The Great Gazoo
Encyclopedia
The Great Gazoo is a character from The Flintstones
animated series. He first appeared on the show on October 29, 1965. The Great Gazoo was voiced by the late Harvey Korman
.
, a weapon of immense destructive power. His invention was a button which if pressed would destroy the universe in an explosive "ZAM," though he insists he made it on a whim ("I wanted to be the first on my block to have one!") with no intent of using it. Gazoo was discovered by Fred and Barney when his flying saucer
crashed; Gazoo recognizes Fred and Barney's world as prehistoric Earth, implying Zetox banished him through time as well as space.
Gazoo refers to Fred
and Barney
as "dum-dums" and constantly causes problems for them. He can materialize and dematerialize objects, teleport, freeze time, travel through time (but apparently not through space), and perform other remarkable feats, but when he attempts to help out Fred and Barney, he usually ends up causing even more trouble. The only people who are able to see him are Fred, Barney, and the children, because they believe in him; animals can also see him. A running gag
is that Fred argues with Gazoo while Wilma believes that he is talking to himself. When their daughter, Pebbles
, says "Gazoo," Wilma thinks Pebbles is sneezing.
Gazoo's name actually derives from the 1909 hit song, "King of the Bungaloos," by Charles Straight and Gene Greene
. In it the narrator explains, "I just received a cable 'spatch from my ancestral home. It tells me I'm the great Gazoo, successor to the throne."
Because Gazoo is introduced into the show midway through the final season and is considered by some to be an absurd character, he is often cited by fans and critics of the show as being an example of the show's having "jumped the shark
."
The story arc
regarding Gazoo trying to return home is never resolved because of the cancellation of the original series, and the character does not appear, nor is he referred to, in the immediate series follow-up The Man Called Flintstone
(1966) or any of the later spin-off TV series or animated movies, rendering him effectively dropped from continuity.
He played a major part in The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
(2000), in which he is portrayed in a more positive tone. The film is set before the original series, but the live-action motion pictures did not follow the cartoon series' continuity. In the film, Gazoo is exiled to Earth in order to study the mating habits of humans as he is the most expendable of his race, as well as a punishment for his annoying ways. Throughout the film, he aids Fred and Barney in wooing their future wives, Wilma and Betty. As he does not appear in the original film which was set after this one, it can be assumed that Gazoo was allowed to return to his home planet after discovering the meaning of true love.
Apart from the original TV series, he appears in a Fruity Pebbles
cereal
commercial as part of a promotion for a contest where consumers would have to try to find boxes of all-orange cereal pieces, and more recently has become the mascot for Marshmallow Mania Pebbles cereal. He is also a character in Flintstones vitamins, and is a central character in the video game The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino & Hoppy
.
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...
animated series. He first appeared on the show on October 29, 1965. The Great Gazoo was voiced by the late Harvey Korman
Harvey Korman
Harvey Herschel Korman was an American comedic actor who performed in television and movie productions beginning in 1960...
.
Biography
The Great Gazoo is a tiny, green, floating alien who was exiled to Earth from his home planet Zetox as punishment for having invented a doomsday machineDoomsday device
A doomsday device is a hypothetical construction — usually a weapon, or collection of weapons — which could destroy all life on a planet, particularly the Earth, or destroy the planet itself, bringing "doomsday", a term used for the end of planet Earth...
, a weapon of immense destructive power. His invention was a button which if pressed would destroy the universe in an explosive "ZAM," though he insists he made it on a whim ("I wanted to be the first on my block to have one!") with no intent of using it. Gazoo was discovered by Fred and Barney when his flying saucer
Flying saucer
A flying saucer is a type of unidentified flying object sometimes believed to be of alien origin with a disc or saucer-shaped body, usually described as silver or metallic, occasionally reported as covered with running lights or surrounded with a glowing light, hovering or moving rapidly either...
crashed; Gazoo recognizes Fred and Barney's world as prehistoric Earth, implying Zetox banished him through time as well as space.
Gazoo refers to Fred
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...
and Barney
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...
as "dum-dums" and constantly causes problems for them. He can materialize and dematerialize objects, teleport, freeze time, travel through time (but apparently not through space), and perform other remarkable feats, but when he attempts to help out Fred and Barney, he usually ends up causing even more trouble. The only people who are able to see him are Fred, Barney, and the children, because they believe in him; animals can also see him. A running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
is that Fred argues with Gazoo while Wilma believes that he is talking to himself. When their daughter, Pebbles
Pebbles Flintstone
Pebbles Flintstone is a fictional character, the red-haired daughter of Fred and Wilma Flintstone...
, says "Gazoo," Wilma thinks Pebbles is sneezing.
Gazoo's name actually derives from the 1909 hit song, "King of the Bungaloos," by Charles Straight and Gene Greene
Gene Greene
Eugene Delbert Greene , better known as Gene Greene was an American entertainer, singer and composer, nicknamed The Ragtime King. He was a vaudeville star and made some of the earliest sound recordings of scat singing in 1911 for Columbia Records and Victor Records and was a popular Ragtime performer...
