Flipper | |
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Based on | Flipper by Arthur Weiss Ricou Browning Jack Cowden |
Distributed by |
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Release date | 1963–1996 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $26,030,000 (2 films) |
Box office | >$30,593,313 (3 films) |
The Flipper franchise [1] [2] [3] [4] consists of American family-adventure installments including three theatrical films, and two television shows. Based on original an original story created by Arthur Weiss, Ricou Browning and Jack Cowden, the plot centers around a family who becomes friends with a notably intelligent bottlenose dolphin they rescued from injuries, which they name Flipper. Through the events of the franchise, Flipper regularly gives aid to his human friends and selflessly comes to their rescue to return the favor.
The franchise as a whole was met with mixed critical and financial reception, with each installment faring diversly. The original movie received mild response from critics, [5] with a similar outcome at the box office. Its sequel earned praise from critics and a higher monetary return, [6] with the first television spin-off series receiving warm reception from critics and viewers alike. [7] Though the 1995 continuation show was generally well-received critically, it did not see successful viewership. [8] Conversely, though the 1996 remake film was a financial success, it was poorly received by critics and declared as inferior to the similarly-themed Free Willy franchise. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]
Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter | Story by | Producer(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
"Flipper" | August 14, 1963 | James B. Clark | Arthur Weiss | Ricou Browning & Jack Cowden | Ivan Tors |
Flipper's New Adventure | June 24, 1964 | Leon Benson | Art Arthur | Ivan Tors | |
Flipper | May 10, 1996 | Alan Shapiro | Ricou Browning & Jack Cowden | James McNamara and Perry Katz |
Sandy Ricks, a young boy living in the Florida Keys, has his world forever changed one day when he discovers an injured bottlenose dolphin. After rescuing the animal and nursing it back to health, he names the dolphin Flipper. The pair form a friendly bond while exploring various areas, and enjoying their adventures together. When his father Porter instructs him to return Flipper to the wild of open sea, Sandy is disheartened and tries to sneak away with his friend from the ocean.
The importance of the pair's friendship is displayed when an encounter with a shark on the hunt becomes a dangerous situation and Flipper's loyalty is shown when he fights to protect the young boy who saved his life. [14] [15] [16]
Through a number of years, Sandy has formed a meaningful friendship with Flipper and their bond strengthened through their adventures. With his wife since deceased, Porter's primary focus has shifted to providing for his son and continues studying to become a park ranger. When plans for construction in the Florida Keys cause some hardship for his father's job as a fisherman, Sandy learns that the family may be moving. Determined to remain close to his animal friend, Sandy leaves for the Bahama Islands with the dolphin.
Before he can make it to his destination, he is forced to stop at a nearby deserted island when he runs out of resources. There he discovers a British family who is being held for ransom. As he tries to devise a plan to help them escape, he secretly befriends their daughter Penny. Becoming romantically interested in her, he finds himself worrying about whether he will see her once they escape their captors. While Sandy works with Flipper to help their new friends, Porter begins a search in all the nearby islands for his lost son. [17] [6] [18]
When Sandy Ricks, a teenager from Chicago who is struggling with adjusting to the divorce of his parents, his mother decides that a vacation may be therapeutic for him. Sending him to the Florida Keys for the summer to stay with his uncle Porter, Sandy becomes resentful for the situation and his uncle.
