FILM 2232: THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1996)

TRIVIA: In the scene with Eddie Murphy and Dave Chappelle, their dialogue was mostly improvised.

The family scene was nearly cut out of the final film due to lack of relevance with the film's plot. However, the Klump family turned out to be one of the most popular elements of the film, so much that the Klumps got a greatly expanded presence in the sequel, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000).

Jerry Lewis, who starred in the original The Nutty Professor (1963), was set to make a cameo but pulled out after expressing dissatisfaction at the amount of fart jokes in the script.

First Eddie Murphy movie of the 90s to reach over $100 million at the box office.

Eddie Murphy said that even though he was playing an enormously overweight character, he had to keep himself in the best physical shape of his career. This was because he needed to look svelte and athletic as Buddy Love and also because he needed to be comfortable while wearing the heavy appliances and prosthetics for his scenes as the Klump family members.

This is the first time Eddie Murphy remade a 1960s movie where the character was previously played by a Caucasian actor. Two years later, he was in Doctor Dolittle (1967) previously starring Rex Harrison. Both remakes had sequels. The originals didn't.

The studio initially objected to having Eddie Murphy portray all the adult Klumps, since hiring four additional actors would be much cheaper than the additional filming days required for Murphy to undergo multiple costume and makeup changes. Murphy devised a special screen test with makeup artist Rick Baker, in which he portrayed Mama and Grandma Klump, to convince the studio executives otherwise.

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