. In it the narrator explains, "I just received a cable 'spatch from my ancestral home. It tells me I'm the great Gazoo, successor to the throne."
Because Gazoo is introduced into the show midway through the final season and is considered by some to be an absurd character, he is often cited by fans and critics of the show as being an example of the show's having "jumped the shark
Jumping the shark
Jumping the shark is an idiom used to describe the moment in the evolution of a television show when it begins a decline in quality that is beyond recovery....
."
The story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
regarding Gazoo trying to return home is never resolved because of the cancellation of the original series, and the character does not appear, nor is he referred to, in the immediate series follow-up The Man Called Flintstone
The Man Called Flintstone
The Man Called Flintstone is a 1966 American animated musical comedy film produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and released by Columbia Pictures. It was the second Hanna-Barbera feature, after Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!...
(1966) or any of the later spin-off TV series or animated movies, rendering him effectively dropped from continuity.
He played a major part in 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...
(2000), in which he is portrayed in a more positive tone. The film is set before the original series, but the live-action motion pictures did not follow the cartoon series' continuity. In the film, Gazoo is exiled to Earth in order to study the mating habits of humans as he is the most expendable of his race, as well as a punishment for his annoying ways. Throughout the film, he aids Fred and Barney in wooing their future wives, Wilma and Betty. As he does not appear in the original film which was set after this one, it can be assumed that Gazoo was allowed to return to his home planet after discovering the meaning of true love.
Apart from the original TV series, he appears in a Fruity Pebbles
Fruity Pebbles
Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles are brands of breakfast cereal introduced by Post Cereals in 1971 featuring characters from the animated series The Flintstones. Cocoa Pebbles contains chocolate-flavored crisp rice cereal bits, while Fruity Pebbles contains crisp rice cereal bits that come in a...
cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
commercial as part of a promotion for a contest where consumers would have to try to find boxes of all-orange cereal pieces, and more recently has become the mascot for Marshmallow Mania Pebbles cereal. He is also a character in Flintstones vitamins, and is a central character in the video game The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino & Hoppy
The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino & Hoppy
The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino & Hoppy is a 1991 Platform video game developed by Taito for the Nintendo Entertainment System based on The Flintstones TV series...
.
Appearances in other Warner/HB productions
- The Great Gazoo appears in The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino & HoppyThe Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino & HoppyThe Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino & Hoppy is a 1991 Platform video game developed by Taito for the Nintendo Entertainment System based on The Flintstones TV series...
NESNintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
game and the arcade game "Flintstones Memory Match" - In the episode of Space Ghost: Coast to CoastSpace Ghost Coast to CoastSpace Ghost Coast to Coast is an American animated parody talk show hosted by the 60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. The show premiered on April 15, 1994 on Cartoon Network...
titled "PavementPavement (band)Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...
", the Great Gazoo makes a cameo - only long enough to be introduced, say the catchphrase "Toodle-loo, dumb-dumbs!" and disappear. - In the Duck DodgersDuck DodgersDuck Edgar Dumas Aloysius Eoghain Dodgers is the metafictional star of a series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. He is actually the famous cartoon star Daffy Duck, cast in the role of an intergalactic future hero....
cartoon Attack of the Drones, Gazoo appears in a parody of the Jedi CouncilJedi CouncilThe Jedi High Council is a fictional institution from the Star Wars film series. The Jedi Council are the strongest members of the Jedi Order, and are elected to lead the Jedi.-History:...
. - The Great Gazoo had a major role in the second live-action film, The Flintstones in Viva Rock VegasThe Flintstones in Viva Rock VegasThe 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...
, where he is played by Alan CummingAlan CummingAlan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
and, instead of being sent to Earth as punishment, he has to study humanity's mating habits because he is the most expendable of his people. In this appearance, he is portrayed in more positive tone as a supporting protagonistProtagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
who serves as an ally to Fred and Barney. - Charlton ComicsCharlton ComicsCharlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
published a short-lived comic bookComic bookA comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
focusing on the character in the mid-1970s. - The Great Gazoo is also referenced in The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "The Simpsons Spin-Off ShowcaseThe Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase"The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" is the twenty-fourth episode of the eighth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 11, 1997. The episode centers on fictional pilot episodes of non-existent television series derived from The Simpsons, and is a...
", a metafictional episode looking at alleged future developments in the series that would never come to pass, which include Ozmodiar, a floating green alien that only HomerHomer SimpsonHomer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
could see. A Great Gazoo-like character is also referred to twice in The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode HOMRHOMR"HOMR" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons’ twelfth season, originally aired on January 7, 2001 by the Fox Broadcasting Company. The episode is the 257th episode overall and the last episode produced for the eleventh season...
. - The Great Gazoo appears in the Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
episode "Wasted Talent", voiced by Seth MacFarlaneSeth MacFarlaneSeth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
.