Ivan Tors

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Filmmaker

Flipper's New Adventure Review

By Don Willmott

Good

Back in the '60s, sequels didn't need fancy names. Therefore, instead of Flipper 2: Full Throttle we get the more prosaically named Flipper's New Adventure, a family-friendly story that has as much fun and excitement as the first classic film, although this time around it's slightly sodden with schmaltz.

When we last left young teen Sandy Ricks (Luke Halpin), he had convinced his parents to let him keep Flipper the dolphin as his pet and lifelong friend, but in the months that have passed, life's gotten a bit rough down in the Keys. Ma Ricks has died, and Pa (Brian Kelly, a less scary replacement for the first film's Chuck Connors), is off at marine park ranger training school. Sandy and Flipper have been in the care of a neighbor, but now the state is building a new causeway right through Flipper's lagoon, and the Miami Seaquarium is coming to take him away.

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Flipper Review

By Don Willmott

Very Good

Sit your kids down in front of Flipper, and they may not know what hit them. This Kennedy-era classic has everything today's overstimulated rugrats never get to see anymore: real kids, real parents, and real animals having exciting adventures in a beautiful and interesting setting.

The story couldn't be simpler: Boy meets dolphin, boy loses dolphin, boy gets dolphin back. Twelve-year-old Sandy Ricks (Luke Halpin) lives with his fisherman father (Chuck Connors) and housewife mother (Kathleen McGuire) in a tumbledown oceanside cabin in the Florida keys. A water rat since birth, Sandy is always taking off on afternoon skin dives that are beautifully photographed by the same underwater experts responsible for Lloyd Bridges' Sea Hunt TV show. One day Sandy comes across a dolphin that's been injured by a harpoon. With the help of his parents, Sandy nurses the animal back to health and names him Flipper. Despite Dad's warnings not to get too attached, Sandy and Flipper become best friends and spend long sunny days swimming together and putting on cute shows for the local kids.

Continue reading: Flipper Review