Freeing Flipper

Incoming Editorial Team·Verified September 16, 2026

Executive produced by Academy Award winner Leonardo DiCaprio, Freeing Flipper is the extraordinary story of Ric O'Barry, once the world's highest-paid dolphin trainer, who has spent the last fifty years risking his life and liberty to set dolphins free. In the 1960s, Ric trained the dolphins behind Flipper, the television phenomenon that made America fall in love with dolphins on screen. Everything changed when his dolphin Kathie died in his arms in what he believed was an act of despair, transforming the industry's golden boy into its fiercest opponent. As founder of Dolphin Project, Ric has spent five decades exposing the hidden world of dolphin captivity, from marine parks to Japan's notorious dolphin hunts. Revered by some, reviled by others, he remains driven by one unshakeable belief: every captive dolphin deserves a way home.