Line #55 YMMV/TheFlintstones


1	[[foldercontrol]]
2	[[folder:The Cartoon]]
3	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
4	** A few viewers have speculated that the Flintstones are actually a [[AfterTheEnd Post-Apocalyptic]] society using what it can to recreate the destroyed technology, even if it means reverting back to the Stone Age, and the supposed prehistoric animals in reality are produced by radioactive [[{{Mutants}} mutation]]. Which makes a lot more sense if you consider that they celebrate Christmas and seem to have similar cultural norms to modern Americans, and the fact that creatures of different Geologic Ages, like mammoths and dinosaurs, can coexist in the same time. Some have even joked that at the same time ''The Flintstones'' takes place on the ground, ''WesternAnimation/TheJetsons'' takes place in the sky.
5	** The Great Gazoo could be the most evil character ever created. He was sent to Earth as punishment for creating a doomsday device that would destroy the universe, and he's cute, not menacing. Obvious evil is easy to spot and thus not as dangerous; insidious or hidden evil is much worse.
6	* AnimationAgeGhetto: A bit of a meta example, but this is the reason why the infamous cigarette and beer ads are considered surprising for so many people, as the show was first created before the Ghetto even existed.
7	* AudienceAlienatingEra: The franchise has a show where the Flintstones get new neighbors, the Frankenstones, a prehistoric version of Series/TheAddamsFamily or Series/TheMunsters with an unsympathetic FrankensteinsMonster as the head. Most of the episodes were about Fred having a fight with Mr. Frankenstone. Yes, in the original cartoon some monstrous neighbors were mentioned, but only episodically and never as major characters. It didn't help that the show also featured shorts that were ripping off other shows, so we could watch Captain Caveman imitating Superman (he was even ClarkKenting) with Betty and Wilma as two Lois Lanes, teenage Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm solving [[ScoobyDooHoax Scooby Doo Hoaxes]] with Dino, and Fred and Barney in a BuddyCopShow, patrolling the streets with a ''Shmoo'', which was constantly molesting Fred.
8	* BaseBreakingCharacter: Pebbles and Bamm Bamm. Some fans like them for bringing out Fred and Barney's softer sides, while others feel they were the start of the show being kidified and took the edge away from the show.
9	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
10	** Perry Gunnite, the private eye detective from "Love Letters on the Rocks" only appeared once, but he was still popular enough to star in his own spin-off stories in the comics. He was also supposed to have his own show in the 1980s.
11	** An animation fan publication listed Betty as one of the sexiest cartoon females ever created: "A prehistoric Snow White eternally betrothed to a man half her size and twice her girth. Not the brightest light on the porch, but unlike Wilma, she's not a nag when she complains."
12	** Pretty much every animal character in the series especially the ones used for appliances or machinery and any work. Their commentary makes those who dislike the series love them.
13	* EthnicScrappy:
14	** Despite being a show about a modernized Stone Age, The Flintstones somehow saw fit to introduce the Great Gazoo, a generic little green alien that would probably seem a lot more at home in The Jetsons. Or rather, generic except for the fact that his personality is modeled after every offensive stereotype of the British (despite being voiced by an American actor). Gazoo is stuffy, smug, and arrogant (although he is an alien, after all) and enjoys making jokes and pranks at the expense of Fred and Barney.
15	** Hashimoto Rockimoto from "The Prowler". He is a stereotypical Japanese judo instructor, and his presence has led to [=MeTV=] skipping this episode in reruns.
16	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff:
17	** The show and its live-action movies were very popular in Quebec thanks to being dubbed in the local vernacular (as opposed to the "international French" most movies and TV shows use even when localized in the province).
18	** The cartoon's localized version was also a major hit in Hungary, as all the dialog had been rendered in witty rhymes by a famous poet. Due to the dub's success, some later dubs of cartoons and comedy movies used the same tactic. The show's later seasons and the spin-offs aren't that well known, though.
19	** The same goes with the Mexican Spanish dub, since it uses lots of [[{{Woolseyism}} local references]] in the dub, not to mention the great quality of the acting.
20	* HarsherInHindsight: The infamous cigarette ad becomes this when you remember that '''all four of the main voice actors''' (Alan Reed, Creator/MelBlanc, Jean Vander Pyl, and Bea Benaderet) died of smoking-related illnesses and complications in the decades that followed the show's original run.
