Film

Flubber

Name: Flubber
Genre: Comedy, Family, Science Fiction
Released: 1997
Cast: Robin Williams, Marcia Gay Harden, Christopher McDonald, Raymond J. Barry, Clancy Brown

Science fiction
Comedy
Light-hearted

Robin Williams stars as an absent-minded professor who invents a rubber-like substance that defies gravity. It's a cheerful, fizzy family film—pure 90s Disney comfort food with elaborate slapstick and zero cynicism. For anyone who loved Williams's theatrical energy and wants something genuinely harmless, or parents looking for kid-safe escapism.

TMDb rating

2.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy slapstick built on a gifted physical performer's rubbery mugging and a gleeful, gadget-happy invention plot where the chaos is the point.

Skip it if you find frantic, mugging comedy wearing after a while, or want a grown-up story; the sweetness here is broad and the jokes lean on the same bouncing gag.

What it asks of you: Ninety-odd minutes of light, cheerful momentum with little dwell time; it wants you to keep up with the gags rather than sink into feeling.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids1989

Rick Moranis as another well-meaning inventor whose experiment goes amusingly wrong. Same era Disney magic, same sense that chaos is funny rather than scary, same heart beneath the spectacle.

But Moranis is quieter and less theatrical than Williams—if you're here for Williams specifically, this feels gentler and less showy.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang1968

A magical vehicle, pratfalls, Dick Van Dyke in full flight, and the same innocent delight in impossible things. It's wheezier and stranger than Flubber, but built on identical joy.

But It's two hours of deliberately artificial spectacle and musical numbers—some people find that exhausting rather than charming.

The Absent-Minded Professor1961

This is the source material, with Fred MacMurray as the original flubber inventor. Seeing the template before Williams's version is genuinely rewarding—simpler, faster, beautifully clean.

But It's in black and white and moves at 1961 speed. Patience required; Williams's version is louder and more caffeine-addicted.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Flubber

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch1990

Both are about inventions escaping their creator's control and turning ordered reality into carnival. One's sunny and one's mischievous, but the engine is identical.

Joe Dante took a horror premise and decided chaos and comedy were the point. It's about inventions and corporations and systems breaking down—Flubber's darker cousin. Genuinely inventive, loopy, fearless about tone whiplash.

But It's rated PG but doesn't feel like a family film. Dark humor, creatures with bite, and a delight in destruction that'll divide viewers sharply.

Mrs. Doubtfire1993

Williams at his most energetic, with the same escalating farce energy and real emotional stakes underneath. Family film that actually cares about its characters' pain.

But It's about divorce and custody—much darker heart than Flubber's lighter touch. Two-hour runtime, and some of it genuinely stings.

Jumanji1995

A board game's magic creates increasingly spectacular chaos. Williams again, same 90s effects-house wonder, similar 'impossible thing gets loose in reality' momentum.

But It's an adventure film that goes genuinely dark and violent at moments. Not as cozy as Flubber; more edge beneath the fun.

The Rocketeer1991

Inventions that change everything, retro-futuristic thrills, and that specific 90s Disney earnestness. It looks like what Flubber dreams of being.

But It takes itself seriously as an adventure film—less silly, less Williams-shaped chaos. Slower pacing and different tone entirely.

Newsies1992

90s Disney spectacle with elaborate set pieces and unbridled enthusiasm. No cynicism, pure production design, same commitment to making impossible things look joyful.

But It's a musical with dancing newsboys. If you want plot over production numbers and whimsy, you're in the wrong place.

Paddington2014

A found-object fantasy where kindness and invention solve problems, gorgeously made. Same sensibility: family-safe, warmhearted, visually abundant.

But It's British, slower, and emotionally sincere. No slapstick energy, and Williams-sized manic performance is the entire opposite of what Paddington offers.

Night at the Museum2006

Ben Stiller in a museum where magic becomes chaos—similar premise (impossible thing disrupts real world), similar comedic escalation, similar colorful cast.

But By 2006, the effects look like what they are. It leans on ensemble comedy rather than star performance, and the tone is fluffier.

Local Hero1983

Both feature absent-minded inventors/dreamers whose worlds get disrupted by what they love. Both believe in kindness as narrative force. Both are unashamed about sincerity.

A small-town story where American business meets Scottish magic. Bill Forsyth's gentlest film: funny without trying, warm without saccharine, entirely its own thing. Genius-level control of tone.

But It's quiet and slow—no slapstick, no spectacle, no Robin Williams energy. You have to meet it halfway and stay patient.

Kamen Rider: THE FIRST2005

Both turn scientific accidents into the plot. Both find comedy and heart in the same transformation. But where Flubber is sunlit Disney, this is dark, morally complex, and visually alien.

A Japanese superhero film about a man whose body becomes a science experiment gone wrong. Impossible physics, slapstick injury comedy, genuine emotional stakes, and unfamiliar aesthetic. Flubber's plot engine (science creates chaos) spoken in a completely different language.

But It's a tokusatsu film with practical effects from another film tradition. Scope and tone are unpredictable, and the dialogue-heavy setup requires patience before action arrives.