I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

...and one of the best by Disney.You can't see this film and not enjoy the time of you life.It's clever, funny, and inventive.Please forget Robin Williams' version.That was a waste of celluloid.I'm a professor and was just thinking about the "absent-minded " effect yesterday.Or was I?? anyway, we professors are cool.and so is this film.enjoy.

I saw "Flubber", starring Robin Williams, more than once in the late 90's, I guess when it was new to the video format, but never knew it was a remake until I saw it again last year, probably for the first time since late last decade, and wasn't all that impressed (not sure exactly what I thought of it before). Over a year later, I've finally seen the original, "The AbsentMinded Professor", a live action Disney flick released in 1961, starring Fred MacMurray. I wasn't absolutely blown away by it, nor was I expecting to be, but I was expecting it to be better than its 1997 remake, with more laughs, and I think my moderate expectations were basically met.Ned Brainard is an absent-minded physical chemistry professor at Medfield College. On the day of the third wedding attempt (the professor failed to show up the first two times), Betsy Carlisle, his fiancée, waits for him, hoping he will show up this time. Unfortunately, he gets carried away with his experiments, trying to uncover the mysteries of the universe, and despite how hard his housekeeper tries to remind him about his wedding, she does not succeed. However, he does discover a powerful new substance, which he calls "Flubber"! Every time this substance hits a hard surface, it gains energy! He attempts to bring attention to this new discovery of his, but his efforts prove unsuccessful, as people are generally skeptical. It only seems to catch the attention of Alonzo P. Hawk, a scheming businessman who threatens the future of the college, and plans to use Flubber for his personal gain! For me, "The AbsentMinded Professor" was far from consistently hilarious, but there were definitely times when I laughed, even if the laughs were usually light. When I wasn't laughing, I think I was often smiling. A couple explosions early in the film, plus the main character playing tricks with his flying Model-T, getting his foe in trouble with the police one night, and some of the other things done with the Flubber, to be good comical moments, some more than others. MacMurray plays a likable lead, and the story is also interesting enough. Such scenes as the flying car ones are memorable, which brings me to the special effects. For the time, special effects like this were obviously an accomplishment. Sure, the effects in the 1997 remake are obviously superior, since it came 36 years later, but this 1961 film still deserves praise for the effects, and as for the remake, well, the special effects aren't enough to make up for the flaws in that film.This live action film from Walt Disney Pictures may be a bit dated now. I guess it hasn't aged as well as many other movies from around the same time or before, and probably can't please as many people today as it could upon its original release in the early 60's, during its box office success. However, it's probably still entertaining for many different age groups today, though maybe just to a lesser degree than before. "Flubber" obviously has more modern aspects than "The AbsentMinded Professor", but had potential to be so much better than it turned out to be, especially with Robin Williams in the lead role, and its predecessor remains superior. Even after all this time, this is a reasonable family film, clean and lighthearted.

In "Double Indemnity" and "The Apartment" Fred MacMurray proved adept at drama. In this Disney, family comedy he shows his strenght as a comedic actor. MacMurray plays Ned Brainerd, a collegiate professor who devises an invention, "Flubber" (flying rubber) which is super-bouncy and allows his car to defy gravity. A rich alumni, Alonzo Hawk (Keenan Wynn) wishes to get his hands on the invention and the millions of dollars it is guaranteed to garner, so he uses under-handed methods to try to wrest control of Ned's spectacular discovery. Their is good humor throughout this movie, particularly when Hawk's desires become known to Ned and Ned uses "Flubber" to make Hawk bounce out-of-control. This film is one of the Disney Company's first comedies and one can only wish that their later one's are half-as-funny as this early venture. This movie gets a grade of A- and a very strong recommendation.

The Absent Minded ProfessorClassic family from from Walt Disney that stars Fred MacMurray in the title role as a rather forgetful and absent minded professor who invents a strange putty substance that drives him and his close contacts bonkers. The movie is much more inspired, likable and family-friendly (not to mention funnier and more charming) than the remake starring Robin Williams, which was written by John Hughes long after his career had fallen downwards. This version is the definitive version--don't let the kiddies convince you to rent the other one before you see this one!**** / *****