21	* HeartwarmingInHindsight: The episode ''Rip Van Flintstone'' featured Fred dreaming that he slept for twenty years, and among the things that had happened were Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm being HappilyMarried. Years later, along comes ''I Yabba-Dabba-Doo!'' where it actually happens.
22	** The episode in which Pebbles is born has Fred be the one who inspires her name by simply saying she’s “a Pebble off the ol’ Flintstone”. Fast forward to ''Hollyrock-A-Bye Baby'', and he’s also the one who inspires the names of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm’s twins; Roxy and Chip.
23	* HilariousInHindsight:
24	** Let's see, a character named Barney who is associated with dinosaurs? [[Series/BarneyAndFriends Where would we later hear that?]]
25	** One episode in the second season had a man-eating bird-fish hybrid called a "[[WesternAnimation/TheCroods Piranhakeet]]".
26	** Mr. Loudrock is voiced by Henry Corden, who would become the voice of Fred after Alan Reed died. So him fighting with Fred involves the two voices of Fred fighting with each other.
27	** When Fred lip-synchs with "Bedrock, Twitch, Twitch", [[RepetitiveAudioGlitch the record skips]]. [[Music/MilliVanilli Come a few decades later...]]
28	** Fred's last name in the Quebec dub is Caillou, which would later become the name of [[WesternAnimation/{{Caillou}} an imaginative four-year-old]].
29	** In "The Big Move" both Barney and Pebbles say "[[Franchise/ScoobyDoo Scooby-dooby-doo]]" a few times years before [[Creator/HannaBarbera Hanna-Barbera]] would introduce the famous dog.
30	** "Dino Disappears": Pebbles won't eat anything, so Barney tries to change her mind by pretending to enjoy the meal. He makes a show of taking some bites and saying, "Uncle Barney loves Pebbles' cereal," before finding that he actually does like it, much to Fred's annoyance. Little did the writers know that less than a decade later, there would be actual Advertising/PebblesCereal and that countless commercials would depict Barney trying to swipe the goods from a frustrated Fred.
31	* MemeticMutation:
32	** "Betty's not a vitamin!"
33	** The Winston cigarette ads.
34	** "Braaack, it's a livin'."
35	** The theme song itself is a meme, by way of [[WebVideo/{{Vinesauce}} Joel]]'s exasperated remarks (FLEENTSTONES?!) when he encountered it in a bootleg version of ''VideoGame/TheFlintstonesTheRescueOfDinoAndHoppy'' disguised as a ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' game known as ''7 Grand Dad'' (which itself is a meme). A conglomerate of musicians known as Music/{{SiIvaGunner}} have taken this and run with it.
36	* OlderThanTheyThink: The idea of "Flintstones and wrestling? Those don't go together" in response to a direct-to-video animated film starring the Flintstones with stone age versions of Wrestling/{{WWE}} wrestlers has become a web reaction, even though, yes, an episode of the original series had a wrestling match take up most of the plot. This not counting all the times Fred and Barney watched "the fights" on TV either.
37	* OnceOriginalNowCommon: It's easy to forget, but much in the same vein a modern shows like ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' and ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', ''The Flintstones'' was a UsefulNotes/PrimeTime cartoon aimed at adults. This is what led to things like the [[NeverLiveItDown cigarette commercial.]] It wasn't until later on, much like the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'', that the Flintstones was wrongly associated as a kids-only franchise, although the introduction of Great Gazoo, the greater emphasis on Dino, and episodes such as the famous musical "Fred Saves Christmas" episode suggests the change in tone was already well underway.
38	* QuestionableCasting: In the episode where Fred and Barney get a camera and try to make money as photographers, they try to take pictures of a baby girl. Even though there were several actresses in the cast that could convincingly voice babies (Jean Vander Pyl voiced both Wilma and Pebbles, for example), the little girl is inexplicably voiced by '''Creator/MelBlanc'''.
39	* TheScrappy: The Great Gazoo, for being an annoying reality-warping alien in a series about a modern stone-age family. His introduction was a contributing factor for the show's eventual cancellation.
