Flipper – The Movie
In his big screen debut, the talented dolphin tackles a dastardly gang of renegade surfers, bent on ridding the waves of dolphins forever. Every scene is thought-through and Flipper’s dialogue was masterfully written (and, on occasion, adlibbed), adding to the pleasure of this cinematic experience.

When Flipper and his pal Sandy run into the gang whilst on an amateur diving expedition to recover a lost treasure, an unexpected plot twist lands Sandy right in the hands of Big Kahuna, the surfer gang’s ringleader, and the only one who can rescue him is our favourite oceanic mammal. Notifying the authorities and picking the lock to the surfers’ secret pontoon lair, Flipper saves the day and is rewarded three herrings and big hug for his efforts.

Flipper 2 – A Wave of Emotion
This sequel gives the audience the chance to probe deeper into Flipper’s psyche, as he develops a love-interest with Stacy, a bottlenose beauty whom he met whilst trawling the deep looking for treasure with Sandy.

An unexpected plot twist sees Stacy caught in a net and Flipper is her prince to the rescue. Feeding the coordinates of the net into his GPS tracking device, Flipper tells Sandy exactly where to go, and Sandy and his dad arrive just in time to watch Flipper save Stacy on his own. Never before have we been so amazed by silver screen steadfastness. The film ends with Flipper and Stacy swimming toward the sunset to have premarital sex and make plans for the future.

Flipper 3 – Flipper Does Dallas
This third instalment in the Flipper franchise stands out from the other ones, and is in fact oft’ claimed not to be an official Flipper film. Due to creative differences regarding on-screen nudity, Niles Wingbat (who played Flipper in the two previous feature films) decided to back out of the series to pursue a career in the music industry. Pubert Rogers was hired to replace him, but had a hard time competing with his predecessor’s talent and popularity.

In this film, whose place in the Flipper chronology is difficult to determine, Stacy is no longer with Flipper. In fact, there is no mention of her ever being part of his life, which needless to say is somewhat of a disappointment to the audience and fans.
Here, Flipper teams up with an overweight Texan oil-magnate-turned-tree-hugger and his silicone enhanced daughter, Bella, to defeat a sinister industrialist, once engaged to said bombshell and now planning to pollute the oceans. An unexpected plot twist has the Texan duo’s boat start to leak and Flipper must make a choice between rescuing them or Mother Nature. In the end, he does both and is awarded three herrings and a cuddle with Bella’s bosom, which might be viewed as both an homage to the finale of Flipper – The Movie and a tacky ending meant to solicit a broader male adolescent audience.

Flipper 4 – Flipper vs. Jason
Failing to meet the demands of the fans, Pubert Rogers was replaced by Orvar Milestone to play Flipper, mainly, many claim, due to Milestone’s uncanny resemblance to original Flipper actor Niles Wingbat. Flipper’s dialogue has been toned down here and an emphasis on action and suspense has taken its place. This weak attempt to revitalise the Flipper franchise has the clever dolphin take on the Miami drug trade following a tragic opening scene with him discovering Stacy snorting cocaine, aptly, through her blowhole. An unexpected plot twist pins Flipper and the drug baron against each other just as Stacy is failing severely at rehab, and Sandy and his dad are experiencing an oxygen issue whilst probing the deep looking for treasure, and so Flipper must make a choice – one that could change the course of his life forever. In the end we are overjoyed to see him rescue his best friends, escort his now fully recovered ex-lover from rehab, and tow the drug lord and his gang to the authorities.

Flipper 5 – Flipper’s List
This Flipper prequel flips out completely only minutes after the opening credits, but we are treated to several answers to Flipper mysteries we’ve all been pondering since the first film, e.g. we learn the reason why Flipper never gives up, find out why Flipper gets along so well with people, and get to see the actual moment of Sandy’s conception. But this final instalment of the Flipper series has a lot more to offer.

Here, a young and inexperienced Flipper encounters a terrorist organisation while looking for sunken treasure with Sandy’s dad, Porter. At first it seems they are there to recover the same treasure, but when an unexpected plot twist has Porter captured by the “infidels”, as Flipper puts it halfway through the feature, and Flipper must infiltrate the terrorist organisation to rescue him, a far greater conspiracy is uncovered. Cooperating with regular, god-fearing and down-to-earth American citizens, including an African-American named Ty, Flipper reveals the terrorists’ plan to blow up all of continental US with a special submarine that sends out a signal that turns ordinary plankton into Semtex.

For a moment all seems lost, but Ty tells Flipper he should look around and see if the answer to his prayers isn’t right in front of him. Seconds later, Flipper notices the Star-Spangled Banner waving in the wind and by watching the sunlight shine through the fabric of the flag he devises a plan to put the terrorists out of commission.
The plan is a success. The terrorists are shipped off to court by the authorities, Flipper saves Porter in the nick of time, and Ty high-fives the soon-to-be father of Flipper’s future best friend as a gesture of friendship and equality. While the end credits roll we are treated to a love scene between Porter and his future-wife, tying to the original feature, as well as insinuating the possibility of another sequel and solidifying the role of the Flipper films in our hearts.