A Flintstone Christmas (TV 1977)

When Santa has an accident at Fred's house on Christmas Eve, Fred and Barney have to continue his run for him.

Director:

Charles A. Nichols

Writers:

Duane Poole (story), Dick Robbins (story)

Stars:

Gay Autterson, Mel Blanc, Lucille Bliss

Cast

Credited cast:
Gay Autterson	...	Betty Rubble (voice) (as Gay Hartwig)
Mel Blanc	...	Barney Rubble (voice)
Lucille Bliss	...	Bamm Bamm Rubble (voice)
Henry Corden	...	Fred Flintstone (voice)
Virginia Gregg	...	(voice)
Hal Smith	...	Santa Claus (voice)
John Stephenson	...	Mr. Slate (voice)
Jean Vander Pyl	...	Wilma Flintstone / Pebbles Flintstone (voice)

Storyline

On Christmas Eve Day, Fred finally agrees to play Santa Claus for a benefit event. However, those plans have to be put on hold that night when the real Santa Claus sprains his ankle falling off Fred's roof. With no other option, Santa asks Fred and Barney to continue his delivery itinerary for him and they agree to the task. Throughout that night, the pair find the job unusually difficult, but Santa and his support crew are ready to help.

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Plot Keywords:

santa claus | christmas | holiday in title | modern stone age humor | family relationships | 

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Genres:

Animation | Family

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fred Flinta hjälper jultomten

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hanna-Barbera Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pebbles and Bamm Bamm are preteens in this special.

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Goofs

Before Santa lets Fred wear his suit after he gets injured, Fred was wearing the Santa costume that he was supposed to wear to the party. But at the end when Santa got his Suit back, Fred was wearing his regular Clothes.

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Quotes

Barney Rubble: [singing] But just to be sure I want to choose them all, cuz one is the really real Santa Claus.

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Connections

Follows The Flintstones (1960)

User Reviews

Not as Good as the Show but Still Fun

Flintstone Christmas, A (1977)

*** (out of 4)

Christmas time in Bedrock becomes an issue when Santa Claus slips on Fred's roof and injures himself. Being unable to deliver presents to the children Santa asks Fred and Barney to do it. I've read countless reviews of this film and the majority of them put this film down because it doesn't contain any of the magic of the television show. I'll admit that this isn't nearly as good as even the weakest episode of the television show but at the same time it's hard to deny that there's still some pretty funny stuff going on here. Many of the original voice actors aren't here but that doesn't take away too much as for the most part the new people fits the roles nice enough. Again, the voice work isn't nearly as great as the television but for the most part the actors get the job done. What I appreciate most about this film is that they keep the visual look of the show and to me this is a very important part. I enjoy the fact that they really didn't tamper with the characters very much, although they do make Pebbles and Bam-Bam pre-teens here. Mr. Slate is on hand and of course we've got Wilma and Betty. I think what makes this film work so well is that they don't try to change the humor of Fred and Barney. The original series was wonderful because of the witty dialogue and this was especially true when it came time to insult Fred and his weight. That same type of humor is carried over here and for the most part it made me laugh. There are many great jokes about Fred "fitting" the part of Santa and Barney has many good one-liners. At just under 50-minutes the film doesn't run too long and I think fans of the series should really give this a break. Sure, it's not as great as the TV show but everyone knows they could have tried changing everything up and end up delivering a dud but they didn't.