Today marks the 55th Anniversary of Walt Disney’s Son of Flubber, the hit sequel to The Absent-Minded Professor. The film was released 1963 and was a rare sequel for the Disney company at the time, as Walt Disney did not approve of returning to prior works according to his "Keep moving forward" philosophy. Many of the first film’s story ideas were not used due to budgetary and time constraints, so Walt approved going ahead with a second film. Son of Flubber (the title a parody of the many Hollywood monster sequels of the time) continued the adventures of Dr. Brainard and his bouncy creation, Flubber and was a commercial success.
Toy company Hasbro created a real world version of the goo to capitalize on the popularity of the film. After extensive testing for toxicity, and determining the mixture of synthetic rubber and mineral oil to be safe, Hasbro released Flubber on the hordes of eager kids in 1963. Soon after release however, reports of rashes, sore throats and folliculitis (inflammation of the hair follicles) followed by lawsuits and a full FDA investigation led Hasbro to remove the product from shelves.
One problem remained: what to do with tons of Flubber? Hasbro tried various methods to dispose of the stuff. Much to their dismay, they discovered that Flubber doesn’t burn! It emits toxic black smoke. The next logical step is burial at sea, which would have worked if Flubber didn’t float. The only other solution is to bury it. Interestingly, there are no records of Hasbro actually doing it. So, where is the Flubber? Shot out to space? Made into comfortable sofas? There is an urban legend that there is a huge cache of Flubber buried under the parking lot of Hasbro's old headquarters in Rhode Island. However, soil tests have been negative for the chemicals associated with Flubber, and the company does not confirm actually burying it anywhere. So, the next time you are out for a walk and you have an extra spring in your step, you might just be walking on Flubber.
