The Flintstones 

The misadventures of two modern-day Stone Age families, the Flintstones and the Rubbles.

Creators:

Joseph Barbera, William Hanna

Stars:

Alan Reed, Mel Blanc, Jean Vander Pyl

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Jean Vander Pyl	...	Wilma Flintstone / ... 167 episodes, 1960-1966
Alan Reed	...	Fred Flintstone / ... 166 episodes, 1960-1966
Mel Blanc	...	Barney Rubble / ... 164 episodes, 1960-1966
Bea Benaderet	...	Betty Rubble / ... 112 episodes, 1960-1964
Don Messick	...	Bamm-Bamm Rubble / ... 86 episodes, 1961-1966
John Stephenson	...	Mr. Slate / ... 73 episodes, 1960-1966

Storyline

This popular animated television cartoon featured two Stone Age families, the Flintstones and their neighbors, the Rubbles. Much of the humor was based on its comic portrayals of modern conveniences, reinterpreted using Stone Age 'technology.' Most notably were their cars, complete with absence of floorboards to allow them to be 'foot-powered.'

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Plot Keywords:

1960s | husband and wife relationship | thin attractive woman | ugly husband | housewife | 

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Taglines:

Something old - Something new! But nothing borrowed and nothing blue! A brand new idea - an adult cartoon series! THE FLINTSTONES!...a couple just like the folks you know - except they live in the Stone Age!

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 May 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Flagstones

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hanna-Barbera Productions, Screen Gems Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (166 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At least six episodes in the series contain identical plot summaries, that were very reminiscent & very identical (but animated) of classic Laurel & Hardy films. The Flintstones: The Flintstone Flyer (1960) heavily resembled Laurel & Hardy's 1931 short film, Be Big! (1931). The Flintstones: The Split Personality (1960) resembled a Laurel & Hardy's feature, A Chump at Oxford (1939). The Flintstones: The Hot Piano (1961) very deeply resembled the plot summary of Laurel & Hardy's 1932 classic, Academy Award winning short, The Music Box (1932). The Flintstones: The Buffalo Convention (1962) resembled the classic 1933 Laurel & Hardy's feature Sons of the Desert (1933). The Flintstones: Seeing Doubles (1965) resembled the 1936 Laurel & Hardy's feature Our Relations (1936). The Flintstones: Jealousy (1966) very deeply resembled Laurel & Hardy's 1929 silent film That's My Wife (1929).

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Goofs

The bosses of Fred and Barney, both have first name, of George. But their last name keeps changing from Slate to Granite, back & forth, (most like a light switch, turned on or off) throughout season one.

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Quotes

Barney Rubble: [upon seeing an assembled mastodon skeleton after sneaking into the Brickrock home] Your suspicions were correct, Fred. There she is - Agatha Brickrock with her outside removed.
Fred Flintstone: That's not Agatha; that's a mastodon.
Barney Rubble: A whats-a-don?
Fred Flintstone: A big thing with a lumpy body, thick legs, a long nose, floppy ears, and tusks.
Barney Rubble: Sounds like Agatha to me.

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Crazy Credits

First season episodes incorporated an ad for Winston Cigarettes into the opening credits (this version of the opening was removed for syndication). Due to the decision to use a standard opening and closing for syndicated versions of the episodes, numerous episodes have incorrect closing credits. Sixth & last season episode debuted with, The Flintstones: No Biz Like Show Biz (1965) dropped the "Meet the Flintstones" closing credit song, in favor of footage of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm singing "Let the Sunshine In." (a reminder of Fred Flintstone's dream, earlier in the musical program).

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Alternate Versions

For the last half of Season 2, a truncated ending title was used. This end title still used the "Rise and Shine" theme, however the 10 second sequence where Fred puts out the milk bottles and closes the front door was removed, and the theme song was bridged to account for the gap. Unfortunately, the Season 2 DVD box set does not show this truncated end title, and as of 2006 this footage is still considered "lost".

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Connections

Referenced in Prehysteria! 3 (1995)

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Soundtracks

Rubble Gotta Get Rich
Performed by Barney Rubble
Written by A. Smith, D. Caddell and T. Barreca

User Reviews

My thoughts.

I spent my whole life watching this show and now that the first season is about to be released on DVD, theres no better time to talk about why i like 'The Flintstones' so much. I was always made fun of during my school days for being such a fan and even though i'm 28 now, my passion for 'The Flintstones' is still as strong as ever. So what is so special about this show? From episode 1 to episode 166, we are treated with laughs and clever animal gimmicks as well as good storylines. The voices are great especially Alan Reed (Fred) who has such a loud and obnoxious voice which fits Fred Flintstone's character so well. The only problem is the amount of mistakes that were made throughout the 6 seasons. They will stand out if you have watched the different episodes enough times. For example one episode will tell us that Fred and Wilma had their honeymoon in Boulder Beach, another will tell you it was Bedrock Races and another at the Rock Mountain Inn. Also do The Flintstones live on Cobblestone Lane, Stonecanyon Way or Gravelpit Terrace? There are many other mistakes like this but they don't take away the fact that 'The Flintstones' is top notch entertainment for the whole family, not just children. William Hanna and Joseph Barbera have given us some fantastic cartoons that have stood the test of time and 'The Flintstones' is my favourite out of all of them.