40	* SeasonalRot: Some have noted that after Pebbles was born, the show shifted its tone to be a bit more child friendly, and think it dropped in quality as a result. While this viewpoint isn't universally accepted among fans, a '''way''' more common viewpoint is that the show's quality took a major drop when the Great Gazoo showed up.
41	* SpiritualSuccessor: Take out the [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace prehistoric setting]], and you have ''Series/TheHoneymooners: The Animated Series''. Jackie Gleason, the creator and star of ''The Honeymooners'', noticed this and considered suing Hanna-Barbera over it, only for his lawyers to point out that, even though he'd probably win in court, getting one of the most popular shows on television canceled would [[NeverLiveItDown permanently tarnish his reputation]].
42	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong:
43	** The original theme music, "Rise and Shine", sounds a bit like "This is It", the theme to ''The Bugs Bunny Show''. This might've been the reason the song was changed to "Meet the Flintstones" in the third season, with the first two seasons having the new theme [[EditedForSyndication edited in for syndication]].
44	** "Meet the Flintstones" was itself based on part of the "B" section of Music/LudwigVanBeethoven's Piano Sonata No. 17, Movement 2.
45	** The music heard in the bowling alley scene from the first live-action film sounds a lot like the theme song for ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow''.
46	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Despite being a main character, Betty is barely utilized or developed and only got one episode in the whole series. It doesn’t help that she was DemotedToExtra in terms of merchandise, apparently generated a lot of sympathy by fans wondering why she was being upstaged by, of all things, [[OneSceneWonder the Sabre Toothed Tiger from the end credits]], a car, and even [[TheScrappy The Great Gazoo]]. In the end, [[http://mentalfloss.com/article/26157/brief-history-flintstones-vitamins a huge campaign to bring her to prominence]] was launched, and Betty finally got her vitamin, with 91% of the votes!
47	* ValuesDissonance:
48	** There were commercials for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAExoSozc2c Winston cigarettes]] promoted by Fred and Barney. It should be noted that at the time the commercials were made a) ''The Flintstones'' was not considered a children's program and b) smoking was not a forbidden subject on TV. After a couple of seasons, when the show's popularity with children was established, the cigarette ads vanished and suddenly the show was now sponsored by products such as vitamins.
49	** There are also quite a few jokes sprinkled throughout the series that would, today, be seen as sexist or misogynistic. One episode featured Native American stereotypes, and was actually banned in some parts of Canada in the 1980s as a result.
50	** Relating to the questionable gender dynamics, the DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale is strong in the show, especially the early episodes.
51	** "The Prowler" featured Wilma and Betty taking judo lessons to defend themselves against a burglar whose been breaking into houses around Bedrock. Their judo instructor is a Japanese stereotype that, while not as malicious as the ones in [[WartimeCartoon World War II propaganda cartoons]], absolutely would not fly today. Because of this, it is the only episode that is skipped over on Creator/MeTv reruns.
52	* ValuesResonance:
53	** In ''The Missing Bus'' Fred becomes a schoolbus driver, and has to deal with helicopter parents who put an absurd amount of pressure on their children. Some of the lines wouldn't sound out of place in a modern Reddit thread.
54	** ''I Yabba Dabba Do'' and ''Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby'' were surprisingly progressive for a movies made in the early 90s and did good jobs at modernizing the franchise than previous subsequent ''Flintstones'' media. Not only do they add prehistoric versions of then-modern conveniences (such as [=VCRs=], microwaves, and frozen dinners) both manage to show Fred and Wilma (who have always been a 1960s) how much times have changed since the original ended.
55	*** In ''I Yabba Dabba Do'', Fred doesn’t want Wilma to become a working woman, now that Pebbles is an adult and on her own. Despite this, Fred comes around and realizes that he and Wilma can both have jobs and still be married.
56	*** In ''Hollyrock-A-Bye Baby'', Fred is in a rut because he misses Wilma cooking his dinner for him, now that she’s working and Wilma says that she doesn’t want to go back to being a housewife and he should stop living in the past. Later, Wilma says that Pebbles shouldn’t have a career and a be a mother at the same time, since the former never worked during Pebbles’ childhood. In the end, Pebbles does have the job she wants while being an attentive mother to her and Bamm-Bamm's twins. And speaking of Bamm-Bamm, he never once tries to make Pebbles quit her dreams or have her do all the work in caring for their kids; he's as present as Pebbles, even being a stay-at-home dad because his job allowed him to ''and'' fully supports her decisions when it comes to her career. And while Wilma still doesn’t approve of Pebbles' decisions, she ultimately respects them. In other words, this animated movie aimed primarily towards children showed a HappilyMarried couple with jobs they both enjoy, each one being respectful of the other, and ''still'' being {{good parents}}.
