The Absent-Minded Professor
A scatterbrained professor's miraculous bouncing rubber turns everyday inventions into airborne mayhem while a greedy businessman tries to seize it.
Overview
A bumbling inventor discovers a revolutionary material that defies gravity and captures the imagination.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Mild
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- None
- whimsical
- breezy
- uplifting
- family movie night
- lazy sunday
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film buoyant, amusing, and highly accessible family entertainment, while noting that its one-joke premise limits its comic variety.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Flubber's bouncing energy drives the flying shoes, airborne Model-T, and escalating comic set pieces.
Professor Brainard's flying rubber is presented through buoyant slapstick and child-friendly invention.
Alonzo Hawk seeks to steal Flubber while Brainard develops it for constructive purposes.
Flubber transforms shoes and a modified Model-T into vehicles for exaggerated jumps and flight.
Films like The Absent-Minded Professor, and why
Son of Flubber
family-friendly science fiction comedy built around an eccentric inventor and an impossible new material
The Shaggy Dog
Disney live-action comedy combining slapstick, fantastical technology, and a warm professor-centered story
The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
playful family science fiction comedy featuring an inventive protagonist, comic mishaps, and optimistic escapism
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
classic Disney fantasy comedy with broad physical humor, child appeal, and a conflict involving a scheming adult antagonist
Movie Details
- Director
- Robert Stevenson
- Release Date
- 1961-01-20
- Runtime
- 96 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (208)
Cast
- Fred MacMurray
- Nancy Olson
- Keenan Wynn
- Tommy Kirk
- Leon Ames
- Elliott Reid
- Edward Andrews
- David Lewis
- Jack Mullaney
- Belle Montrose
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Disney Plus
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Absent-Minded Professor about?
- A scatterbrained professor's miraculous bouncing rubber turns everyday inventions into airborne mayhem while a greedy businessman tries to seize it.
- What is The Absent-Minded Professor like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Absent-Minded Professor as brisk, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as simple.
- Is The Absent-Minded Professor violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in The Absent-Minded Professor.
- What did critics think of The Absent-Minded Professor?
- Critics broadly found the film buoyant, amusing, and highly accessible family entertainment, while noting that its one-joke premise limits its comic variety.
- Which films are like The Absent-Minded Professor?
- Films with a similar feel include Son of Flubber, The Shaggy Dog, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
- How long is The Absent-Minded Professor?
- The Absent-Minded Professor runs 96 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Absent-Minded Professor?
- In United States, The Absent-Minded Professor streams on Disney Plus.
