Flipper

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Flipper

PG

1996

1h 36m

Kids & Family

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

30%

Tomatometer

20 Reviews

35%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Sandy Ricks (Elijah Wood), a young Chicago teenager, has difficulty adjusting after his parents' divorce. Thinking a vacation will help, his mother sends him to spend the summer with his uncle (Paul Hogan) in the Florida Keys. When he arrives, Ricks has nothing but a bad attitude until a chance encounter with the playful dolphin Flipper and a neighborhood girl (Jessica Wesson) snap him out of it. However, Flipper's life is soon in danger when someone starts dumping toxic waste in the ocean.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

01/01/2000

2/4

Like the original 1963 movie and the TV series, it expects us to be endlessly amused by a dolphin that does things that are endless but not amusing.

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Mike Clark

USA Today

01/01/2000

2/4

Flipper is inoffensive, but it's also asleep in the deep.

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Mal Vincent

The Virginian-Pilot

03/02/2022

2.5/4

There are, though, too many boring scenes with adults talking a lot - and Flipper himself takes too long to make his entrance. What we need is more of Flipper and more underwater photography.

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Brian Costello

Common Sense Media

04/24/2012

3/5

Warmhearted remake of TV classic has some scary moments.

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

02/07/2011

2/4

...an inoffensive yet utterly forgettable endeavor.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

07/28/2005

2/5

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Damon G

@Dmoney420 Feb 22

Grew up on this movie brings Hella memories back loved this movie a childhood classic

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Stephen C

@bob25009 06/10/2025

A success in 1 hour and 36 minutes.

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Leonard D

@RT58886378 07/22/2024

It's absolutely aimed at kids, aside from the adults using alcohol, and a brief moment of blood in the ocean. I love dolphins, don't get me wrong, but the pacing could have been allot better. The one scene which always makes me laugh, is when Porters pet pelican is summoned to come into his house, and slurp up the mess which his girlfriend spilled on the floor, so that's a huge positive which I can still take away from this mediocre family summer feature.

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Jake B

@Jake93 07/07/2023

I have always enjoyed watching flipper while growing up Flipper is awesome if you love Dolphins like I do.

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07/31/2021

Very campy. Target audience kids.

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farah r

@Farah 05/06/2021

The things we do for actors we like.

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Alan Shapiro

Director

Elijah Wood

Sandy

Paul Hogan

Porter

Chelsea Field

Cathy

Isaac Hayes

Sheriff Buck Cowan

Jonathan Banks

Dirk Moran

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Synopsis

Sandy Ricks (Elijah Wood), a young Chicago teenager, has difficulty adjusting after his parents' divorce. Thinking a vacation will help, his mother sends him to spend the summer with his uncle (Paul Hogan) in the Florida Keys. When he arrives, Ricks has nothing but a bad attitude until a chance encounter with the playful dolphin Flipper and a neighborhood girl (Jessica Wesson) snap him out of it. However, Flipper's life is soon in danger when someone starts dumping toxic waste in the ocean.

Director: Alan Shapiro
Producer: Perry Katz, James J. McNamara
Screenwriter: Ricou Browning, Jack Cowden, Alan Shapiro
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: The Bubble Factory, Universal Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Kids & Family, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 17, 1996, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 8, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $20.0M
Runtime: 1h 36m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo