The Flintstones

Plot synopsis:
In Bedrock, Slate and Co. executive vice-president Cliff Vandercave and secretary Miss Sharon Stone discuss their plan to swindle the company of its vast fortune and flee, and that they need one of their employees to be responsible for it. Fred Flintstone loans his best friend and neighbor Barney Rubble money so that he and his wife Betty can adopt a child named Bamm-Bamm, who can only pronounce his own name. Although the child is initially difficult to control due to being raised by mastodons, as well as having super strength, he eventually warms up to his new family. Barney vows to repay his friend. Despite his mother-in-law Pearl Slaghoople's objections, Fred's wife Wilma remains supportive of his decision.
Cliff holds an aptitude test, where the worker with the highest mark will become the new vice president of the company. Barney gets the highest score but he switches his paper with Fred, who he knows will fail. Fred receives the promotion, but his first order is to dismiss Barney, since Barney now effectively has the lowest score. Fred accepts, but does his best to help Barney support his family, even inviting the Rubbles to live with them so that they can rent out their home. However, Fred's job and newfound wealth put a strain on his relationships with Wilma and the Rubbles. Cliff eventually tricks Fred into dismissing the workers, over the objections of his office Dictabird. Later, Barney confronts Fred after seeing worker riots on the news revealing that he switched tests with Fred and the Rubbles move out, despite having nowhere to live. Wilma and Pebbles also move out to her mother's house, leaving Fred behind.
Fred goes to the quarry and realizes his mistake and Cliff's plan, but also finds out that Cliff has manipulated events to make it look as if Fred stole the money, and has reported it to the police. A manhunt for Fred ensues by the police and the workers. Wilma and Betty see this on the news, and break into Slate and Co. to get the Dictabird, the only witness who can clear Fred's name, unaware that Cliff saw them from his office window. As Fred attempts to enter a cave where the workers are seeking refuge, they see through his disguise and attempt to hang him. Barney is almost hanged as well after he admits his part. Fred and Barney reconcile, but before they can be hanged, Wilma and Betty arrive with the Dictabird, who tells them the true story. The workers release Fred and Barney after realizing that Cliff was the one who fired them.
Cliff kidnaps Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm and demands the Dictabird in exchange for the children's safe return. Fred and Barney confront Cliff at the quarry, where Cliff has tied Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm to a huge machine. Though they hand him the Dictabird, Cliff activates the machine to stall them. Barney rescues the children while Fred destroys the machine. The Dictabird escapes from Cliff and lures him back to the quarry, where Miss Stone knocks him out, having had a change of heart after learning that Cliff was planning to betray her. The police arrive and Cliff attempts to flee, but he is petrified by a substance falling from the machine.
With the Dictabird's help, all charges against Fred are dropped, while Miss Stone is arrested as Cliff's accomplice, though Fred is confident she will be granted leniency for helping them stop Cliff. Impressed with the substance that Fred inadvertently created by destroying the machine, Mr. Slate dubs the substance "concrete" and makes plans to produce it with Fred as the president of its division, thus ending the Stone Age. Having realized the negatives of his wealth and status as a vice president, Fred declines and asks that the workers be rehired and given the job benefits he initially set out to achieve, which is granted. As the Flintstones and Rubbles have finally made amends, Fred and Barney get into a humorous quarrel when Fred once again asks Barney for a small amount of money for breakfast.

Tags: psychedelic

Review:
The characters here (Fred, Barney, Wilma, Betty, Dino, Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm, Mr. Slate, Mrs. Slaghoople, etc.) have expressions and personalities which are instantly recognizable to an audience.
I don't know why the Hanna-Barbera team weren't able to duplicate the quality of this show in terms of its writing and voice-casting (perhaps it was all a fluke?), but "The Flintstones" has it all: great writing and voices which bring one-dimensional drawings to life, terrific plots, fantastic music by Hoyt Curtin.
Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty are all people everyone can relate to even though the show is set in the stone age.
A lot of people don't remember that The Flintstones was the first prime time cartoon series, and what a success it was.I think the fact that it was written for prime time, with writing meant to appeal to old and young alike, is why the series holds up so well into these times.
Fred is obviously not a character to pattern your life after, and this is another important lesson.Lessons aside, the shows are uniformly amusing, and the clever turns of names into stone age words, and modern conveniences into useful animals, is always clever and will bring chuckles when first you see them..
For those who aren't familiar with this show (which I'll be shocked with if there are.) The shows premise is about a blue collar, dino crane operator in Fred Flintstone, who in each episode had a wacky situation along with his wife Wilma, and his neighbors Barney and Betty Rubble.
