Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Absolutely Fantastic

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Our friends in the sea the dolphins get their due in this family film about a young boy who saves a dolphin and the dolphin returns the favor. Succinctly put that is the plot of Flipper.Enough has been studied and written about how next to humans, the dolphin is the most intelligent creature on this planet, some might opt the dolphin is more intelligent. You can sure prove it by what you see with this particular dolphin.Chuck Connors and Kathleen Maguire are the parents of Luke Halpin. Connors is a commercial fisherman, but a fish plague of sorts has decimated the fish population in his fishing grounds and those of the other fishermen. Making matters worse a hurricane appears as the film opens and Connors and Halpin have to beat it back to shore in the Florida Keys.They make it, but the boat is severely damaged. While Connors looks to scrounge up work, Luke saves the life of a stranded dolphin who is on the beach with a spear in him. Pretty soon he's teaching him all kinds of tricks, but dolphins do eat a lot of fish and fish are scarce at this time.I think you can see where this is all going. Doesn't detract from the fact that Flipper became one of the most popular family films of all time spawning two more films and a four year run television series all with Luke Halpin. By the time Flipper got to TV Halpin had grown a bit and his voice changed. His father's profession had changed from fisherman to park ranger and he was played by Brian Kelly. He also lost his mother and gained a younger brother. And Halpin became a bubblegum teen idol of the first order.But for this original film the underwater photography was of Oscar type caliber and the acting chemistry between Halpin and the dolphin was good and unique. In fact some years ago I read that Halpin got the part for his swimming ability.After 50 years Flipper holds up quite well for family viewing.

I caught this on TCM and watched it mainly for the nostalgia value. Though I'm 54 now, I still find a lot to like in "Flipper." I enjoyed the small-town hominess of life in the Keys, the traditional values of Sandy's parents, the boy's independence and sense of responsibility, and of course bare-chested Chuck Conners's buff physique. "Flipper" captured Hurricane Hazel quite effectively and it was a pleasure to see how the community joined together to get through a crisis. Of course the friendship between Sandy and Flipper is the heart of the film, and while some of the plot twists were a bit repetitious and predictable, the story still satisfies. However, I was in the minority in my home. "I hated it with every bone in my body," griped my 13-year-old son. "It was stupid. It was so lame," said my 7-year-old. Oh well. I tried. Maybe "Flipper" can't compete with computer games, but it still has a lot to recommend it. And the theme song still rocks!"…Everyone loves the king of the sea…No one you see is smarter than he..."

A "red plague" has hit the Florida Keys and fisherman Porter Ricks (Chuck Connors) and son Sandy (Luke Halpin) can't find fish to make a living. But Sandy saves a dolphin from dying and they became buddies. (I know I know--but this IS a kids film). Flipper (as the kid names him) leads them to a place with plenty of fish and saves Sandy from a killer shark (stop smirking!).OK--the plot is ridiculous and the same shots are used a LOT but it's really hard to hate this film. The underwater photography is impressive and Flipper himself is so cute he's hard to resist. Despite the totally stupid plot I found myself grinning whenever Flipper did cute things like jump out of the water or "talk" to the kid. Also Connors is surprisingly good as a tough (but nice) father and Halpin is easily one of the most likable child actors I've ever seen. He's nice and friendly--he acts just like a kid would. I admit the title song (first played about an hour in) is hysterically bad but I sort of enjoyed it. This is a perfect kids movie--especially if they love animals. I know not everyone loves dolphins but I do and I found this silly movie quite enjoyable. I give it a 6.

if you have a dolphin in your fish pen, you're probably the richest kid in the world.After a hurricane blasts through a small town in Florida, Sandy Ricks and his dad go out to clean out a ship. While Sandy bails water out of the lifeboat, a dolphin jumps out of nowhere and scares him to death. After awhile, this dolphin watches him carefully. it's a few days later he and his friend go out for a swim, and you'll see what happens if you see the movie.This movie had a lot of good creators behind it. the idea to watch and take pictures of flipper underwater was pretty darn good for those days. although some of those scenes were played over and over again, the movie is still good.8/10