Bamm-Bamm Rubble

**Bamm-Bamm Rubble** is the adopted son of Barney and Betty Rubble and a fictional character of the original series, *The Flintstones* and the rest of the franchise.

## Background

Bamm-Bamm is the adopted son of Betty and Barney Rubble after they found him left on their doorstep. After meeting his next-door neighbor Pebbles, he falls in love with her. Bamm-Bamm's "nickname" came from a note left in the basket, causing Barney and Betty confusion over the strange name.

This was explained when Bamm-Bamm yelled the phrase "Bamm, Bamm!" and swung his club. Bamm-Bamm's excessive (and sometimes misused) strength was often a source of humor in the episodes the toddler version of Bamm-Bamm appeared in. Unlike Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm was past the crawling stage and could be seen in a few episodes trying to help Pebbles walk.

Years later, as a teenager, Bamm-Bamm attended Bedrock High School along with Pebbles and their friends, Wiggy, Penny, and Moonrock. It was at this point that Bamm-Bamm had confessed his love for Pebbles and the two began dating. In the shows featuring the two as teens, Bamm-Bamm's super strength was not actively mentioned and was only shown on occasion. He became more passive and sensible in his manner and tended to be dominated by Pebbles' more aggressive personality. He also was the owner of a "cave buggy," a prehistoric version of a dune buggy.

As an adult, Bamm-Bamm became a mechanic and married Pebbles in 30 million B.C. They decided to be married in Rock Vegas where Pebbles' parents were married. One of the guests seen at the wedding was Bamm-Bamm's adoptive great-uncle, Mr. Slate. The two soon moved to Hollyrock so Bamm-Bamm could pursue his true goal of becoming a screenwriter. Later the couple had twins, Chip and Roxy.

### **Film**

In the 1994 live-action film, *The Flintstones*, Bamm-Bamm appears as a four-year-old who is adopted after Fred secretly gives money to Barney and Betty to ensure that they could afford the adoption. Bamm-Bamm is seen with long, matted, filthy blond hair and only wearing a fig leaf loincloth.

He was mentioned to have been raised by wild mastodons, a parody of various examples of inter-species adoption. This also hinted at how he had gained his incredible super-strength. Bamm-Bamm soon started to look like his cartoon counterpart after a bath, a haircut, and some new clothes.

Though Bamm-Bamm did not appear in the prequel film, *The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas*, the name of the film's antagonist and villain, Chip, is a reference to the name of Bamm-Bamm's son.

### **Physical appearance**

#### **Toddler**

In his famous form as a toddler, Bamm-Bamm is short with fair skin and white hair.

In the original series, *The Flintstones*, he wears a orange-tan or yellow-tan and black spotted loincloth, a orange-tan or yellow-tan and black spotted hat and a brown or black strap with a white bone.

#### **Child/Preteen**

As a 9 year-old child in *A Flintstone Christmas*, *The Flintstones: Little Big League* and a 12 year-old preteen in *The Flintstone Comedy Show* he is growing plus his hair style is the same.

#### **Teenager**

As a 15 year-old teenager in the spin-offs, *The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show* and *The Flintstone Comedy Hour*, he is tall, muscular and his hair style is still the same and wears a mustard-yellow turtle-neck short-sleeved shirt, dark moss green and black spotted shorts and a turtle shell hat.

#### **Adult**

As an adult in the three films, *I Yabba-Dabba Do!*, *Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby* and *A Flintstone Family Christmas*, he is now finally grown up and his hair style is still the same.

## Appearances (in chronological order)

### **Infant/toddler**

* *The Flintstones*
* *The Flintstones (comic strips)*
* *The Flintstones (Gold Key Comics)*
* *The Man Called Flintstone*
* *1967 Busch Advertising Reel* (1967)
* *The Flintstones (Charlton Comics)* and *Harvey*
	+ *Barney & Betty Rubble (Charlton Comics)*
	+ *Dino (Charlton Comics)*
	+ *The Great Gazoo (Charlton Comics)*
* *The New Fred and Barney Show*
* *The Flintstone Primetime Specials*
	+ *The Flintstones' New Neighbors*
	+ *The Flintstones: Fred's Final Fling*
	+ *The Flintstones: Wind-Up Wilma*
	+ *The Flintstones: Jogging Fever*
* *The Flintstones (Marvel Comics)*
* *I Yabba-Dabba Do!* (flashback)
* *Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby* (flashback)
* *A Flintstones Christmas Carol*
* *The Flintstones (Archie Comics)*
* *Cave Kids*
* *The Flintstones and the Jetsons*
* *The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown!*
* *The Flintstones: Bring Back Bedrock*
* *Blue's Clues & You!*

### **Child/preteen**

* *A Flintstone Christmas*
* *The Flintstones: Little Big League*
* *The Flintstones* (1994)
* *The Flintstones (DC Comics)*
* *Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs*

### **Teenager**

* *The Flintstone Comedy Show*
* *The Flintstone Funnies*
* *The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show*
* *The Flintstone Comedy Hour*
* *Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm (Charlton Comics)*
* *Hanna-Barbera Educational Filmstrips* – featuring *Information Please, A Weighty Problem, Fire Alarm, Fire Escape and Driving Guide*
* *The Rubbles*

### **Adult**

* *I Yabba-Dabba Do!*
* *Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby*
* *A Flintstone Family Christmas*
* *Bedrock*

## Portrayals

### **Television shows and specials**

* **Don Messick** - *The Flintstones*, *The New Fred and Barney Show* and *Fred and Barney Meet the Thing*
* Henry Corden - *The Flintstones*
* Jay North - *The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show* and *The Flintstone Comedy Hour*
* Frank Welker - *The Flintstones: Little Big League*
* Michael Sheehan - *The Flintstone Comedy Show*
* Christine Cavanaugh - *Cave Kids*
* Ely Henry - *Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs*
* Lucille Bliss - *A Flintstone Christmas*
* Eric Bauza - *Blue's Clues & You!*

### **Films**

* **Don Messick:** *Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby* (1993) and *A Flintstones Christmas Carol* (1994)
* Jerry Houser: *I Yabba-Dabba Do!* and *Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby* (1993)
* Hlynur & Marinó Sigurðsson: *The Flintstones* (1994)
* Eric Bauza: *The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown!* (2015)

### **Other**

* Bill Farmer: *The Flintstones: Bedrock Bowling*
* Elizabeth Daily - (1996-present)
* Manny Jacinto - *Bedrock*

## Notes/Trivia

* Bamm-Bamm was based upon a *Ruff & Reddy* character named Ubble Ubble, a very strong Neanderthal boy.
* Cartoonist Gene Hazelton contributed to the original model sheets for the character, and he has said that he based Bamm-Bamm's design on his own son, Wes.
* Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm appeared as supporting characters with their modern teenage designs in the 1995 series, *Johnny Bravo*, in the 2004 episode "*A Page Right Out of History*", where Johnny became smitten with Pebbles and was exploited by Fred for his idiocy. Teenage Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm would also go on to make a cameo as background characters in the 2010 series, *Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated*, in the episode "*Revenge of the Man Crab*".