Sadly the show left the airwaves in 1966, but Hanna-Barbera began to beat the show to the ground in the 1970's with debacles like "The Pebbles and Bam-Bamm Show" (Possibly the WORST Hanna-Barbera spinoff show ever!), and the shows where Fred and Barney met the Thing, and that blob called "The Shmoo" (Both of these shows were CRAP!!!) were just bad.
Joseph Barbera and the late William Hanna are responsible for giving us many many hours of cartoon fun over the years with fantastic shows such as The Flinstones, The Jetsons, Top Cat, Penelope Pitstop and Scooby Doo. The Flinstones is my favourite along with Scooby-Doo.For starters, who can forget the theme song?
I've never ever been able to get it out of my head-it will stick with me for a long time.The premise itself is interesting-a comedy series about a stone age family who lead simple and carefree lives.
The funniest thing was how the Flinstones used to use animals as everyday objects.Who can forget the chemistry between Fred and Barney Rubble?
The two kids were total brats, screaming, spoilt, mashed potato slam-dunked over the wallpaper...but I didn't care, I was watching Fred and Barney live out there lives of near-perfection in a world that was starting to move away from near perfection!
"Yabba Dabba Doo" must surely be one of the most recognizable cries on earth - WHO would not know its origins from 4 to 90?The success of this animated icon probably lies in the simplicity of the Flintstone and Rubble clans.
I spent my whole life watching this show and now that the first season is about to be released on DVD, theres no better time to talk about why i like 'The Flintstones' so much.
For example one episode will tell us that Fred and Wilma had their honeymoon in Boulder Beach, another will tell you it was Bedrock Races and another at the Rock Mountain Inn. Also do The Flintstones live on Cobblestone Lane, Stonecanyon Way or Gravelpit Terrace?
William Hanna and Joseph Barbera have given us some fantastic cartoons that have stood the test of time and 'The Flintstones' is my favourite out of all of them..
His wife Wilma and his neighbours Betty and Barney Rubble were the most loyal and helpful people in his life and Fred took advantage of that in every way he could.Although what I have just written makes Fred look like the ultimate beast you couldn't write a character like this without him having redeemable qualities as well.
glamorous clothes though the most times she has to return them.As the series evolved so did the characters so Fred, Wilma, Betty and Barney all became parents.
She tried to become something other than a housewife and Fred didn't like it one bit at first, but those were the breaks and he had to.I think the earliest episodes of the Flintstones were the best but not because the character of Fred was more mean spirited and chauvinistic (a caveman if you will) but when Betty got a new voice (Gerry Johnson) she lost all appeal.
The early episode saw Betty and Barney actually standing up to Fred on a number of occasions and that was the morale of the show that you couldn't let Fred get away with his selfishness all the time.I will not compare this show to the other more successful show the Simpsons of today because I think they are in entirely different leagues.
Created by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera in 1960, there are many good things to recommend about The Flintstones.
Head of Household (or so he thought) Fred Flintsone, his wife Wilma (what a woman's libber for the stone age!), their child Pebbles...and their very close neighbors and friends Barney (Fred's hanging buddy and partner in crime), Betty (Wilma's partner in crime!)and adopted son Bam-Bam (what a concept!), the dead end job with the egotistical boss (Mr. Slate...of late!)all set back in the 'stone age'...which I always thought was a personal Hanna Barbera joke due to many of Fred's views and the things that went on around his life...well, this cartoon is the grand-daddy of all cartoons.As I remember correctly, The Flintstones was patterned after the live show "The Honeymooners".
And in watching the Flintstones, it was imagination beyond belief - Stone Aged Dinosaurs tamed and used as building machinery, pelicans used to mix concrete, Fred smacking Barney so many times he should be in a hospital, cars run by foot power and also your feet as the breaks against the hard stone ground...OF COURSE THIS IS NOT REAL LIFE!
I love the fact that this cartoon featured modern day gadgets such as the intercom, telephone, vacuum cleaner, phonograph and the car of course (Fred and Barney's feet sure must have hurt while putting on the brakes!!!!!) Mind you this takes place in the stone age.
After being remembered as TV longest running animated sitcom for six seasons during its run,Fred and Wilma Flintstone are still at it in re-runs(still in syndication after more than 30 years after the show went off the air) along with their neighbors Betty and Barney Rubble and the family's pet dinosaur Dino and later on during the series run a new addition was added to the Flintstone family,the birth of Peebles and also gave the Rubbles a child of their own too,Bamm-Bamm.
Other characters included Wilma's mother-in-law,Fred's feuding cousins The Flintrocks,and there gruesome neighbors The Gruesomes,Fred's boss at the Slate Gravel Company,Mister Slate(where did Fred's best friend Barney worked?)not to mention that repulsive alien from another planet,Kuzoo...why was he needed on there anyway which killed the show.
Where can you find good family values and still provide laughs while at the same time keep the kids tuned in to see what Fred and Barney would come up with next?