57	* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: The 2001 made-for-TV movie ''Flintstones: On the Rocks'' is rated TV-G. However, the special is significantly DarkerAndEdgier, as it turns Fred and Wilma's cartoon bickering into genuinely ''real'' feeling marital problems, and has many instances of DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything.
58	* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids:
59	** And it actually ''wasn't'', but was simply an animated sitcom expected to appeal to adults and younger viewers (which is one reason why the network sold advertising spots to a cigarette company early on). As such a number of episodes touched on domestic storylines not too far removed than those seen in ''Series/TheHoneymooners'', its direct inspiration. Some episodes went rather dark, such as one of the show's Bond parody episodes in which people actually are killed. The story arc about Wilma's pregnancy was also something not associated with children's programming at the time (as fans of ''Series/ILoveLucy'' know, even live-action shows had problems with the topic of pregnancy back in those days).
60	** Speaking of which, the arrival of Bamm-Bamm is built upon the none-too-subtle indication that either Barney is impotent/sterile or Betty is unable to bear children, leading them to adopt a son. None of these topics had ever been broached in a cartoon before.
61	* TheWoobie: A meta-example. When it came to merchandise, Betty always seemed to get the short end of the stick, having notably been left out of the Flintstones Vitamin assortment, and even being upstaged by the ''Sabre Toothed Tiger from the end credits'' for a Push Pop flavor ''(which was, to add insult to injury, [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience blueberry]].)'' Apparently, enough people complained about this, as Betty [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintstones_Chewable_Vitamins finally got her own Vitamin in 1995]], '''twenty years''' after that fact. There is even an [[https://www.flintstonesvitamins.com/faq FAQ on the official website]], the last two questions asking about her presence in the Vitamin lineup.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:The 1994 Live-Action Film]]
65	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
66	** The licensed SNES game based on the 1994 movie is nowadays mostly remembered for the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRF_7xsu10c "Unused Song 2"]] in its sound test. It sounds like it has absolutely nothing to do with the Flintstones, but it's a beautiful, soothing, yet somewhat dark track. Not bad, considering how it was added simply to fill up spare cartridge space.
67	** The B-52's cover of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0dv0HBLhTw theme song]]. While the film didn't wow audiences, this cover was pretty catchy.
68	* BestKnownForTheFanservice: Some viewers might remember it for having Creator/HalleBerry as a sexy secretary.
69	* CantUnhearIt: Creator/JohnGoodman as Fred Flintstone.
70	* CriticProof: The film was panned by critics (it has a 20% rating on Website/RottenTomatoes and a 38 out of 100 "generally unfavorable" score on Metacritic), but was a huge box office success. It spent its first two weeks at #1 in the United States, and ended up grossing $130.5 million domestically (and selling more than 31 million tickets). It performed even better overseas, grossing another $211.1 million, for a total worldwide gross of $341.6 million, more than seven times its $46 million budget.
71	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Sharon Stone is seen as a well written CanonForeigner who oozed sex appeal.
72	* FairForItsDay: Sharon Stone is the only prominent woman of colour in the film and a MsFanservice at that. But it was notable in that Halle Berry won the part over several white actresses after the original choice turned it down, the first time she had done so after years of being turned down solely because of her race. In her words, "Bedrock should be integrated".
73	* HilariousInHindsight:
74	** The Disney-own Creator/{{Freeform}} has broadcast rights to the film, so the value of the Dictabird's remark about signing with Disney being safer is nullified, making it even funnier.
75	** A music video was produced of Music/TheB52s cover of the iconic theme song featuring the cast performing with the band, including Creator/HalleBerry. On the line "Then the cat will stay out for the night" the video cuts to Berry, who mouths the word "cat". ''The Flintstones'' ended up being something of an OldShame for the Oscar-winning Berry, along with a later film, ''Film/Catwoman2004''.
