Flipper is a 1996 American adventure film, and a remake of the 1963 film of the same name (which in turn began a TV series that ran from 1964 to 1967). Written and directed by Alan Shapiro, the film stars Elijah Wood as Sandy Ricks, a boy who has to spend the summer with his Uncle Porter (Paul Hogan), who lives on the Florida Gold Coast. Although he expects to have a boring summer, he encounters a dolphin whom he names Flipper and with whom he forms a friendship. The film is unrelated to the 1995–2000 TV series of the same name that was itself also a remake of the 1963 film and 1964 TV series. Instead of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a production company for the Flipper franchise, this film is distributed by Universal Pictures. Plot Sandy Ricks is sent off for the summer to stay with his Uncle Porter in the seaside town of Coral Key. Initially, Sandy is unenthusiastic and disappointed that he is not going to a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert. 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. While out on Porter's fishing trawler, they meet Porter's enemy, Dirk Moran. Nearby, a pod of Bottlenose dolphins is frolicking near Dirk's boat. 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 ending with a dolphin being fatally shot. Sandy meets a dolphin that escaped Dirk's shooting, and eventually names it Flipper. The next morning, Porter and Sandy are paid a visit by the sheriff Buck Cowan, who explains that they could not keep the dolphin unless he is in captivity. That night, Sandy and Kim set out on a dinghy to look for Flipper. They fail to locate the dolphin, but see the dumping of barrels off of Dirk Moran's boat. The next morning, as Kim arrives looking for Sandy, Pete, Porter's pet brown pelican, comes running as if asking her to follow him. Pete leads Kim to Flipper who is beached on the shore and sick. They manage to cure Flipper anyhow. Cathy determines that Flipper has been poisoned by toxic waste, which is also shown to have been ruining the local fishing. The group uses Flipper's ability of echolocation and