The Absent Minded Professor

On the surface, Walt Disney's The Absent Minded Professor is a comedy-fantasy of infectious absurdity, a natural follow-up to the studio's Shaggy Dog. But deeply rooted within the screenplay [from a story by Samuel W. Taylor] is a subtle protest against the detached, impersonal machinery of modern progress.

Flubber provides fuel for a very funny piece of hyperbolic humor in the grand American tradition of Paul Bunyan, and Director Robert (Kidnapped) Stevenson and Scriptwriter Bill (The Shaggy Dog) Walsh get plenty of bounce out of every ounce.

The Absent-Minded Professor, from 1961, starred the late Fred MacMurray in one of his best-remembered comic roles, as a scientist named Brainerd who discovers a substance he dubs "flubber" (for "flying rubber," since it enables people and objects to fly). [08 Jan 1993]

This is a zanily inventive piece of work, with delightful special effects, which set the style for a long series of live-action Disney films.

Wacky, bouncy Disney comedy.