Though his poor attitude towards the big game fishing proves to be a struggle for Uncle Porter, Sandy's life is changed when he encounters a young bottlenose dolphin who recently escaped the slaughter of his familial pod, which was killed by Porter's rival and enemy named Dirk Moran. Befriending and caring for the orphaned animal and experiencing adventures together, he also becomes familiar with a local girl named Kim Parker and gains romantic interests in her. As Sandy begins to feel like his life is improving, he and Kim find that Flipper has beached himself and is gravely sick. After nurturing him back to health, the friends become aware that toxic waste is being dumped into the ocean by Moran and his crew. Determined to confront the criminal, situations become dire when Sandy finds himself in open water being pursued by a large and predatory hammerhead referred to by locals as "Scar". Just when his parents nor uncle are too far from him to come to the rescue, the bond he has formed with Flipper may save his life. [7] [19] [20] [21]
Series | Season(s) | Episode(s) | Originally released | Showrunners | Executive producer(s) | Status | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First released | Last released | Network(s) | ||||||
Flipper | 3 | 88 | September 19, 1964 | April 15, 1967 | NBC | Ricou Browning & Jack Cowden | Ivan Tors and Ricou Browning | Ended |
Flipper: The New Adventures | 4 | 84 | October 2, 1995 | July 1, 2000 | Syndication (Seasons 1–2) Pax TV (Seasons 3–4) | E.F. Wallengren, Michael Nankin & Reuben Leder | Jeffrey M. Hayes, E.F., Samuel Goldwyn Jr., Reuben Leder, and Greg Coote |
Continuing the plot from the first two films, the series details the continued adventures of the Ricks family and their friend Flipper the bottlenose dolphin. Porter continues his role as a widower father over his two sons Sandy and Keith "Bud" Ricks, while also working as the chief warden and park ranger over the Coral Key Park and Marine Preserve in Florida. Sandy continues to grow in his teenage years, while Bud grows a closer friendship with Flipper. Sandy, Budd, and Flipper work together, to confound the conniving plans of criminals in the area. [22] [23] [24]
Years chronologically after the previous television series, Keith "Budd" Ricks now leads dolphin research Bal Harbour Research Institute in the Florida Keys. Having earned his doctorate in animal science, he works with various others to preserve the natural resources of the area. Through the series, various other main characters also work in the establishment including but not limited to Dr. Pam Blondell, Maya Graham, Dr. Jennifer Daulton, Edward "Cap" Daulton, Dep. Tom Hampton, Lt. Alex Parker, and Courtney Gordon. With the aid of the exceptionally intelligent bottlenose dolphin Flipper, the crew regularly discovers the nefarious plans of local criminals and reports them to local authorities. [8] [25] [26]
Character | Film | Television | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
"Flipper" | Flipper's New Adventure | Flipper | Flipper (1964–1967) | Flipper: The New Adventures (1995–2000) | |||||||
Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | |||||
Principal cast | |||||||||||
Flipper | Appeared | ||||||||||
Sandy Ricks | Luke Halpin | Elijah Wood | Luke Halpin | Referenced | |||||||
Porter Ricks | Chuck Connors | Brian Kelly | Brian Kelly | Referenced | |||||||
Uncle Porter Ricks | Paul Hogan | ||||||||||
Martha Ricks | Kathleen Maguire | Referenced | Mary Jo Faraci | Referenced | |||||||
Dr. Keith "Bud" Ricks | Tommy Norden | Brian Wimmer | Referenced | ||||||||
Dr. Pam Blondell-Ricks | Colleen Flynn | Referenced | |||||||||
Mike Blondell | Payton Haas | Referenced | |||||||||
Maya Graham | Jessica Alba | Referenced | |||||||||
Dr. Jennifer Daulton | Elizabeth Morehead | Referenced | |||||||||
Dep. Tom Hampton | Whip Hubley | ||||||||||
Lt. Alex Parker-Hampton | Tiffany Lamb | ||||||||||
Chris Parker | Craig Marriott | ||||||||||
Jackie Parker | Laura Donaldson | ||||||||||
Courtney Gordon | Skye Patch | ||||||||||
Principal cast | |||||||||||
Sandy's sister named Bua Ricks | Allison Bertolino | ||||||||||
Sheriff Rogers | George Applewhite | Eric Applewhite | |||||||||
Sheriff Buck Cowan | Isaac Hayes | ||||||||||
Penny Hopewell | Pamela Franklin | ||||||||||
Sir Halsey Hopewell | Tom Helmore | ||||||||||
Julia Hopewell | Helen Cherry | ||||||||||
Gwen Hopewell | Francesca Annis | ||||||||||
Gil Bates | Lloyd Battista | ||||||||||
Convict | Courtney Brown | ||||||||||
Convict 2 | William Cooley | ||||||||||
Ulla Norstrand | Ulla Strömstedt | ||||||||||
Ed Dennis | Dan Chandler | ||||||||||
