the Professor and Sara Jean floating through the clouds in the Thunderbird was filmed at the former Mare Island Naval facility in Vallejo, California. Other scenes were filmed at the University of the Pacific, Stockton. Gag homages Many gags are embellishments from the 1961 film; John Hughes rewrote the original Bill Walsh screenplay (based on Samuel W. Taylor's short story A Situation of Gravity, originally published in the May 22, 1943, issue of Liberty magazine). Though Walsh died in 1975, he received posthumous credit for this script. Release Flubber made $93 million in the United States and $85 million in other countries for a total of $178 million. Flubber was first released on VHS and Laserdisc on April 21, 1998. The DVD was released on June 16 the same year, with the film's original theatrical trailer as a bonus feature. Reception Box office Flubber grossed $93 million in the United States and Canada, and $85 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $178 million. The film opened alongside Alien Resurrection, and was projected to gross around $32.5 million in its five-day Thanksgiving opening weekend. It went on to debut to $26.7 million (and a total of $36.4 million over the five), topping the box office. It fell 58% to $11.3 million in its second weekend, remaining in first. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 23% based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 4/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "With its overactive focus on special effects and tiresome slapstick, Flubber squanders the immense talent of its cast and crew". Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 37 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. References External links Flubber Film Location - Professor's home 1997 films 1990s science fiction comedy films American children's comedy films American robot films American science fiction comedy films American slapstick comedy films Disney film remakes 1990s English-language films Films about educators Films directed by Les Mayfield Films produced by John Hughes (filmmaker) Films produced by Michael Barnathan Films scored by Danny Elfman Films set in Indiana Films shot in San Jose, California Films with screenplays by John Hughes (filmmaker) Flying cars in fiction Mad scientist films Medfield College films Walt Disney Pictures films