe (1996-05-06). "Flipper Review". Variety. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
  3. ↑ Rickitt, Richard (2006). Designing Movie Creatures and Characters: Behind the Scenes With the Movie Masters. Focal Press. p. 167. ISBN 0-240-80846-0.
  4. ↑ Leslie, Dwayne E. (1 August 2008). "Movie Reviews: Flipper". Boxoffice. Retrieved 17 November 2009.

External links

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