TheLittleSongbird Liked but not loved 'Flipper' as a child. Still feel the same as a young adult. It's a long way from a masterpiece (though it never was trying to be) and will never be one of my favourites, but it does exactly what it strived to do and ticks most of the right boxes.'Flipper' won't blow the mind. While it is good that the story is easy to follow, at times it did seem a bit too basic and safe, for a feature length it's slight and it can be pretty predictable, nobody for example will be surprised by how the film ends. The dark shadiness of how the human villain is written, played by Jonathan Banks, does not gel with the innocent, fun-loving, light-hearted atmosphere of the story, almost like he accidentally walked straight from a different film.That Banks didn't seem to know whether to overdo the sliminess or give an indication that the villain also wasn't that smart didn't help. The dialogue sometimes is a little cloying.However, 'Flipper' looks very pleasing. It's a beautifully shot film and even more pleasing to the eye are the idyllic locations and the stunning underwater sequences. The music is upbeat and charmingly whimsical. It's all very capably directed too.Most of the time, 'Flipper' is very charming and sweet, epitomising childhood innocence and has a lightness that stops the film from feeling heavy. It has a lot of fun and a heart of gold, so much so that although it's a problematic film it is difficult to be too hard on it. It teaches a valuable message that for the type of message that it is is handled in a way that while not exactly restrained doesn't beat one around the head.Elijah Wood is appealing in the lead role and Paul Hogan plays it straight very effectively. Apart from Banks, the rest of the cast also do admirably with amiable if somewhat one-dimensional characters. Stealing the show is the dolphin, impressively rendered with a mix of show-stopping animatronics and the real thing but also with a personality that melts the most cynical of hearts. Wood's chemistry with the dolphin is the film's driving force and is a large part of what makes the film charming.In conclusion, decent likable film but not one of those "bowl the viewer over" films. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Theo Robertson Sandy has to spend his Summer break with his uncle Porter in the Florida Keys and right away we're supposed to sympathise with him . If we had to sympathise with uncle Porter that I could understand but no we're supposed to feel sorry for Sandy . Now let's see Sandy gets a holiday on the South East American coast , the Caribbean in fact and everyone who saw this at a South Central or Hell's Kitchen cinema are supposed to shed tears for Sandy ! Why ? Is he going to get attacked by a giant squid ? Oh hold on he did get attacked by a giant squid in another movie ! As you can imagine FLIPPER plays out like all these other aquatic family movies . Boy doesn't get on with a family member , sea animal is oppressed by these nasty evil humans , boy and sea animal become the best of friends , boy finds love though happily not in the flippers of a sea creature , there's an environmental subplot etc . So in effect FLIPPER is no better or worse than any other movie of its ilk . You know how everything is going to work out before the end credits or even before the opening credits . The only thing of note is Paul Hogan who is fairly impressive in a straight role

Tom A. Pennock Universal Studios version of "Flipper" (1996) is a great heartwarming film for the entire family with good values and sentimentality. It is the story of Sandy Ricks, a teenager from Chicago who reluctantly spends his vacation with his Uncle Porter Ricks in the Bahamas. This ultimately changes the teenagers life and he grows up in the process. He learns to appreciate nature and to have a respect for the environment. I grew up in the 1960's and the NBC television show "Flipper" was my favorite childhood show. Elijah Wood is perfectly cast as a 1990's Sandy Ricks and gives an excellent performance. As much as I liked the NBC television show and MGM theatrical feature films with Luke Halpin as Sandy in the 1960's I liked this feature the best! I feel Elijah Wood is the best Sandy Ricks. With respect to Luke Halpin I feel Elijah Wood has more of a range of acting talent and emotes more as an actor which makes his performance excellent and more believable. I think Elijah Wood is the best young actor working today in films. Director Alan Shapiro also wrote the screenplay and has done an excellent job as both writer and director of this film. Paul Hogan gives a comical and likable performance as Sandy's Uncle Porter Ricks. Mr. Hogan's performance perfectly offsets Elijah's role as Sandy. I am a big fan of underwater films. This film was beautifully shot in the Bahamas like "Thunderball" (1965 UA) was. The director of photography was Bill Butler A.S.C. who lensed the film "Jaws" in 1975. Mr. Butler is a very talented cinematographer. The underwater director of photography was Pete Romano. He did a superb job with the underwater cinematography. I enjoyed the film score by Joel McNeely. This good film score featured Crosby, Stills and Nash among other talented artists. This motion picture was shot in Panavision like "Thunderball" in the aspect ratio of 2.35:1 If possible try to see this film in a scope version as originally framed and visioned by Alan Shapiro and Bill Butler. Another very nice thing is that Mr. Shapiro gave the "original" Sandy Ricks (Luke Halpin) a small part in this remake. He portrayed Bounty Fisherman #3 in this film. This was a very kind gesture on Mr. Shapiro's part! As you can tell I am a real true fan of this film. Sadly this beautiful film was met with harsh words by the majority of movie critics. I originally saw this movie on my birthday, May 31st of 1996 in a movie theater. It meant a lot to me. I have it on numerous video versions. The VHS versions are in "pan and scan". The laserdisc version is "letterboxed" 2.35:1! I even have a VCD in 2.35:1 from Hong Kong which is "letterboxed". But my most prized possession is an "original" 16mm theatrical feature print which I will treasure for the rest of my life! Thank you Mr. Shapiro, Elijah Wood, Paul Hogan and everyone involved for making this a memorable movie for me to enjoy!P.S. I must add that the quality of the Universal DVD is superb! It is the best DVD as far as quality I have ever seen. The color and resolution is spectacular. The soundtrack is great. I think Universal must have used the same transfer for the DVD that they did for the laserdisc version. The 35mm scope print is "mint" and Alan's film really has a wonderful look to it. A great tribute to a wonderful film! The DVD's resolution is even superior to the laserdisc quality! It's just spectacular! Thank you Universal Home Video for the great quality control and transfer. Many thank's for doing a superb job on this wonderful family film. Also many thank's to you Alan for all your extreme kindness to me!!! It's a real honor to know you!!! (Review Revised/Updated June 27, 2005)

angel_jo_b well! its just finished on channel 4 about an hour ago! it was cool, better than free willy i have to say! ermm what to say...kids wud deffo like this film, the only fault is that it didnt show the rhcp's concert!! was lookin forward to seeing that when it was mentioned however...:P:P dont rent it wait for it to come on the television - pretty good acting ttfn xx