Catch the classic re-runs on either Cartoon Network,Boomerang,several local stations and on Superstation TBS.The original "Flintstones" series ran on ABC-TV from 1960-1966.
The series produced an astounding 166 episodes during its entire run on the air with superior production values and the vocal talents of the great Alan Reed as Fred Flintstone,Jean Vanderpyl as Wilma,and the great Mel Blanc as Fred's best friend and bosom buddy Barney.
The vocal talents for the character of Betty(Wilma's best friend and Barney lovely wife)were done by the great Bea Benederet of "Burns and Allen","The Beverly Hillbillies",and "Petticoat Junction" fame.
When the animated series,"The Flintstones",premiered on ABC-TV in September of 1960,the show was aimed toward an adult audience,but instead was more focus on adult situations since there were scenes where Fred or Barney for that manner are smoking a cigarette.
The sponsors were at the time Winston cigarettes since there was a commercial for Winston and Salem cigarettes that featured Fred and Barney smoking continuously along with Wilma and Betty.NOTE: There were several spinoffs of the Flintstone trilogy that succeeded very well,including the cartoons "Peebles and Bamm-Bamm"(1971) "Flintstone Comedy Hour",which featured the Frankenstones and the lovable Schmoo(1979),and three theatrical features including their first feature length cartoon"A Man Called Flintstone"(1966),and the live-action versions of The Flintstones(1998),and "The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas"(2000)..
Everyone knows "The Flintstones": Fred, Wilma and Pebbles Flintstone are a typical suburban family transposed to the Stone Age. Their neighbors are Barney, Betty and Bam-Bam Rubble.
Of course the premise is the life of blue-collared, dino-crane operator Fred Flintstone and his wacky adventures with his wife Wilma and his neighbors Barney and Betty Rubble.
"The Flintstones" is basically "The Honeymooners" turned animated, but the creativity of the series makes it stand out from most other television shows.
Plus the Great Gazoo in which Fred and Barney run into as they drove on a episode from the sixth and final season.
The show was busy making subtle and not so subtle satiric points.In one episode, they poked fun of ratings, unrealistic TV shows, placement of station breaks and people who live vicariously through television.In, the Beauty Contest, Fred and Barney waxed nostalgic over when they were single and longed to hear a woman's voice.
It still is.I should also mention the great Alan Reed, the quintessential everyman, incomparable Mel Blanc and real life best friends Jean Vander Pyl and Bea Benaderet playing best friends and wives Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble.I could mention Paula Winslowe's portrayal of Greta Gravel in an episode with an important message about marriage.
When you're with the Flinstones, have a yabba dabba doo time, a dabba doo time...»While it was never really one of my favorite animated TV shows (not even as a kid), it was okay, original and a funny way to look at the Stone Age. Fred, Barney and the dinosaurs are the characters I remember better.
I am not much of a cartoon watcher, but the Flintstones and Bugs Bunny are still very funny and enjoyable to watch.I always realized the great friendship between Fred and Barney, Wilma and Betty.
I think the 4 main voices on that show, Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty were all done by extraordinary individuals.
The loudmouth worked at a job that involved a big piece of machinery (Ralph Kramden drove a bus; Fred Flintstone operated a dino-steam shovel), was at odds with his boss, didn't get along with his mother-in-law, belonged to a lodge named after a mammal, always had a get-rich-quick scheme and liked to go bowling and shoot pool.
(The Flintstones franchise was never the same after Alan Reed, the original voice of Fred Flintstone, died in 1977.)Also, in watching every episode more than once, I detected a consistently common-sense approach in how writers viewed modern society (transplanted to a mythical "stone age," of course.)  It somehow seems rooted in the WWII generation ethos -- heroes get their due, charlatans get their comeuppance, and life, though unfair, is still inspiring.
There were classic episodes with "Hot Lips Hannigan", "Uncle Giggles", "Ann-Margarock" and, of course, who can forget Fred, Barney, Wilma, Betty, Pebbles, Bam-Bam and Dino.
Boy oh boy was I in for a Yabba Dabba treat!Set in the stone age, The Flintstones is a show that centres around the antics of Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, with their respective wives having to deal with the ensuing fallout.
Making everyday tools, such as TV remotes, garbage disposals and even showers have a stone age twist to explain how they work in such a time period is brilliant!Aside from their plots, the episodes were greatly enhanced by what was going on in the background.
In my opinion, these jokes are still funny but not for their punchline, but for how outrageous they are!All in all, The Flintstones is a true Hanna-Barbera classic.
Overall, a classic superb show.This was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid, I used to watch it all the time, then later when I discovered Cartoon Network, I got to watch it more often, but now I watch it on Boomerang and on DVD.Each season offered something special and I know of this series having so many specials and movies that I can't keep track.
