The Flintstones (1994)

In this live-action feature of the cartoon show, Fred Flintstone finally gets the job he's always wanted, but it may just come at a price.

Director:

Brian Levant

Writers:

Tom S. Parker, Jim Jennewein

Stars:

John Goodman, Rick Moranis, Rosie O'Donnell

6 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Goodman	...	Fred Flintstone
Elizabeth Perkins	...	Wilma Flintstone
Rick Moranis	...	Barney Rubble
Rosie O'Donnell	...	Betty Rubble
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Cliff Vandercave
Halle Berry	...	Miss Stone
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Pearl Slaghoople
Dann Florek	...	Mr. Slate
Richard Moll	...	Hoagie
Irwin Keyes	...	Joe Rockhead (as Irwin '88' Keyes)
Jonathan Winters	...	Grizzled Man
Harvey Korman	...	Dictabird (voice)
Elaine Silver	...	Pebbles
Melanie Silver	...	Pebbles
Hlynur Sigurðsson	...	Bamm-Bamm (as Hlynur Sigurdsson)

Storyline

The Flintstones and the Rubbles are modern stone-age families. Fred and Barney work at Slate and Company, mining rock. Fred gives Barney some money so he and Betty can adopt a baby. When Fred and Barney take a test to determine who should become the new associate vice president, Barney returns the favor by switching his test answers for Fred's, whose answers aren't very good. Fred gets the executive position, but little does he know that he's being manipulated by his boss to be the fall guy for an embezzlement scheme.

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Plot Keywords:

stone age | 1000000 b.c. | reboot of series | product placement | dinosaur and man | 

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Taglines:

Yabba-dabba-doo it!

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild innuendos

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 May 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Flintstones: The Live-Action Movie

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$46,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$130,512,915

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$228,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Hanna-Barbera Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Jim Henson Creature Shop only had 12 weeks to create and deliver more than 20 creatures for this production. Project Supervisor Verner Gresty concentrated on creating the 6000 pound brontosaurus used in the opening sequence. Other creatures included a pair of giant lobster lawnmowers designed and built by Chris Fitzgeraldand Jamie Jackson-Moore and the Dictabird built by Jez Harris and Richard Gregory.

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Goofs

Fred is not behind his mother in law when she steps in front of him after Barney offers him a briefcase.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Foreman: Hey, back to work! You guys had a break two days ago!

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Crazy Credits

The film is book-ended with live-action versions of The Flintstones (1960) opening and closing credits:

• Fred Flintstone knocks off from work and picks up his family and the Rubbles and takes them all to the drive-in cinema
• the Flintstones and Rubbles return home and go to bed, but when Fred puts the cat out it locks him out of his house.

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Alternate Versions

When aired on USA, the movie featured scenes cut from the final releases and made for TV viewing, as Universal often does.

• A scene of Fred activating the garage door and pedaling the Flintmobile inside;
• Wilma cutting the tail off his zebra suit he wore on his first day of being an executive followed by him saying they're gonna go find the biggest steak in the world and that Wilma would cook it;
• Extra dialogue from Cliff when he threatens to fire Fred unless Fred fires Barney;
• Wilma, Betty and the kids walking to the clothing store;
• Barney at an unemployment office;
• Extra dialogue in the meeting room where Fred says that the model factory could never build full sized houses;
• Wilma pretending her car broke down at the gates of Slate & Company in order to knock out the guard so she and Betty could go in and get the Dictabird.

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Connections

References The Jetsons (1962)

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Soundtracks

ROCK WITH THE CAVEMAN
Written by Tommy Steele
Performed by Big Audio Dynamite
Courtesy of Columbia Records

User Reviews

I liked it, what can I say?

I was 8 years old when this movie came out and remember really liking it despite the lackluster reviews it received from not only critics but most of my friends as well. I don't remember anybody out and out hating it, it just kinda got one of those "meh" grunts whenever it was mentioned.

Now I'm twenty three and I just watched it again and I gotta say, I still think it's pretty damn good. And unless you just simply are not of a fan of the Flintstones cartoons I don't see how you can not like this film. It plays like an extended episode of the series, with a plot not unlike something we have seen in our Saturday morning reruns, but loaded with enough clever one liners and risqué humor to elevate it to a much more adult oriented comedy. It's also got tons of sight gags and background jokes that you will likely need some multiple viewings to appreciate. Not to mention the sheer scope and execution of the sets, costumes and animatronic and CG dinosaurs are really something to admire, especially for its day.

The actors all play their parts well too, John Goodman and Rick Moranis as Fred and Barney are the standouts but there's nobody here that I thought fell short. Yes, I would have liked to have seen Betty portrayed with somebody with more curves in the right places...I mean she was the hottie in the cartoon and Rosie O'Donnell's physique definitely doesn't live up, but you have to give credit where credit is due and while she may not look quite the same, she plays the part well and has the voice and trademark giggle down perfectly.

Is this a fantastic film no...but I enjoy it every time I watch it and I think the attention to detail and obvious care that went into making this movie alone should keep it entertaining for years to come and considering its unlikely anything quite like this will ever be done again outside of its sequels, I would not be surprised if this movie eventually earns its respect among film buffs in the future.