Movie Review: The Flintstones

“The Flinstones” is a live-action American comedy film directed by Brian Levant. If you loved the 1960s television cartoon series and get a chance to watch this, you should do so! It was produced by a Steven Spielberg company, Amblin Entertainment.

The Flintstones aired the most episodes of any animated show in prime time, with 166 episodes between 1960 and 1966. The show was so successful, it established Hanna-Barbera as the largest producer of animated films.

While many Reviewers did not like this movie, citing its plot as confusing and the film not as funny as they wanted, I love this movie. The actors are all perfect fits for the characters, and I couldn’t think of anyone other than John Goodman to play Fred, and Rick Moranis to play Barney.

Halle Berry plays a sterling part as Ms Stone, the Secretary of the Executive Vice President of the Slate Company.

Elizabeth Taylor plays an excellent part as Wilma’s mother!

This is a movie for adults due to the plot themes, but teen fans of the Flintstones would enjoy it, with guidance.

The sets or scenes are spot on, from the houses to driving the cars and to the quarry scenes, and there are many funny parts in the movie which derive from the cartoons, for example the change-over of the Waste Disposal System.

All the characters are exactly dressed as they are in the cartoons, down to Wilma’s white bead necklace. The movie introduces Bam Bam when he is adopted by the Rubbles.

Then there are take-offs like Roc Donalds, and at the end a movie screening by Gorge Lucas, called Tar Wars.

Fred’s iconic “Yabba dabba doo” catchphrase came from Alan Reed, who voiced Fred, and reportedly used the line during a recording session.

Reports vary on just how many writers in all worked on the film, but the common consensus tends to sit between 32 and 35 in all. Maybe this is why some people think it doesn’t gel as a whole, but I think that the plot is good and is cohesive.

The movie earned over $340 million at the global box office in 1994, at a point when that was deemed a tidy sum.

The animated series started off as both a kid’s and adults show, and gradually became relegated to being suitable for children, until the Simpsons began in 1990.

Syndicated re-runs in the 80s and 90s revived the cartoons somewhat, for those who loved the earlier seasons. The TV.avclub says:

While “The Flintstones” hasn’t been a going concern as an actual TV show, an empire of feature films and spin-offs and amusement parks and TV specials and chewable vitamins and breakfast cereals — has guaranteed it will be eternal.

Who could forget the wonderful “Meet the Flintstones” Theme music and putting out the cat only for the wily creature to get back into the house through an open window; or driving the car by running it with your feet, or the over-sized ribs?

The one-and-a-half hour movie “The Flintstones” is firmly one of my favourites. After all, with a movie version of this Stone-Age family,

“We’ll have a gay old time.”

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