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The Flintstones (film)
Encyclopedia
The Flintstones is a 1994 American live-action comedy film
based on the Hanna-Barbera
cartoon television series of the same name
about a Stone-Age man, his family and his best friend. The film was directed by Brian Levant
, written by Tom S. Parker, Jim Jennewein and Steven E. de Souza
and produced by Bruce Cohen
.
The film stars John Goodman
as Fred Flintstone
, Rick Moranis
as Barney Rubble
, Elizabeth Perkins
as Wilma Flintstone
, and Rosie O'Donnell
as Betty Rubble
, along with Kyle MacLachlan
as an executive-vice president of Fred's company, Halle Berry
as his assistant and Elizabeth Taylor
, in her final big screen appearance, as Wilma's mother. The B-52's
performed a different version of the theme song.
Released on May 27, 1994, the film was a box-office success, though it was poorly received by many critics who negatively criticized the storyline and tone which they deemed too adult for family audiences. In 2000, a prequel, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
, was released.
Cliff Vandercave (Kyle MacLachlan
), the executive vice president of industrial procurement of the company, explains to his co-worker Sharon Stone (Halle Berry
) that he will swindle the company and flee with its fortune, and suggests Fred Flintstone
(John Goodman
) to help carry out his plans, which leads into a montage of the opening credits of The Flintstones.
While Fred leaves work for the day, Barney Rubble
(Rick Moranis
) is overjoyed that he is about to become a father because Fred loaned him money so he could adopt a child. After returning home, Fred is questioned by his wife, Wilma
(Elizabeth Perkins
) about missing money from the bank account and confesses that he loaned the money Barney so he and his wife, Betty
(Rosie O'Donnell
) could adopt a child. After adopting a cave boy named Bamm-Bamm, Barney appreciates what Fred did for him and is determined to pay him back. While taking the exams, Fred fails it, and is disappointed since he will not be able to give Wilma the wealthy life she used to have. To pay him back for giving him the money to adopt Bamm-Bamm, Barney (who did well on the exam) swaps his with Fred's and Fred is promoted to Vice President.
On Fred's first day as an executive, Cliff brings him to his new office. Cliff also has Stone appointed as his secretary knowing that Fred's attraction to her will lead him astray to the plot. Cliff has Fred fire Barney because of his exam score, but does his best to help Barney afterward with financial problems. Cliff proposes a new machine that will do all of the quarry work and increase the company's income. Fred is concerned about the operators losing their jobs. Cliff plans to have a fake version of the machine built and flee with the money gained from the machine, and frame Fred for it.
Fred nearly figures out about Cliff's plan, so Stone aggressively seduces him and Fred finally gives in to his desires, but is interrupted by Wilma. The Rubbles move into the Flintstones' house, causing tension between the Flintstones and the Rubbles, while the Flintstones' wealth increases. While out at a restaurant, Barney, now working as a busboy, sees on the news that Fred has fired all of the quarry operators. He confronts him about it, and their argument leads to Barney revealing that he switched their tests. The Rubbles move out of the house and Wilma abandons Fred.
Fred eventually realizes Cliff's plan and is chased by an angry mob of the unemployed quarry operators. They eventually catch Fred and attempt to lynch him and Barney once they find out it was because of him that Fred was promoted to the job. Fred and Barney reconcile while Wilma, Betty and the office dictabird
arrive at the scene to explain the crime to the mob. Meanwhile, Cliff kidnaps Pebbles
and Bamm-Bamm
and lures Fred and Barney into a trap. Cliff attempts to kill the dictabird, but is knocked out by Stone, who had realized Cliff's eventual betrayal.
While Barney rescues the kids, Fred uses the catapult to destroy Cliff's machine, causing Cliff to be trapped in a mixture of water and cement. Stone is arrested, but Fred agrees to vouch for her. Mr. Slate (Dann Florek
) proclaims his love of the substance that Cliff was trapped in, deciding to name it after his daughter Concretia
, and declares the Stone Age over with its creation. Slate offers Fred the presidency of a new division in the company, but Fred turns it down in exchange for his old job back, Slate rehiring all the workers, and adding a few other improvements to the workplace he had originally desired as an executive.
The film ends with a live action montage of the animated series' end credits.
According to pre-release publicity for The Flintstones, Sharon Stone
was to play Sharon Stone, but turned it down as she was already working on Diabolique
. Steven Spielberg
said Danny DeVito
was the original first choice for Barney. DeVito eventually turned down the role as he felt he was too gruff to do the character properly and reportedly suggested Moranis for the role.
