Medfield College is on the brink of closure. In order to stay afloat and turn things around financially, Professor Philip Brainard (Robin Williams) is tasked with finding a new, sustainable energy source. As Brainard attempts to find this new energy source with the help of his trusty robotic sidekick, Weebo (Jodi Benson), life comes at him fast. Just as he begins to make progress with his project, and Flubber, the flying, bouncing energy source, his love life begins to fall apart. He is now tasked not only with helping keep his college afloat, but his personal life as well.
Robin Williams was never the most talented actor; it was his wit and his ability to create the most absurd cartoonesque characters that kept his acting career above water. With that being said, his ability to portray a whacky, absent-minded professor was certainly in his realm of capability. He was very much able to depict this eccentric character, as he was, in fact, an eccentric character in real life. The movie is quite obviously geared toward children, and his ability to deliver three stooges-like slap-stick comedy was perfect for the role and for his young audiences. While he was able to present young audiences with the character that they needed to have a good time, it was his sidekick, Weebo, that stole the show in the eyes of more mature audiences. Benson was able to portray this character as intelligent and strong-willed. On top of this aspect of her character, her ability to come off as condescending and malevolent created a beautifully contrasting second layer. Her delivery, while wonderful, could not be accomplished without the design of the character. Whoever was responsible for the design of Weebo in the film and pairing voiceovers by Benson with dozens of scenes from popular culture was genius.
As previously mentioned, Benson was fantastic, however, Weebo’s ability to portray emotion was equally thanks to the physical design of her character. These characters were what kept the film moving. The story had the potential to be entertaining, however, it was clear that there was not enough substance to create a feature length film. Due to the fact that this was based on Samuel W. Taylor’s short story A Situation of Gravity, a decent amount of modification needed to be done in order to stretch the story for Hollywood. It appears that they did little to modify the story and ultimately stretched it too thin, leaving enough content to drive a story for nearly two hours.
Writers John Hughes and Bill Walsh’s inability to adapt Taylor’s story left the final product dry and lacking the ability to engage mature audiences. Disney underdeveloped a story for the first time in years, and this made it difficult for a wide range of viewers to appreciate what had been created. Unfortunately, the fond memories of what Williams, and the rest of the crew, brought to the table were nothing more than nostalgia.
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