Flipper (1996 film)
Written and directed by Alan Shapiro, the film stars Elijah Wood as a boy who has to spend the summer with his uncle (Paul Hogan), who lives on the Florida Gold Coast.His mood remains unchanged even after meeting Cathy, a local shopkeeper with whom his uncle carries on a flirtatious relationship, and Kim, a girl his own age.As a big game fisherman, Dirk Moran makes it plain that he hates just about every other fish-eating animal on earth and shoots at the pod, which ends with a dolphin being fatally shot.He sees an approaching dorsal fin and thinks it is Flipper, but it is actually Scar, a large great hammerhead shark that has been lurking in the island's waters and is said to have taken out a tourist boat.[4] Animatronic dolphins, designed by Walt Conti and his team, had to be used extensively, such as in scenes where Flipper interacts with the human characters or is shown swimming along.Joe Leydon of Variety criticized the plot, but appreciated the performances of Hogan, Wood, Wesson, Hayes and Field, as well as the animatronic work on the film.[4] Dwayne E. Leslie of Boxoffice noted the scene where a hammerhead shark attacks a seabird, which brings to mind similar footage from National Geographic, may be shocking for very young children.