Flipper (franchise)

Flipper
Official franchise logo
Based on	Flipper by Arthur Weiss Ricou Browning Jack Cowden
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1, 2) National Broadcasting Company (1963) Pax TV (1994) Universal Pictures (3) Warner Bros. Pictures (current holders for the first 2 films only, via Turner Entertainment) Amazon MGM Studios (current holders for 2 TV series only, via Orion Television)
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]}

Films

Film	U.S. release date	Director	Screenwriter	Story by	Producer(s)
"Flipper"	August 14, 1963 (1963-08-14)	James B. Clark	Arthur Weiss	Ricou Browning & Jack Cowden	Ivan Tors
Flipper's New Adventure	June 24, 1964 (1964-06-24)	Leon Benson	Art Arthur	Ivan Tors
Flipper	May 10, 1996 (1996-05-10)	Alan Shapiro		Ricou Browning & Jack Cowden	James McNamara and Perry Katz

Flipper (1963)

Main article: Flipper (1963 film)

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]

Flipper's New Adventure (1964)

Main article: Flipper's New Adventure

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]

Flipper (1996)

Main article: Flipper (1996 film)

Sandy Ricks, is 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, 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 develops a romantic interest 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 nursing 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, situation becomes 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 and 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]}

Television

Series	Season(s)	Episode(s)	Originally released			Showrunners	Executive producer(s)	Status
			First released	Last released	Network(s)
Flipper	3	88	September 19, 1964 (1964-09-19)	April 15, 1967 (1967-04-15)	NBC	Ricou Browning & Jack Cowden	Ivan Tors and Ricou Browning	Ended
Flipper: The New Adventures	4	84	October 2, 1995 (1995-10-02)	July 1, 2000 (2000-07-01)	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

Flipper (1964–1967)

Main article: Flipper (1964 TV series)

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]

Flipper: The New Adventures (1995–1997)

Main article: Flipper (1995 TV series)

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]

Main cast and characters

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

Additional crew and production details

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

Reception

For more details on the reception of each film, see the "Reception" section on each film's article.

Box office and financial performance

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

Critical and public response

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]

Other media

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]

References

1. Macdonald, Jessica (February 7, 2015). "The Truth Behind Hollywood's Famous Marine Animals". Scuba Diver Life. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
2. Holbrook, Thom. "Flipper and Flipper (1995)". Thom Holbrook's Crossovers & Spinoffs. Poobala. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
3. Rangarajan, Sahana (April 22, 2018). "How film caused the rise and fall of dolphin shows". The Daily Californian. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
4. "Is Flipper a true story?". Celebrity FM. 2 October 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
5. "Flipper". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
6. Winnert, Derek (February 27, 2021). "Flipper's New Adventure *** (1964, Luke Halpin, Pamela Franklin, Helen Cherry, Tom Helmore, Francesca Annis) – Classic Movie Review 10,970". DerekWinnert.com. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
7. Leydon, Joe (May 6, 1996). "Flipper". Variety. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
8. Paxman, Andrew & Richard Morgan (July 15, 1998). "'Flipper' to resurface with Pax Net splash". Variety. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
9. Tucker, Ken (May 24, 1996). "Flipper". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
10. Vincent, Mal (May 18, 1996). "Ok, So Flipper is no Willy; Kids Will Enjoy Film Anyway". The Virginia Pilot. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
11. Howe, Desson (May 17, 1996). "'Flipper' Makes Big-Screen Splash". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
12. "Few will flip for the new "Flipper'". Tampa Bay Times.
13. Persall, Steve (May 17, 1996). "Few will flip for the new 'Flipper'". Tamba Bay Times. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
14. "Lad-and-Pet-Fish Happy Surprise;May Hit $3 Mil". Variety. 20 November 1963. p. 3.
15. "Flipper (1963)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
16. "Flipper (1963)". Letterboxd. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
17. "Flipper's New Adventure". Letterboxd. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
18. "Flipper's New Adventure". Turner Classic Movies. Tuner Classic Movies. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
19. "Flipper". RogerEbert.com. May 17, 1996. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
20. Thomas, Philip (January 1, 2000). "Flipper - Review". Empire. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
21. Maslin, Janet (May 17, 1996). "FILM REVIEW;Friendly, Smart And Wet". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
22. "Flipper". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
23. Erickson, Glenn (September 4, 2017). "Flipper Season One". Trailers from Hell. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
24. Mavis, Paul (June 1, 2021). "'Flipper' (Season 1): '60s Favorite Still Loaded with Family-Friendly Adventure". Drunk TV. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
25. "Flipper (1995)". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
26. "The New Adventure of Flipper". Film Affinity. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
27. "Top Rental Features of 1963", Variety, 8 January 1964, p. 71.
28. "Flipper (1963)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
29. "Big Rental Pictures of 1964", Variety, 6 January 1965 p 39.
30. "Flipper (1996)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
31. "Flipper (1996)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
32. "Flipper's New Adventure". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
33. "Flipper (1964–1967)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
34. "Flipper: The New Adventures (1995-2000)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
35. "Flipper". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
36. "Flipper". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
37. "Flipper". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
38. "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
39. "Flipper". May 1, 1991 – via IMDb.
40. Scullion, Chris (2024). "The Game Boy Encyclopedia: Every Game Released for the Nintendo Game Boy and Game Boy Color". White Owl – via Google Books.
41. "The Three Worlds of Flipper and Lopaka". December 15, 2000 – via IMDb.