Jean Vander Pyl
, Wilma's voice actor, appears in a cameo as Mrs. Feldspar in the Conga line
behind Dino
. Kate Pierson
, Fred Schneider
, and Keith Strickland
of The B-52's
cameo as The B.C.-52's, who perform "The Bedrock Twitch" and "(Meet) The Flintstones
" in the film. Jay Leno
appears as a talk show host. Creators William Hanna
and Joseph Barbera
also make appearances. Hanna played a boardroom executive and Barbera played a man driving a Mersandes
. Sam Raimi
appears as a Cliff Vandercave look-alike. Michael Richards
appears as a paper man. Chris Rock
appears as a co-worker at the quarry.
bought the rights for a live-action feature film version of The Flintstones and commissioned Steven E. de Souza
to write a script with Richard Donner
hired to direct. Silver was said to be interested in casting James Belushi
in the role of Fred. Steven E. de Souza's script was eventually rejected and Mitch Markowitz
was hired to write a script. Said to be a cross of "The Grapes of Wrath", Markowitz commented that "I don't even remember it that well, but Fred and Barney leave their town during a terrible depression and go across the country, or whatever that damn prehistoric thing is, looking for jobs.
They wind up in trailer parks trying to keep their families together. They exhibit moments of heoism and poignancy." Markowitz's version was apparently too sentimental for director Donner, who disliked it.
Eventually, the rights were bought by Amblin Entertainment and Steven Spielberg
who, after working with John Goodman
on Always, was determined to cast him in the lead as Fred. Brian Levant was hired as director and all previous scripts were thrown out. Levant then recruited, what he called, an "all-star writing team" which consisted of his writer friends from television shows such as Family Ties
, Night Court
and Happy Days
. "This is a sitcom on steroids," said Levant. "We were just trying to improve it." Dubbed the Flintstone Eight, the group wrote a new draft but four more round table sessions ensued, each of which was attended by new talent. Lowell Ganz
and Babaloo Mandel
took home a reported $100,000 for just two days work.
gave the film a 22% "Rotten" rating based on 41 reviews with an average rating of 3.8/10. At Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average
score of 38 out of 100, which indicates "generally negative reviews", based on 38 reviews.
On the television show At the Movies with Siskel and Ebert, Gene Siskel
of the Chicago Tribune
and Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
gave the film two thumbs down. They both mentioned that its main story lines (embezzlement, mother-in-law problems, office politics, and extra-marital affairs) were story lines for adult films, and ones that children wouldn't be able to understand.
O'Donnell received Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress
for her performance in this film. The film also won the Razzie Award for Worst Screenplay
and was nominated for two others, Taylor as Worst Supporting Actress (the second performance in the film nominated for this award) and for the film as Worst Remake or Sequel
.
was released in 2000 (six years after the first film) and the original cast, John Goodman
, Rick Moranis
, Elizabeth Perkins
, Rosie O'Donnell
, and Elizabeth Taylor
did not reprise their roles as the main characters.
Happy Meal sold a line of The Flintstones toys to promote the new McRib
sandwich.
in 1995.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
based on the Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
cartoon television series of the same name
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
about a Stone-Age man, his family and his best friend. The film was directed by Brian Levant
Brian Levant
Brian Michael Levant is an American television and film director, writer and producer.Levant was born in Highland Park, Illinois. He started his career in 1977 as a writer for the TV series "The Jeffersons"...
, written by Tom S. Parker, Jim Jennewein and Steven E. de Souza
Steven E. de Souza
Steven E. de Souza is an American producer, director and screenwriter. He is among a handful of screenwriters whose films have earned over two billion dollars at the worldwide box office.-Life and career:...
and produced by Bruce Cohen
Bruce Cohen
Bruce Cohen is an American film producer. Cohen and his producing partner, Dan Jinks, run The Jinks/ Cohen Company. Cohen and Jinks produced American Beauty, winner of the 1999 Academy Award for Best Picture...
.
The film stars John Goodman
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
as Fred Flintstone
Fred Flintstone
Frederick Joseph “Fred” Flintstone, also known as Fred W. Flintstone or Frederick J. Flintstone, is the protagonist of the animated sitcom The Flintstones, which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960-66. He is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles...
