Movie Review: Flipper's New Adventure (1964)

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Better story with lots of dolphin action

Cons: Some poor acting; a couple slow parts

The Bottom Line:

Still some weaknesses

Target audience will love

Boy and his dolphin

When New Means Improved

Quite often, sequels are inferior to the original movie. That's not the case with Flipper's New Adventure. While the first movie was slow and boring, this one has more action and fun along the way.

Sandy Ricks (Luke Halpin) is home alone when he gets the news. The Ricks' home has been leased from the Federal Government, and they need it back. Sandy has until tomorrow to move out. Unfortunately, he also has to say goodbye to Flipper.

But Sandy is not willing to go along with it. He runs away from home and finds a deserted island where he and Flipper can live. It's got fresh water, plenty of food, and a cave where the two can hide if anyone comes near.

Unfortunately, it's not as deserted as Sandy first thought. Some escaped convicts have landed on the island, but they escape marooning a woman and her two daughters instead. Can Sandy help them without giving away his presence? What about the father of the family who is being held prisoner by the convicts? And will Sandy's father Porter (Brian Kelly) ever find his son?

A couple years had passed between the filming of the first movie and this one (although only one year lapsed between their releases.) That may help explain the differences in the cast. Luke Halpin is the only original cast member to come back. While they never discuss Brian Kelly taking on the role of Porter Ricks, they do mention in passing that Mrs. Ricks has died. Additionally, Porter has gone from fisherman to training for a park ranger job. I found these trivia bits interesting since they help in the transition from the first film to the TV series which started later the same year.

I often complain about TV series pilots being too slow because they need to introduce the characters. Maybe that was the problem with the first movie, because this one tells a much tighter story. While I wouldn't call it fasted paced, the story progresses steadily with only a couple slow parts. And there's plenty of cute animal action to entertain the kids. Not to mention a much more exciting climax.

When watching the first movie, I felt young Luke Halpin was a decent actor. I'm not sure what happened (maybe just my perception), but I felt he was a weak link here. He had a couple emotional scenes that were overacted. The rest of the time, he was fine, however, which is good since he has to carry much of the film. The rest of the cast was fine as well. There's nothing especially praiseworthy in their performances, but nothing to make you cringe, either.

And you've got to love the scenery. Filmed in Florida, it looks gorgeous. And the DVD looks remarkably good for a 40 year old film, too. The images are sharp and the colors are bright with minimal dust and grain. When I was done watching, I was ready to hop a plane to swim in those waters myself.

Make no mistake; this is a kid's film. And kids will love watching Flipper's New Adventure. But anyone young at heart will enjoy watching the antics of this dolphin.