Hap Gorman | Andy Devine | ||||||||||
Cpt. Edward "Cap" Daulton | Gus Mercurio | ||||||||||
Dean Gregson | Scott Michaelson | Referenced | |||||||||
Holly Myers | Anja Coleby | ||||||||||
Title | Crew/Detail | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Composer(s) | Cinematographer(s) | Editor | Production companies | Distributing company | Running time | ||
"Flipper" | Henry Vars | Lamar Boren & Joseph C. Brun | Warren Brown | Ivan Tors Productions | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | 1 hr 30 mins | |
Flipper's New Adventure | Lamar Boren | Warren Adams & Charles Craft | 1 hr 34 mins | ||||
Flipper (The Series) | Henry Vars, Samuel Matlovsky, and Ruby Raksin | Lamar Boren, Howard Winner, Clifford H. Poland Jr., and Edmund Gibson | Charles Craft, Stan Gilbert, Erwin Dumbrille, John B. Woelz, Warren Adams, Harold V. McKenzie, John A. Martinelli, and Robert Paltz | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television, Ivan Tors Productions, Miami Seaquarium | National Broadcasting Company (NBC) | 44 hrs (30 mins/episode) | |
Flipper: The New Adventures | John D'Andrea, Cory Lerios, Garry McDonald, Laurie Stone, and Tom Harriman | John Fleckenstein, John Stokes, Brandon Apps, Gene Moller, and Geoff Cox | David Codron, Regis Kimble, Dennis C. Vejar, Michael J. Hagan, Robert Florio, Chip Masamitsu, Rick Tuber, Mark Sadusky, Suzanne Hines, Suzanne Angel, and Paul Booth | The Samuel Goldwyn Company, Universal Television, Tribune Entertainment, Village Roadshow Pictures Television | Syndication Pax TV | 54 hrs 20 mins (43 mins/episode) | |
Flipper | Joel McNeely | Bill Butler | Peck Prior | The Bubble Factory, American Films | Universal Pictures | 1 hr 35 mins | |
Film | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Total home video sales | Budget | Worldwide Net Income/Loss | Ref. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All time North America | All time worldwide | |||||
"Flipper" | Information not publicly available | — | Information not publicly available | Information not publicly available | Information not publicly available | $2,500,000 | $500,000 | ≥$2,000,000 | [14] [27] [28] |
Flipper's New Adventure | Information not publicly available | Information not publicly available | Information not publicly available | Information not publicly available | Information not publicly available | $1,600,000 | Information not publicly available | ≤$1,600,000 | [29] |
Flipper | $20,080,020 | $10,513,293 | $30,593,313 | #3,793 | #4,629 | Information not publicly available | $25,530,000 | $5,063,313 | [30] [31] |
Totals | >$20,080,020 | >$10,513,293 | >$30,593,313 | x̅ #1,264 | x̅ #1,543 | $4,100,000 | >$26,030,000 | ≤$8,663,313 |
Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
---|---|---|---|
"Flipper" | 50% (6 reviews) [5] | — | — |
Flipper's New Adventure | (1 review) [32] | — | — |
Flipper(The Series) | — [33] | — | — |
Flipper: The New Adventures | — [34] | — [35] | — |
Flipper | 30% (20 reviews) [36] | 43/100 (19 reviews) [37] | A− [38] |
In addition to film and television productions, Flipper has appeared in children's books, a limited run comic book in 1966 and 1967, and two video game adaptations, one titled Flipper in 1991, [39] and the other, The Three Worlds of Flipper and Lopaka, in 2000. [40] [41]
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the clade Odontoceti. Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae, Platanistidae, Iniidae, Pontoporiidae, and possibly extinct Lipotidae. There are 40 extant species named as dolphins.
Ricou Ren Browning was an American stunt performer, filmmaker and actor. A skilled swimmer, he was known for his innovative underwater stunt work, notably in the 1954 film Creature from the Black Lagoon, in which he portrayed the titular Gill-man during the film's underwater scenes, and in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, for which he was the underwater sequences director. He was also the co-creator of the Flipper media franchise.
The bottlenose dolphin is a toothed whale in the genus Tursiops. They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus contains three species: the common bottlenose dolphin, the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, and Tamanend's bottlenose dolphin. Others, like the Burrunan dolphin, may be alternately considered their own species or be subspecies of T. aduncus. Bottlenose dolphins inhabit warm and temperate seas worldwide, being found everywhere except for the Arctic and Antarctic Circle regions. Their name derives from the Latin tursio (dolphin) and truncatus for the truncated teeth.