, Rick Moranis
Rick Moranis
Frederick Allan "Rick" Moranis is a Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and a magician. Moranis came to prominence in the late 1970s on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, and later appeared in several Hollywood films including Strange Brew; Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of...
as Barney Rubble
Barney Rubble
Bernard "Barney" Rubble is the deuteragonist of the television animated series The Flintstones. He is the diminutive blonde-haired caveman husband of Betty Rubble and father of Bamm-Bamm Rubble...
, Elizabeth Perkins
Elizabeth Perkins
Elizabeth Ann Perkins is an American actress. Her film roles have included Big, The Flintstones, Miracle on 34th Street, About Last Night..., and Avalon...
as Wilma Flintstone
Wilma Flintstone
Wilma Anna Flintstone is a fictional character in the television animated series The Flintstones. She was the red-headed wife of caveman Fred Flintstone, daughter of Pearl Slaghoople, mother of Pebbles Flintstone and a grandmother...
, and Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie O'Donnell
Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell is an American stand-up comedian, actress, author and television personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family...
as Betty Rubble
Betty Rubble
Elizabeth 'Betty' Jean Rubble is a fictional character in the television animated series The Flintstones and its spin-offs and live-action motion pictures. She is the black-haired wife of caveman Barney Rubble and the adoptive mother of Bamm-Bamm Rubble...
, along with Kyle MacLachlan
Kyle MacLachlan
Kyle Merritt MacLachlan is an American actor. MacLachlan is best known for his roles in cult films Blue Velvet as Jeffrey Beaumont, Showgirls as Zack Carey, as Paul Atreides in Dune, and Ray Manzarek in the Oliver Stone film The Doors...
as an executive-vice president of Fred's company, Halle Berry
Halle Berry
Halle Berry is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming...
as his assistant and Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, in her final big screen appearance, as Wilma's mother. The B-52's
The B-52's
The B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...
performed a different version of the theme song.
Released on May 27, 1994, the film was a box-office success, though it was poorly received by many critics who negatively criticized the storyline and tone which they deemed too adult for family audiences. In 2000, a prequel, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is a 2000 comedy film and prequel to 1994's The Flintstones based on the hit cartoon series of the same name, produced by Amblin Entertainment and Hanna-Barbera and distributed by Universal Studios...
, was released.
Plot
The film opens with a montage of scenes reflecting work at Slate & Co., with dinosaurs using rocks for quarry mines.Cliff Vandercave (Kyle MacLachlan
Kyle MacLachlan
Kyle Merritt MacLachlan is an American actor. MacLachlan is best known for his roles in cult films Blue Velvet as Jeffrey Beaumont, Showgirls as Zack Carey, as Paul Atreides in Dune, and Ray Manzarek in the Oliver Stone film The Doors...
), the executive vice president of industrial procurement of the company, explains to his co-worker Sharon Stone (Halle Berry
Halle Berry
Halle Berry is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming...
) that he will swindle the company and flee with its fortune, and suggests Fred Flintstone
Fred Flintstone
Frederick Joseph “Fred” Flintstone, also known as Fred W. Flintstone or Frederick J. Flintstone, is the protagonist of the animated sitcom The Flintstones, which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960-66. He is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles...
(John Goodman
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
) to help carry out his plans, which leads into a montage of the opening credits of The Flintstones.
While Fred leaves work for the day, Barney Rubble
Barney Rubble
Bernard "Barney" Rubble is the deuteragonist of the television animated series The Flintstones. He is the diminutive blonde-haired caveman husband of Betty Rubble and father of Bamm-Bamm Rubble...
(Rick Moranis
Rick Moranis
Frederick Allan "Rick" Moranis is a Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and a magician. Moranis came to prominence in the late 1970s on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, and later appeared in several Hollywood films including Strange Brew; Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of...
) is overjoyed that he is about to become a father because Fred loaned him money so he could adopt a child. After returning home, Fred is questioned by his wife, Wilma
Wilma Flintstone
Wilma Anna Flintstone is a fictional character in the television animated series The Flintstones. She was the red-headed wife of caveman Fred Flintstone, daughter of Pearl Slaghoople, mother of Pebbles Flintstone and a grandmother...
(Elizabeth Perkins
Elizabeth Perkins
Elizabeth Ann Perkins is an American actress. Her film roles have included Big, The Flintstones, Miracle on 34th Street, About Last Night..., and Avalon...
