The Flintstones is a 1960's Warner Bros. animated sitcom franchise created by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the Rubbles. It was originally broadcast on ABC from September 30, 1960, to April 1, 1966, and was the first animated series with a prime-time slot on television.
The show follows the lives of Fred and Wilma Flintstone and their pet dinosaur, Dino, and they later on have a baby girl named Pebbles. Barney and Betty Rubble are their neighbors and best friends, and later on adopt a super-strong baby boy named Bamm-Bamm and acquire a pet hopparoo (kangaroo) called Hoppy.
Media[]
Main series[]
- Main article: The Flintstones (television series)
Compilation[]
- Main article: The Flintstone Comedy Hour
Live-action Special[]
- Main article: The Flintstones on Ice
Halloween Special[]
- Main article: The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone
25th Anniversary Celebration[]
- Main article: The Flintstones' 25th Anniversary Celebration
Theme parks[]
Three Flintstones-themed amusement parks have existed in the United States. One was Bedrock City in Custer, South Dakota. It closed in 2015 when the new owner Mike Tennyson and Warner Bros. could not come to an agreement over changes. It was too expensive for the repairs and changes that Warner Bros. wanted, having Tennyson closed it. The entire site was bulldozed in April 2019. The second one, near Williams, Arizona, was still open for the summer of 2019 but slated to close by 2020. It cost $5 per person to get in. Both parks had been in operation for decades.[1]
A third park existed until the 1990s at Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In Canada, Flintstone Park in Kelowna, British Columbia, opened in 1968 and closed in 1998; it was notable for the "Forty Foot Fred" billboard of Fred Flintstone which was a well-known Kelowna landmark.[2][3] Another Flintstones park was located in Bridal Falls, British Columbia, which closed in 1990.[4] Calaway Park outside Calgary, Alberta, also opened with a Flintstones theme and many of the buildings today have a caveman-like design, though the park no longer licenses the characters. The Australia's Wonderland and Canada's Wonderland theme parks, both featured Flintstones characters in their Hanna-Barbera-themed children's sections from 1985 until the mid-1990s. Kings Island (near Cincinnati) and Kings Dominion (near Richmond, Virginia) had a Hanna-Barbera land, in which many Hanna-Barbera characters were featured, including the Flintstones, in the early 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. Bedrock is one of the themed lands in the indoor Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi park in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, mainly home to the Flintstones Bedrock River Adventure flume ride.
Live theater[]
A stage production opened at Universal Studios Hollywood in 1994 (the year the live-action film was released), developed by Universal and Hanna-Barbera Productions, at the Panasonic Theater, replacing the Star Trek show. The story consists of Fred, Wilma, Barney, and Betty heading for "Hollyrock". The show ran until January 2, 1997.
In popular culture[]
Miles Laboratories (now part of Bayer Corporation) and their One-A-Day vitamin brand was the alternate sponsor of the original Flintstones series during its first two seasons, and in the late 1960s, Miles introduced Flintstones Chewable Vitamins, fruit-flavored multivitamin tablets for children in the shape of the Flintstones characters, which are still currently being sold.[5]
The Simpsons referenced The Flintstones in several episodes. In the episode "Homer's Night Out", Homer's local convenience store clerk, Apu, remarks "You look familiar, sir. Are you on the television or something?", to which Homer replies "Sorry, buddy, you've got me confused with Fred Flintstone."[6] During the couch gag of the opening credits of the episode "Kamp Krusty", the Simpson family arrive home to find the Flintstone family already sitting on their couch.[7] The same couch gag was reused in syndicated episodes of "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show", when The Simpsons overtook The Flintstones as the longest-running animated series.[8] In "Lady Bouvier's Lover", Homer's boss, Mr. Burns, appears at the family's house and says "Why, it's Fred Flintstone (referring to Homer) and his lovely wife, Wilma! (Marge) Oh, and this must be little Pebbles! (Maggie) Mind if I come in? I brought chocolates." Homer responds by saying "Yabba-dabba-doo!"[9] The opening of "Marge vs. the Monorail" depicts Homer leaving work in a similar way to Fred Flintstone in the opening of The Flintstones, during which he sings his own version of the latter's opening theme only to slam into a chestnut tree.
Family Guy also did a parody of The Flintstones in their multiverse episode.
On September 30, 2010, Google temporarily replaced the logo on its search page with a custom graphic celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Flintstones' first TV broadcast.[10]
References[]
- ↑ "Flintstones park in South Dakota closing, gets new owner". The Washington Times.
- ↑ "Kelowna, BC, Canada – Bedrock City (Gone)". www.roadsideamerica.com.
- ↑ "Forty Foot Fred found on farm". infotel.ca.
- ↑ "Remember Flintstones Park in Kelowna? Where there was Fred, there was food, beer and bowling – the same is true at Freddy's Brew Pub!". Mccurdybowl.com (February 16, 2009).
- ↑ The Flintstones Season 1 DVD
- ↑ "Apu: You Look Familiar, Sir. Are You On The Television Or Something?". Anvari.org (2011).
- ↑ "10 great 'Simpsons' couch gags". Today (2011).
- ↑ Canning, Robert (2008-06-23). "The Simpsons Flashback: "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" Review". IGN.
- ↑ "The Simpsons "Lady Bouvier's Lover" Quotes". TVFanatic (2011).
- ↑ Blake, Heidi. "The Flintstones 50th anniversary is celebrated by Google Doodle", The Daily Telegraph, UK, September 30, 2010. Template:Cbignore
External Links[]
