The Absent-Minded Professor is a 1961 American film distributed by Walt Disney Productions based on the short story A Situation of Gravity, 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 was a huge success at the box-office, and two years later became the first Disney film to have a sequel, 1963's Son of Flubber.