) about missing money from the bank account and confesses that he loaned the money Barney so he and his wife, Betty
Betty Rubble
Elizabeth 'Betty' Jean Rubble is a fictional character in the television animated series The Flintstones and its spin-offs and live-action motion pictures. She is the black-haired wife of caveman Barney Rubble and the adoptive mother of Bamm-Bamm Rubble...
(Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie O'Donnell
Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell is an American stand-up comedian, actress, author and television personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family...
) could adopt a child. After adopting a cave boy named Bamm-Bamm, Barney appreciates what Fred did for him and is determined to pay him back. While taking the exams, Fred fails it, and is disappointed since he will not be able to give Wilma the wealthy life she used to have. To pay him back for giving him the money to adopt Bamm-Bamm, Barney (who did well on the exam) swaps his with Fred's and Fred is promoted to Vice President.
On Fred's first day as an executive, Cliff brings him to his new office. Cliff also has Stone appointed as his secretary knowing that Fred's attraction to her will lead him astray to the plot. Cliff has Fred fire Barney because of his exam score, but does his best to help Barney afterward with financial problems. Cliff proposes a new machine that will do all of the quarry work and increase the company's income. Fred is concerned about the operators losing their jobs. Cliff plans to have a fake version of the machine built and flee with the money gained from the machine, and frame Fred for it.
Fred nearly figures out about Cliff's plan, so Stone aggressively seduces him and Fred finally gives in to his desires, but is interrupted by Wilma. The Rubbles move into the Flintstones' house, causing tension between the Flintstones and the Rubbles, while the Flintstones' wealth increases. While out at a restaurant, Barney, now working as a busboy, sees on the news that Fred has fired all of the quarry operators. He confronts him about it, and their argument leads to Barney revealing that he switched their tests. The Rubbles move out of the house and Wilma abandons Fred.
Fred eventually realizes Cliff's plan and is chased by an angry mob of the unemployed quarry operators. They eventually catch Fred and attempt to lynch him and Barney once they find out it was because of him that Fred was promoted to the job. Fred and Barney reconcile while Wilma, Betty and the office dictabird
Dictaphone
Dictaphone was an American company, a producer of dictation machines—sound recording devices most commonly used to record speech for later playback or to be typed into print. The name "Dictaphone" is a trademark, but in some places it has also become a common way to refer to all such devices, and...
arrive at the scene to explain the crime to the mob. Meanwhile, Cliff kidnaps Pebbles
Pebbles Flintstone
Pebbles Flintstone is a fictional character, the red-haired daughter of Fred and Wilma Flintstone...
and Bamm-Bamm
Bamm-Bamm Rubble
Bamm-Bamm Rubble is the adopted son of fictitious characters Barney and Betty Rubble. He is most famous in his infant form on the animated series The Flintstones, but has also appeared at various other ages, including as a teenager on the early 1970s spinoff The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show and as an...
and lures Fred and Barney into a trap. Cliff attempts to kill the dictabird, but is knocked out by Stone, who had realized Cliff's eventual betrayal.
While Barney rescues the kids, Fred uses the catapult to destroy Cliff's machine, causing Cliff to be trapped in a mixture of water and cement. Stone is arrested, but Fred agrees to vouch for her. Mr. Slate (Dann Florek
Dann Florek
Ezekial Dann Florek , professional name Dann Florek, is an American actor and director.-Early life:Florek was born in Flat Rock, Michigan. He attended Eastern Michigan University, but never graduated...
) proclaims his love of the substance that Cliff was trapped in, deciding to name it after his daughter Concretia
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
, and declares the Stone Age over with its creation. Slate offers Fred the presidency of a new division in the company, but Fred turns it down in exchange for his old job back, Slate rehiring all the workers, and adding a few other improvements to the workplace he had originally desired as an executive.
The film ends with a live action montage of the animated series' end credits.