Oceanic dolphins or Delphinidae are a widely distributed family of dolphins that live in the sea. Close to forty extant species are recognised. They include several big species whose common names contain "whale" rather than "dolphin", such as the Globicephalinae. Delphinidae is a family within the superfamily Delphinoidea, which also includes the porpoises (Phocoenidae) and the Monodontidae. River dolphins are relatives of the Delphinoidea.
Flipper may refer to:
A dolphinarium is an aquarium for dolphins. The dolphins are usually kept in a pool, though occasionally they may be kept in pens in the open sea, either for research or public performances. Some dolphinariums consist of one pool where dolphins perform for the public, others are part of larger parks, such as marine mammal parks, zoos or theme parks, with other animals and attractions as well.
Flipper is a 1996 American adventure film and a remake of the 1963 film of the same name. Written and directed by Alan Shapiro, the film stars Elijah Wood as a boy who has to spend the summer with his uncle, who lives on the Florida Gold Coast. Although he expects to have a boring summer, he encounters a dolphin whom he names Flipper and with whom he forms a friendship.
Flipper is an American television program broadcast on NBC from September 19, 1964, until April 15, 1967. Flipper, a bottlenose dolphin, is the pet of Porter Ricks, chief warden at Coral Key Park and Marine Preserve, and his two young sons, Sandy and Bud. The show has been dubbed an "aquatic Lassie", and a considerable amount of children's merchandise inspired by the show was produced during its first run.
Luke Austin Halpin is a former American actor, stuntman, marine coordinator, diver and pilot. He became a child actor at the age of eight and is widely known for his role as Sandy Ricks in the feature films Flipper and Flipper's New Adventure, as well as for reprising his role for the NBC television series adaptation, Flipper.
Flipper is a 1963 American adventure film written by Arthur Weiss based upon a story by Ricou Browning and Jack Cowden. Produced by Ivan Tors and directed by James B. Clark, the film centers on a 12-year-old boy living with his parents in the Florida Keys who befriends an injured wild dolphin. The boy and the dolphin become inseparable, eventually overcoming the misgivings of the boy's fisherman father.
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Flipper's New Adventure is a 1964 American feature film released on June 24, 1964 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, written by Art Arthur, and directed by Leon Benson. It was a sequel to the 1963 film, Flipper and was based on characters created by Ricou Browning and Jack Cowden.
Brian Kelly was an American actor and producer widely known for his role as Porter Ricks, the widowed father of two sons on the NBC television series Flipper.
Flipper is an American revival television series of the original 1964 Flipper television series. The first two seasons aired in first-run syndication; seasons three and four aired on the PAX network.
The Dolphin Research Center (DRC) is a dolphinarium on Grassy Key, Florida. The 90,000-square-foot (8,400 m2) series of saltwater lagoons is home to several dolphins and California sea lions.
Flipper and Lopaka is an Australian animated series produced by the Yoram Gross companies: Yoram Gross-Village Roadshow and Yoram Gross-EM.TV. It has previously aired on Australia's Seven Network at various times and has also aired on Australia's ABC3, a channel dedicated to children's television programs.
Beethoven is a series of eight American films, created by John Hughes and Amy Holden Jones, in which the plot revolves around a family attempting to control the antics of their pet Saint Bernard. The first two films were theatrical releases and all subsequent releases have been direct to video. The original Beethoven was released in theaters in April 1992. Its opening grossed $7,587,565 and was the year's 26th largest grossing film in the U.S. at $57,114,049.
Strays is a 1997 American drama film written, directed by, and starring Vin Diesel. It follows a drug dealer and hustler who is fed up with the repetitious lifestyle he leads and begins looking for meaning in his life. It marked Diesel's feature film directing debut and takes a hard look at his own adolescence and upbringing in New York City. The film premiered at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival.
Dolphin Tale is a 2011 American 3D family drama film directed by Charles Martin Smith and written by Karen Janszen and Noam Dromi. It stars Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble, Kris Kristofferson, Cozi Zuehlsdorff in her film debut, and Morgan Freeman. The book and film are inspired by the true story of Winter, a bottlenose dolphin that was rescued in December 2005 off the Florida coast and taken in by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. In the film, Winter loses her tail after becoming entangled with a rope attached to a crab trap, and must be fitted with a prosthetic one in order to swim naturally again.