The Absent-Minded Professor

The Absent-Minded Professor
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Robert Stevenson
Screenplay by	Bill Walsh
Based on	"A Situation of Gravity" by Samuel W. Taylor
Produced by	Walt Disney
Starring	Fred MacMurray Nancy Olson Keenan Wynn Tommy Kirk Leon Ames Elliott Reid Edward Andrews Wally Brown Alan Carney Forrest Lewis James Westerfield Ed Wynn
Cinematography	Edward Colman
Edited by	Cotton Warburton
Music by	George Bruns
Production company	Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by	Buena Vista Distribution
Release date	March 16, 1961 (1961-03-16)[1]
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$25.3 million[2]

The Absent-Minded Professor is a 1961 American science fiction comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney Productions. It is based on the 1943 short story "A Situation of Gravity" (May 22, 1943 Liberty) by Samuel W. Taylor. The title character was based in part on Hubert Alyea, a professor emeritus of chemistry at Princeton University, who was known as "Dr. Boom" for his explosive demonstrations. The film stars Fred MacMurray as Professor Ned Brainard, alongside Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn, Tommy Kirk, Leon Ames, Elliott Reid, and Edward Andrews. The plot follows Brainard as he invents a substance that defies gravity, which he later exploits through various means.

Released on March 16, 1961, the film was a box office success, and two years later became the first Disney film to have a sequel, Son of Flubber (1963). It was one of the first Disney films to be colorized (for the 1986 VHS release), and, along with The Shaggy Dog (1959) and Son of Flubber, is one of Disney's few black-and-white films to be produced after 1941. A remake titled Flubber with Robin Williams was released in 1997.