Yabba Dabba Doo! How ‘The Flintstones’ Made (Pre)History:

Nowadays, the TV schedule is saturated with animated situation comedy, so much so that it’s easy to forget how it all started. With shows such as The Simpsons remaining on the air for a great number of years, the animated sitcom has comfortably settled in our living rooms, unlikely to leave any time soon. It’s no revelation, of course, that the television pioneers who started it all were none other than the great Hanna/Barbera – once kings of the television cartoon. Responsible for the likes of Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear and Top Cat, Hanna/Barbera’s foray into the now-ubiquitous world of half-hour animated comedy was accompanied by a family with whom we’re all profoundly familiar, whether you’ve even seen a single episode or not; a family whose names have gone down in animation (pre)history: The Flintstones.

By the time William Hanna and Joseph Barbera transitioned to television, they were already big names in the animation industry. After Fred Quimby retired in 1955, they were in charge of MGM cartoons – responsible, most memorably, for the seven-time Academy Award-winning Tom and Jerry shorts. Due to budgetary issues, however, the animation studio closed in 1957. Hanna/Barbera sought to cut costs and, securing a contract with Screen Gems (Columbia Pictures’ television subsidiary), they proceeded to create a number of memorable TV shows utilising limited animation. This cheaper style was basic in practice, but nonetheless effective, mobilising only the body parts and items that required movement, such as mouths and heads, with the rest of the body remaining completely still – essentially remaining part of the background. After The Ruff and Reddy Show, they went on to create the more popular The Huckleberry Hound Show, which featured segments involving Yogi Bear and Pixie & Dixie. It was successful, and was the first cartoon to win an Emmy for Best Children’s Programme, in 1959.

In 1960, Hanna/Barbera seized the opportunity to establish a full, half-hour, animated situation comedy, after a sponsor showed interest in the genre, which was as of yet unheard of. They began to develop a show set in the Stone Age, which bore a strong resemblance to The Honeymooners (1955-56). Initially branded The Flagstones, the title of the show was altered to The Gladstones early on in development upon the realisation that the comic strip characters ‘Hi and Lois’ already used that as their surname. Finally, The Flintstones was born, and was the first animated series to air on prime-time television, attracting a number of celebrity cameos. Its then unique style appealed to both young and old alike, and was ultimately more sophisticated than other shows produced by the company.

The Flintstones was unique in that it poked fun at contemporary American society and family life in a context that perfectly (if anachronistically) drew direct parallels to prehistory. Most of the time, the comedy derived from the use of animals posing as modern-day gadgets, such as a woolly mammoth in the role of a shower, or a bird as an apple corer. In that sense, the show was merely staged as though it were set in a Stone Age, from which its obvious anachronisms provided the predominant source of humour, in addition to its accompanying social commentary. Aside from the innovative concept and colourful designs, one other memorable aspect of the show is its voice cast, which includes cartoon veteran Mel Blanc, of Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies fame, as Barney Rubble, Alan Reed as Fred Flintstone, Jean Vander Pyl as Wilma Flintstone, and Bea Benederet, another renowned voice actor and television personality, as Betty Rubble. The show came to an end in 1966, after 166 episodes on the air.

The Flintstones is often perceived to be a forerunner to other animated sitcoms of the present day, including The Simpsons. As a matter of fact, the original opening sequence bears a strong resemblance to the opening of the aforementioned programme, the only major difference being that it takes place in the Stone Age. Its limited style ironically enabled the demand for an entirely new aspect of animation, broadening the scope of the cartoon, and innovatively broaching a genre whose appeal still resonates in the 21^st Century. Indeed, The Flintstones remains just about as relevant as it ever was, and not nearly as ‘prehistoric’ as it makes itself out to be.

 

For more info, check out this book:

Beck, J. Animation Art: From Pencil to Pixel, the Illustrated History of Cartoon, Anime and CGI. (2004) London: Flame Tree Publishing.

Image Source:

The Flinstones: Bumper Edition. [VHS] (1996) Turner Pictures Worldwide, First Independent Films.