But sometimes it is simple animation to make a great show, I don't think I would like this show as much if it had better animation in place of the animation it had when it was made, One episode that confuses me however is the episode "The Snorkasaurus Hunter" While it explains how Dino came, he was really smart in that one and spoke, I wish I knew why that changed but oh well.I like many of the episodes that feature mainly Fred and Barney together because for me it had the most laughs.I loved every episode, every special, and every movie of this great series from the sixties and hope some day they all come out on DVD so I can have the whole bunch.
And even after all that, The Flintstones have continued to go on with their popular cereal commercials "Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles" with while about 30 seconds, some nice laughs.I would recommend this show to many kids and many adults who love humor and a spin on a interesting vision of the past, It makes you think if the Stone Age really was modern, how life would be for you back then..
Hanna Barbera made several animated series but the Fintstones was about a family in the stone age literally living in stone huts, driving stone cars, and being themselves.
I loved Fred and his wife, Wilma Flintstones, and their daughter, Pebbles, and their dong, Dino.
This was a funny Hanna-Barbera cartoon that was really famous just like Scooby-Doo and The Jetsons!
This series is about a stone-aged family called The Flinstones that live in a town called Bedrock.
I met the creators of this cartoon and the other Hanna-Barbera cartoons.My favorite episode of The Flinstones is the one where they have these aliens from outer space that look like Fred Flinstone and all the aliens ever say is "Yabba-Dabba-Doo!" and they were causing chaos all ever Bedrock.
I think Fred Flinstone and Barney Rubble were my favorite characters on this Hanna-Barbera cartoon.
In 1960 Hanna-Barbera along side the voice talents of Alan Reed and the wonderful Mel Blanc, among others went their way to make a show about a stone-age family inspired by the Honeymooners and the result was a CLASSIC!
For six whole seasons this show made one great episode after another and it remains one of my favorites!"HAVE A YABBA-DO TIME!
This is definitely a classic Hanna Barbera cartoon that holds up well throughout the times.
Fred, Barney, Wilma, Betty, Dino, Pebbles, and Bamm-Bamm were all memorable characters that will be recognized everywhere and it's a show that will have iconic status for generations to come.
Their neighbors were the Rubbles: Barney, Fred's friend that works at the quarry with him, Betty, Wilma's friend and Barney's wife, and Bamm-Bamm, their strong son that the Rubbles adopted.This was one of the best shows and it still is.
Their neighbors were the Rubbles: Barney, Fred's friend that works at the quarry with him, Betty, Wilma's friend and Barney's wife, and Bamm-Bamm, their strong son that the Rubbles adopted.This was one of the best shows and it still is.
The plot is relatively simple, it deals with neighbours and best friends, Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble and their wives, Wilma and Betty.
By the early 1970s, The Flintstones were back with enough new episodes to last a few more years, only this time, Pebbles and Bam Bam would be teenagers.
"The Flintstones" is one of my favorite TV series from Hanna/Barbera and I have seventy-six favorite episodes.
Of course throughout the six seasons that had aired, the series is now loved by kids as well as with adults.My favorite characters from the show are Wilma, Betty, Hopparoo (Hoppy), little Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm.
After I had re-watch my Flintstone box-sets, Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm are my favorite Hanna/Barbera couple.
Like Scooby Doo, "The Flintstones" had gained popularity that the studio had made spin-offs series and movies too - live action as well as animated.
So I have recollected all the wonderful memories of my childhood.The cartoon itself is based on a citizen of Bedrock named Fred Flintstone who we follow through the endless adventures that he has with friend Barney Gumble.
The Flinstones is a fantastic cartoon made from the genius minds of Hanna Barbera and this is them at their very best.Its about the Prehistoric adventures of Fred Flinstone and Barney Rubble as they get up to their usual schemes and try to keep it a secret from their wives Wilma Flinstone and Betty Rubble,they also have a pet dinosaur called Dino and in later episodes of the series Fred and Wilma have a baby called Pebbles and Barney and Betty have a baby called BAM-BAM!
The Flinstones is a fantastic cartoon and its without a doubt Hanna Barbera at their best.*****5/5 STARS..
Fred Flintstone is Everyman, a lovable loser to a degree, with Wilma, a long-suffering wife who loves him and their best friends, Barney and Betty Rubble.
The show is about the trials and tribulations, the joys and happiness of their lives.Over the course of the series, both couples become parents, with Fred and Wilma having a daughter, Pebbles, and Barney and Betty adopting Bam-Bam, the world's strongest boy.
When I was younger I used to like any Hanna-Barbera cartoons, this was one of them.
The Flintstones are the Dad and husband Fred, the Mum and wife Wilma, and their daughter (not seen a lot - Pebbles).