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The Man Called Flintstone
Back in the 60's, ABC and Hanna Barbera Productions made history with the first prime time animated series called The Flintstones which ran for six seasons. During the final season, it was decided to bring the show to the big screen in a feature length animated adventure called The Man Called Flintstone.
The year was 1966 and the James Bond craze was in high gear so it was decided that this film should be a Bond spoof. As the film opens, we are introduced to a secret agent named Rock Slag, who is a dead ringer for Fred Flintstone, who is being chased by a pair of boobs named Ali and Bobo. During the chase, Slag is seriously injured and appears to be incapable of completing his mission of stopping a missile from being launched by a villain known as the Green Goose. Slag's boss, Chief Boulder, accidentally runs into Fred, who is preparing for a camping trip with BFF Barney Rubble, their wives, Wilma and Betty, and their children, Pebbles and Bamm Bamm. Boulder offers Fred an all-expenses paid trip to Paris for him and his family if he will complete Slag's mission for him.
It should be noted that if you've been living under a rock for the last 60 years and have no idea who the Flintstones are, you should give this film a hard pass. The screenplay assumes that the viewer is already acquainted with the Flintstones and the Rubbles and offers nothing in terms of backstory. That said, we are offered a typical Fred and Barney adventure where our two best friends have gotten themselves in a situation well above their paygrade and don't really have a clue how to get out of it.
Like the television series, the movie features all the stone age technology that made the series so funny, including elevators operated by dinosaurs and cameras and tape recorders that are actually operated by birds. These are the primary elements that made the TV show so funny, which were practically ignored when the 1994 live action version of the show was produced in 1994. In keeping with the Bond theme, the Rock Slag character is known by every glamorous female criminal in the world, who all seem to have some kind of past with Slag and can't tell the difference between him and Fred.
In addition to all the female scenery, the Bond tradition also comes alive in some clever chase scenes, especially the one that opens the film with Slag being pursued and one through an abandoned amusement park during the final act. The film does feature a handful of lame songs that really do nothing but slow the plot and pad running time. Even toddlers Pebbles and Bamm Bamm are given their own musical number.
Alan Reed and Mel Blanc still provide the voices of Fred and Barney as they did in the series. Henry Corden, who provided Fred's singing voice, would take over voicing the character after Reed's death. Slag's boss, Chief Boulder, is voiced by Harvey Korman,who also provided the voice of the Great Gazoo on the series. There are laughs here and there, but in this age of CGI entertainment, this is pretty tame stuff.
Back in the 60's, ABC and Hanna Barbera Productions made history with the first prime time animated series called The Flintstones which ran for six seasons. During the final season, it was decided to bring the show to the big screen in a feature length animated adventure called The Man Called Flintstone.
The year was 1966 and the James Bond craze was in high gear so it was decided that this film should be a Bond spoof. As the film opens, we are introduced to a secret agent named Rock Slag, who is a dead ringer for Fred Flintstone, who is being chased by a pair of boobs named Ali and Bobo. During the chase, Slag is seriously injured and appears to be incapable of completing his mission of stopping a missile from being launched by a villain known as the Green Goose. Slag's boss, Chief Boulder, accidentally runs into Fred, who is preparing for a camping trip with BFF Barney Rubble, their wives, Wilma and Betty, and their children, Pebbles and Bamm Bamm. Boulder offers Fred an all-expenses paid trip to Paris for him and his family if he will complete Slag's mission for him.
It should be noted that if you've been living under a rock for the last 60 years and have no idea who the Flintstones are, you should give this film a hard pass. The screenplay assumes that the viewer is already acquainted with the Flintstones and the Rubbles and offers nothing in terms of backstory. That said, we are offered a typical Fred and Barney adventure where our two best friends have gotten themselves in a situation well above their paygrade and don't really have a clue how to get out of it.
Like the television series, the movie features all the stone age technology that made the series so funny, including elevators operated by dinosaurs and cameras and tape recorders that are actually operated by birds. These are the primary elements that made the TV show so funny, which were practically ignored when the 1994 live action version of the show was produced in 1994. In keeping with the Bond theme, the Rock Slag character is known by every glamorous female criminal in the world, who all seem to have some kind of past with Slag and can't tell the difference between him and Fred.
In addition to all the female scenery, the Bond tradition also comes alive in some clever chase scenes, especially the one that opens the film with Slag being pursued and one through an abandoned amusement park during the final act. The film does feature a handful of lame songs that really do nothing but slow the plot and pad running time. Even toddlers Pebbles and Bamm Bamm are given their own musical number.
Alan Reed and Mel Blanc still provide the voices of Fred and Barney as they did in the series. Henry Corden, who provided Fred's singing voice, would take over voicing the character after Reed's death. Slag's boss, Chief Boulder, is voiced by Harvey Korman,who also provided the voice of the Great Gazoo on the series. There are laughs here and there, but in this age of CGI entertainment, this is pretty tame stuff.