Cast
- John GoodmanJohn GoodmanJohn Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
as Fred FlintstoneFred FlintstoneFrederick Joseph “Fred” Flintstone, also known as Fred W. Flintstone or Frederick J. Flintstone, is the protagonist of the animated sitcom The Flintstones, which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960-66. He is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles... - Rick MoranisRick MoranisFrederick Allan "Rick" Moranis is a Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and a magician. Moranis came to prominence in the late 1970s on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, and later appeared in several Hollywood films including Strange Brew; Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of...
as Barney RubbleBarney RubbleBernard "Barney" Rubble is the deuteragonist of the television animated series The Flintstones. He is the diminutive blonde-haired caveman husband of Betty Rubble and father of Bamm-Bamm Rubble... - Elizabeth PerkinsElizabeth PerkinsElizabeth Ann Perkins is an American actress. Her film roles have included Big, The Flintstones, Miracle on 34th Street, About Last Night..., and Avalon...
as Wilma FlintstoneWilma FlintstoneWilma Anna Flintstone is a fictional character in the television animated series The Flintstones. She was the red-headed wife of caveman Fred Flintstone, daughter of Pearl Slaghoople, mother of Pebbles Flintstone and a grandmother... - Rosie O'DonnellRosie O'DonnellRoseann "Rosie" O'Donnell is an American stand-up comedian, actress, author and television personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family...
as Betty RubbleBetty RubbleElizabeth 'Betty' Jean Rubble is a fictional character in the television animated series The Flintstones and its spin-offs and live-action motion pictures. She is the black-haired wife of caveman Barney Rubble and the adoptive mother of Bamm-Bamm Rubble... - Kyle MacLachlanKyle MacLachlanKyle Merritt MacLachlan is an American actor. MacLachlan is best known for his roles in cult films Blue Velvet as Jeffrey Beaumont, Showgirls as Zack Carey, as Paul Atreides in Dune, and Ray Manzarek in the Oliver Stone film The Doors...
as Cliff Vandercave - Elizabeth TaylorElizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
as Pearl SlaghooplePearl SlaghooplePearl Pebble Slaghoople is a fictional character on the animated TV show The Flintstones. She was the mother of Wilma Flintstone, who is married to Fred Flintstone. In the original series, she portrayed Fred's stereotypically antagonistic mother-in-law, acting as a nagging irritant... - Richard MollRichard MollCharles Richard Moll is an American actor and voice artist,best known for playing Bull Shannon, the bailiff on the NBC sitcom Night Court from 1983 to 1992...
as Hoagie - Irwin KeyesIrwin KeyesIrwin Keyes is an American actor who has appeared in over 50 films and television shows. Irwin was considered for the role of Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street.- Filmography:*Black Dynamite...
as Joe Rockhead - Harvey KormanHarvey KormanHarvey Herschel Korman was an American comedic actor who performed in television and movie productions beginning in 1960...
as the voice of the Dictabird - Halle BerryHalle BerryHalle Berry is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming...
as Miss Sharon Stone - Dann FlorekDann FlorekEzekial Dann Florek , professional name Dann Florek, is an American actor and director.-Early life:Florek was born in Flat Rock, Michigan. He attended Eastern Michigan University, but never graduated...
as Mr. Slate - Jonathan WintersJonathan Winters-Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...
as Grizzled Man, A co-worker of Fred and Barney's who leads the lynch mob against them - Mel BlancMel BlancMelvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
as the voice of DinoDino (The Flintstones)Dino is a fictional character featured in the Hanna-Barbera animated television series The Flintstones, and its TV spinoffs and feature films. He is a pet dinosaur of the series' main characters, Fred and Wilma Flintstone. In the show, he is a metaphorical pet dog, and exhibits the characteristics...
. Brian LevantBrian LevantBrian Michael Levant is an American television and film director, writer and producer.Levant was born in Highland Park, Illinois. He started his career in 1977 as a writer for the TV series "The Jeffersons"...
used Blanc's previously recorded works to provide Dino's voice. - Elaine Silver and Melanie Silver as Pebbles FlintstonePebbles FlintstonePebbles Flintstone is a fictional character, the red-haired daughter of Fred and Wilma Flintstone...
- Hlynur Sigurðsson and Marinó Sigurðsson as Bamm-Bamm RubbleBamm-Bamm RubbleBamm-Bamm Rubble is the adopted son of fictitious characters Barney and Betty Rubble. He is most famous in his infant form on the animated series The Flintstones, but has also appeared at various other ages, including as a teenager on the early 1970s spinoff The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show and as an...
. Elizabeth DailyElizabeth DailyElizabeth Ann Guttman , better known by her stage names of Elizabeth Daily and E.G. Daily, is an American voice actress, actress, singer-songwriter, and musician...
provided Bamm-Bamm's voice.
According to pre-release publicity for The Flintstones, Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
was to play Sharon Stone, but turned it down as she was already working on Diabolique
Diabolique (1996 film)
Diabolique is an American film directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik and written by Henri-Georges Clouzot and Don Roos. The film stars Sharon Stone and Isabelle Adjani...
. Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
said Danny DeVito
Danny DeVito
Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr. , better known as Danny DeVito, is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman,...
was the original first choice for Barney. DeVito eventually turned down the role as he felt he was too gruff to do the character properly and reportedly suggested Moranis for the role.
Jean Vander Pyl
Jean Vander Pyl
Jean Vander Pyl was an American actress on radio, television and movies. Although her career spanned many decades, she is best remembered as the voice of Wilma Flintstone from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon The Flintstones...
, Wilma's voice actor, appears in a cameo as Mrs. Feldspar in the Conga line
Conga Line
The conga line is a Cuban carnival march that was first developed in Cuba and became popular in the United States in the 1930s and 1950s. The dancers form a long, processing line. It has three shuffle steps on the beat, followed by a kick that is slightly ahead of the fourth beat...
behind Dino
Dino (The Flintstones)
Dino is a fictional character featured in the Hanna-Barbera animated television series The Flintstones, and its TV spinoffs and feature films. He is a pet dinosaur of the series' main characters, Fred and Wilma Flintstone. In the show, he is a metaphorical pet dog, and exhibits the characteristics...
. Kate Pierson
Kate Pierson
Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Pierson is an American vocalist and one of the lead singers and founding members of The B-52's. One of the multi-instrumentalists in the band, Pierson played guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments...
, Fred Schneider
Fred Schneider
Frederick William "Fred" Schneider III is an American rock singer, best known as the frontman of the rock band The B-52's, of which he is a founding member. Schneider is well-known for his sprechgesang which he developed from reciting poetry over guitars.-Early life:Schneider was born in Newark,...
, and Keith Strickland
Keith Strickland
Julian Keith Strickland is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and one of the founding members of the The B-52s. Originally the band's drummer, Strickland switched to guitar after the death of guitarist Ricky Wilson in 1985...
of The B-52's
The B-52's
The B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...
cameo as The B.C.-52's, who perform "The Bedrock Twitch" and "(Meet) The Flintstones
(Meet) The Flintstones
" The Flintstones" is a song by The B.C. 52's, a fictional band from the film The Flintstones. The fictional band was made up of the then-lineup of music group The B-52's, and released as a single from the soundtrack of The Flintstones...
" in the film. Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
appears as a talk show host. Creators William Hanna
William Hanna
William Denby Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of people for much of the 20th century. When he was a young child, Hanna's family moved frequently, but they settled in Compton, California, by...
and Joseph Barbera
Joseph Barbera
Joseph Roland Barbera was an influential American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the twentieth century....
also make appearances. Hanna played a boardroom executive and Barbera played a man driving a Mersandes
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
. Sam Raimi
Sam Raimi
Samuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. He is best known for directing cult horror films like the Evil Dead series, Darkman and Drag Me to Hell, as well as the blockbuster Spider-Man films and the producer of the successful TV series Hercules: The...
appears as a Cliff Vandercave look-alike. Michael Richards
Michael Richards
Michael Anthony Richards is an American actor, comedian, writer and television producer, best known for his portrayal of the eccentric Cosmo Kramer on the television sitcom Seinfeld....
appears as a paper man. Chris Rock
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
appears as a co-worker at the quarry.
Production
In 1985, producers Keith Barish and Joel SilverJoel Silver
Joel Silver is an American Hollywood film producer, co-creator of the sport of Ultimate, co-founder of Dark Castle Entertainment and owner of Silver Pictures.-Life and career:...
bought the rights for a live-action feature film version of The Flintstones and commissioned Steven E. de Souza
Steven E. de Souza
Steven E. de Souza is an American producer, director and screenwriter. He is among a handful of screenwriters whose films have earned over two billion dollars at the worldwide box office.-Life and career:...
to write a script with Richard Donner
Richard Donner
Richard Donner is an American film director, film producer, and comic book writer.The production company The Donners' Company is owned by Donner and his wife, producer Lauren Shuler Donner. After directing the horror film The Omen, Donner became famous for the hailed creation of the first modern...
hired to direct. Silver was said to be interested in casting James Belushi
James Belushi
James Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...
in the role of Fred. Steven E. de Souza's script was eventually rejected and Mitch Markowitz
Mitch Markowitz
Mitch Markowitz is a Canadian television executive who began his work on The Hilarious House of Frightenstein as an associate producer as well as portraying the characters of Superhippie and Mosquito. He was also an executive story editor on Best of the West...
was hired to write a script. Said to be a cross of "The Grapes of Wrath", Markowitz commented that "I don't even remember it that well, but Fred and Barney leave their town during a terrible depression and go across the country, or whatever that damn prehistoric thing is, looking for jobs.
