Son of Flubber (G, 1963)

In this sequel, Fred MacMurray reprises his Absent-Minded Professor role as Ned Brainard, inventor of Flubber. Tyrant land developer Alonzo Hawk threatens to bulldoze Medfield College if the school doesn't pay back his loan. Professor Brainard wants to help, but with the government stalling on payment for his gravity-defying Flubber invention, he can't even settle a debt with the paperboy, let alone further his own research. Brainard is experimenting in his garage laboratory on Flubber Gas, which can gather up moisture and direct it at clouds to produce rain. It's a grand invention, but can it bring back his wife who's left in a huff, thinking he's smitten with another woman? Can it score a win for Medfield's inept football team, and keep Alonzo Hawk at bay? As it turns out, Flubber Gas does a lot of things that no one -- not even Professor Brainard --expected.

While somewhat meandering, SON OF FLUBBER offers plenty of fun for kids and some entertaining diversion for adults. The two movies follow the same basic formula, in which a professor comes up with a revolutionary invention that not only bails his college out of its financial problems, but also helps its lame duck team score a win. That formula worked terrifically the first time. It might have worked again, with football taking the place of basketball, if the writers hadn't fumbled.

The movie starts slowly, setting up a number of situations that ultimately have no resolution. More than likely, none of this will bother younger viewers. They'll be entranced by Brainard's cloud-producing ray and an overinflated football player bouncing into the end zone.

Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Robert Stevenson
Cast: Ed Wynn, Fred MacMurray, Nancy Olson
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 103 minutes
Theatrical release: January 16, 1963
DVD release: June 3, 2003
MPAA Rating: G