76	*** Bonus points that Halle Berry acted alongside the real Sharon Stone.
77	* JustHereForGodzilla: Some people only watch it just for Creator/JohnGoodman's performance as Fred Flintstone.
78	* MagnificentBitch: Miss Sharon Stone is assigned by Cliff Vandercave to be Fred Flintstone's secretary after he is promoted to the position of Vice President at Slate & Co. Working with Vandercave to embezzle the company, she identifies Fred as the perfect scapegoat due to his low intelligence, and uses her seductive charm to trick him into signing forms that would incriminate him. After Wilma catches her and Fred flirting, she apologizes to him for nearly ruining his marriage, and eventually comes to genuinely like him. After she discovers that Cliff intended to abandon her and flee the country himself, she helps the Flintstones and Rubbles defeat Cliff during the climax. Despite being arrested for her crimes, she parts on good terms with Fred, with the latter promising that he will try to make sure that she receives a lighter sentence as a gesture of gratitude for her help.
79	* MoralEventHorizon: Cliff Vandercave easily crosses this when he[[spoiler: kidnaps Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm and places them on a conveyor belt leading to a giant mining machine, then starts the machine with the intent of shredding and grinding them alive, even though Fred and Barney had given him the Dictabird before]]. Then he [[spoiler: attempts to shoot the Dictabird, but not before Sharon knocks him out with a money bag]].
80	* NeverLiveItDown: Rosie O'Donnell as Betty Rubble; it continues to raise eyebrows even among the film's strongest defenders to this day. It was one of three roles that "won" her that year's Razzie for Worst Supporting Actress. It's quite telling that the sequel downgraded her to a minor voice role.
81	* QuestionableCasting:
82	** Rosie O'Donnell's casting as the live-action version of Betty got a mixed reaction. She was apparently given the part because of her perfect imitation of Betty's giggle despite not being as slender, in contrast to cartoon and movie Wilma being a closer match. Leaving aside the whole debate as to whether or not she was physically suited to the role, O'Donnell was typically known for playing tough, loud-mouthed women, whereas Betty had been typically shown as the more placid one between her and Wilma. Some also felt that her performance was too broad even for a movie based on an animated series.
83	** A bigger confusion goes to '''Creator/ElizabethTaylor''' as Wilma's mother Pearl, since the famously beautiful Hollywood legend would be just about the last person you'd think would be cast in the role of a grumpy stout battle-axe as Wilma's mom was in the cartoon.
84	** Creator/RickMoranis raised a few eyebrows in being cast as Barney too, due to not nearly being as stocky, so it looks like he was mainly chosen for his height difference with Fred's actor, and he and Betty sort of get their contrasting body types reversed (though he was generally well-received in the final movie). About the only actor whom virtually everyone agreed was ''perfect'' for his role from the start was Creator/JohnGoodman as Fred Flintstone.
85	* SoOkayItsAverage: Few would call the film an unsung gem, but on sheer nostalgia and NarmCharm, not to mention the commitment to its silly aesthetic, it's not considered a bad watch. And with the competition to come in the following years regarding live-action animation adaptations, you could certainly do much worse.
86	* SpecialEffectFailure: Some of the animatronics weren't that great at the time, and haven't aged that well since. The Dictabird is particularly obvious.
87	* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: Everyone knew they were in a live-action cartoon and heightened their performances accordingly. But when Fred and Wilma's marriage breaks down, Creator/JohnGoodman pours his heart and soul into ''one'' word ("please") to show Fred's bravado breaking as sadness and regret takes over.
88	* UnintentionalUncannyValley: Translating Dino's overtly cartoonish design to live-action was bound to cause this reaction. Especially with those uncomfortably realistic eyes.
89	* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: One of the primary criticisms of the movie (including from Creator/RogerEbert) was that its main storylines (embezzlement, office politics, and Fred being tempted into an extramarital affair) were at best hard to follow and at worst highly inappropriate for the kids in the audience. The irony, though, was that the show was likewise rather mature for its time[[note]]It was after all in the US during its initial run it was a primetime sitcom primarily aimed at older audiences hence initially sponsored by a cigarette company.[[/note]] and really only got more kiddie in the late 70s and 80s. So in a way, the movie was RevisitingTheRoots.
90	[[/folder]]

Context YMMV / TheFlintstones