They wind up in trailer parks trying to keep their families together. They exhibit moments of heoism and poignancy." Markowitz's version was apparently too sentimental for director Donner, who disliked it.
Eventually, the rights were bought by Amblin Entertainment and Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
who, after working with John Goodman
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
on Always, was determined to cast him in the lead as Fred. Brian Levant was hired as director and all previous scripts were thrown out. Levant then recruited, what he called, an "all-star writing team" which consisted of his writer friends from television shows such as Family Ties
Family Ties
Family Ties is an American sitcom that aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. The sitcom reflected the move in the United States from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. This was particularly expressed through the relationship between young...
, Night Court
Night Court
Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 20, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...
and Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
. "This is a sitcom on steroids," said Levant. "We were just trying to improve it." Dubbed the Flintstone Eight, the group wrote a new draft but four more round table sessions ensued, each of which was attended by new talent. Lowell Ganz
Lowell Ganz
Lowell Ganz is an American screenwriter, television writer, and television producer. He is the long-time writing partner of Babaloo Mandel.-Life and career:...
and Babaloo Mandel
Babaloo Mandel
Marc "Babaloo" Mandel is an American writer. His writing credits include the television series Happy Days and the movie Night Shift. He is the long-time writing partner of Lowell Ganz. Mandel was born in New York City, the son of a taxi driver...
took home a reported $100,000 for just two days work.
Critical response
The Flintstones received generally negative reviews from film critics. Review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gave the film a 22% "Rotten" rating based on 41 reviews with an average rating of 3.8/10. At Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 38 out of 100, which indicates "generally negative reviews", based on 38 reviews.
On the television show At the Movies with Siskel and Ebert, Gene Siskel
Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted the popular review show Siskel & Ebert At the Movies from 1975 until his death....
of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
and Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
gave the film two thumbs down. They both mentioned that its main story lines (embezzlement, mother-in-law problems, office politics, and extra-marital affairs) were story lines for adult films, and ones that children wouldn't be able to understand.
O'Donnell received Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress
Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress
The Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst supporting actress of the previous year...
for her performance in this film. The film also won the Razzie Award for Worst Screenplay
Razzie Award for Worst Screenplay
The Razzie Award for Worst Screenplay is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards for the worst film screenplay of the past year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, including each screenplay's author...
and was nominated for two others, Taylor as Worst Supporting Actress (the second performance in the film nominated for this award) and for the film as Worst Remake or Sequel
Razzie Award for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel
The Razzie Award for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards for the worst prequel, remake, rip-off, or sequel of the previous year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, including each film's distribution...
.
Box office performance
The Flintstones was also a box office success, grossing over $130 million domestically, including the $29.6 million made during the Memorial Day weekend in 1994 and over $340 million worldwide.Prequel
The Flintstones in Viva Rock VegasThe Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is a 2000 comedy film and prequel to 1994's The Flintstones based on the hit cartoon series of the same name, produced by Amblin Entertainment and Hanna-Barbera and distributed by Universal Studios...
was released in 2000 (six years after the first film) and the original cast, John Goodman
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
, Rick Moranis
Rick Moranis
Frederick Allan "Rick" Moranis is a Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and a magician. Moranis came to prominence in the late 1970s on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, and later appeared in several Hollywood films including Strange Brew; Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of...
, Elizabeth Perkins
Elizabeth Perkins
Elizabeth Ann Perkins is an American actress. Her film roles have included Big, The Flintstones, Miracle on 34th Street, About Last Night..., and Avalon...
, Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie O'Donnell
Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell is an American stand-up comedian, actress, author and television personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family...
, and Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
did not reprise their roles as the main characters.
Marketing
McDonald'sMcDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
Happy Meal sold a line of The Flintstones toys to promote the new McRib
McRib
The McRib is a barbecue pork sandwich periodically sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain McDonald's. It was first introduced to the McDonald's menu in 1981....
sandwich.
Video Game
Due to the film's box office success, a video game based on the film was developed by Ocean software and released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment SystemSuper Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
in 1995.
See also
- List of American films of 1994
- Theatrically released films based on Hanna-Barbera cartoons