I saw "Flubber", starring Robin Williams, more than once in the late 90's, I guess when it was new to the video format, but never knew it was a remake until I saw it again last year, probably for the first time since late last decade, and wasn't all that impressed (not sure exactly what I thought of it before). Over a year later, I've finally seen the original, "The AbsentMinded Professor", a live action Disney flick released in 1961, starring Fred MacMurray. I wasn't absolutely blown away by it, nor was I expecting to be, but I was expecting it to be better than its 1997 remake, with more laughs, and I think my moderate expectations were basically met.
Ned Brainard is an absent-minded physical chemistry professor at Medfield College. On the day of the third wedding attempt (the professor failed to show up the first two times), Betsy Carlisle, his fiancée, waits for him, hoping he will show up this time. Unfortunately, he gets carried away with his experiments, trying to uncover the mysteries of the universe, and despite how hard his housekeeper tries to remind him about his wedding, she does not succeed. However, he does discover a powerful new substance, which he calls "Flubber"! Every time this substance hits a hard surface, it gains energy! He attempts to bring attention to this new discovery of his, but his efforts prove unsuccessful, as people are generally skeptical. It only seems to catch the attention of Alonzo P. Hawk, a scheming businessman who threatens the future of the college, and plans to use Flubber for his personal gain!
For me, "The AbsentMinded Professor" was far from consistently hilarious, but there were definitely times when I laughed, even if the laughs were usually light. When I wasn't laughing, I think I was often smiling. A couple explosions early in the film, plus the main character playing tricks with his flying Model-T, getting his foe in trouble with the police one night, and some of the other things done with the Flubber, to be good comical moments, some more than others. MacMurray plays a likable lead, and the story is also interesting enough. Such scenes as the flying car ones are memorable, which brings me to the special effects. For the time, special effects like this were obviously an accomplishment. Sure, the effects in the 1997 remake are obviously superior, since it came 36 years later, but this 1961 film still deserves praise for the effects, and as for the remake, well, the special effects aren't enough to make up for the flaws in that film.
This live action film from Walt Disney Pictures may be a bit dated now. I guess it hasn't aged as well as many other movies from around the same time or before, and probably can't please as many people today as it could upon its original release in the early 60's, during its box office success. However, it's probably still entertaining for many different age groups today, though maybe just to a lesser degree than before. "Flubber" obviously has more modern aspects than "The AbsentMinded Professor", but had potential to be so much better than it turned out to be, especially with Robin Williams in the lead role, and its predecessor remains superior. Even after all this time, this is a reasonable family film, clean and lighthearted.
Ned Brainard is an absent-minded physical chemistry professor at Medfield College. On the day of the third wedding attempt (the professor failed to show up the first two times), Betsy Carlisle, his fiancée, waits for him, hoping he will show up this time. Unfortunately, he gets carried away with his experiments, trying to uncover the mysteries of the universe, and despite how hard his housekeeper tries to remind him about his wedding, she does not succeed. However, he does discover a powerful new substance, which he calls "Flubber"! Every time this substance hits a hard surface, it gains energy! He attempts to bring attention to this new discovery of his, but his efforts prove unsuccessful, as people are generally skeptical. It only seems to catch the attention of Alonzo P. Hawk, a scheming businessman who threatens the future of the college, and plans to use Flubber for his personal gain!
For me, "The AbsentMinded Professor" was far from consistently hilarious, but there were definitely times when I laughed, even if the laughs were usually light. When I wasn't laughing, I think I was often smiling. A couple explosions early in the film, plus the main character playing tricks with his flying Model-T, getting his foe in trouble with the police one night, and some of the other things done with the Flubber, to be good comical moments, some more than others. MacMurray plays a likable lead, and the story is also interesting enough. Such scenes as the flying car ones are memorable, which brings me to the special effects. For the time, special effects like this were obviously an accomplishment. Sure, the effects in the 1997 remake are obviously superior, since it came 36 years later, but this 1961 film still deserves praise for the effects, and as for the remake, well, the special effects aren't enough to make up for the flaws in that film.
This live action film from Walt Disney Pictures may be a bit dated now. I guess it hasn't aged as well as many other movies from around the same time or before, and probably can't please as many people today as it could upon its original release in the early 60's, during its box office success. However, it's probably still entertaining for many different age groups today, though maybe just to a lesser degree than before. "Flubber" obviously has more modern aspects than "The AbsentMinded Professor", but had potential to be so much better than it turned out to be, especially with Robin Williams in the lead role, and its predecessor remains superior. Even after all this time, this is a reasonable family film, clean and lighthearted.