Search - Flubber on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Adult Humor Movie Release: 1997 DVD Release: 06/16/1998 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 34 mins Studio: Walt Disney Video Members Wishing: 15 Genres: Comedy, Slapstick, Fantasy Comedy, Family-Oriented Comedy

Although "flub" is defined as "to make a mess of," the word "flubber" is a contraction from "flying rubber." In this remake of the 1961 comedy-fantasy The Absent Minded Professor, Robin Williams takes on the role created by Fred MacMurray and later executed by Harry Anderson on television, while the 1961 film's Flubber with anti-gravity properties has now been digitally reincarnated as a translucent green, pulsating, bouncing blob that loves to dance the mambo. Absent-minded college professor Philip Brainard (Williams), employed at a near-bankrupt university, creates the formula for Flubber, yet he can't remember to show up for his own wedding to university-President Sara Jean Reynolds (Marcia Gay Harden). His rival, Wilson Croft (Christopher McDonald), plots to steal Sara and the Flubber from Brainard. Rich, corrupt businessman Chester Hoenicker (Raymond Barry) tries to force Brainard to pass his failing son Bennett (Wil Wheaton), but he soon takes an interest in Flubber after hearing about it from his flunkies (Clancy Brown, Ted Levine). After using Flubber to fly over clouds in his 1963 T-Bird, Brainard realizes Flubber can also improve the performance of the school's pathetic basketball team. Jodi Benson is the voice of Weebo, Brainard's talking, flying household robot, with a video display of Disney clips at odd moments. Many gags are embellishments from the 1961 film, with John Hughes (Home Alone) rewriting the original Bill Walsh screenplay (based on Samuel Taylor's short story, "A Situation of Gravity"). Though Walsh died in 1975, he received posthumous credit for this script. Filming began October 8,1996 in San Francisco. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Robin Williams - Professor Philip Brainard
Marcia Gay Harden - Sara Jean Reynolds
Christopher McDonald - Wilson Croft
Raymond J. Barry - Chester Hoenicker
Clancy Brown - Smith

Les Mayfield's update of The Absent-Minded Professor comes to DVD with a widescreen transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. A closed-captioned English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1, while Spanish and French soundtracks have been recorded in Dolby Digital Stereo. Subtitles are available in all three of those languages as well. Supplemental materials are limited to a theatrical trailer. Taking a nod from their animation releases, Disney makes this a bare-bones release. A featurette on the special effects, or even a Flubber game for children would have been appropriate. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide