Unearth the Surprising Secrets Behind The Flintstones That Will Rock Your Stone Age World!
In a Reddit AMA, MacFarlane revealed that the reason that the reboot never happened was because he couldn’t differentiate Fred Flintstone from his character Peter Griffin of Family Guy. Although MacFarlane has continued to make movies and other television shows besides Family Guy, he didn’t want to risk it turning out to become Family Guy set in the Stone Age.
Much Of The Comedy Came From Puns About Rocks
In case you missed them, The Flintstones derives a lot of their humor from rock puns buried within the show, hence the name, The Flintstones. Aside from the names like Pebbles and the Rubbles, there were many celebrities that made cameos on the show. However, their names were slightly tweaked so that they made a rock pun.
Some of the celebrities included Cary Granite (Cary Grant), Ed Sulleystone (Ed Sullivan), among many others. If you pay close attention, you can catch countless other puns as well.
There Were A Lot Of Gimmicks
One of the show’s gimmicks was that the Flintstone family lived like modern humans although they were living in Prehistoric times. Although there was no running water, electricity, shoes, or engines, they still had modern conveniences such as televisions, a dishwasher, and phonographs.
All of these devices were powered by captive animals, including dinosaurs. For instance, Wilma Flintstone’s vacuum cleaner was just a small mammoth on wheels that sucked up the debris. And of course, the Flintsone’s car was powered by Fred’s own feet.
The Flintstones Are Still Everywhere Today
Even today, references to The Flintstones can be found everywhere. Flintstones Vitamins are now considered to be a childhood classic even though they were first introduced in 1968. However, everyone noticed that Betty Rubble was missing, with the vitamin company not adding her until 1995!
On top of the vitamins, The Flintstones have inspired the cereals Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles, named after the daughter of Fred and Wilma in the series. These are still both highly popular cereals that can be found in most stores.
The Vitamins Aren’t Exactly Healthy
After their release in 1968, parents figured that they would be a good way for children to take their vitamins. Not only were they chewable and tasty, but they resembled their favorite cartoon characters. While many parents thought they were doing the right thing by buying these, it turns out they were very wrong.
In a study by Spoon University, it turns out that the vitamins contain sweetening agent sorbitol, and ingredient found in many laxatives. So, if a kid eats too many, they could get really sick. The vitamins artificial color and flavor contain a large amount of fructose which is linked to obesity and diabetes.
The Show Wasn’t Made Just For Kids
Even though most people assume that cartoons are for children, that wasn’t the case for The Flintstones. Before the series was made, Hanna-Barbera had success with children’s cartoons such as Tom and Jerry before going off and starting their own production company.
However, their first few cartoons as a company received mixed reviews, so they decided to come up with an idea that would appeal to both children and adults. The Flintstones was then created with the cartoon and prehistoric setting appealing to children and the grown-up themed storylines appealing to adults.
Barney Contemplated Suicide
One of the mature themes that were tackled in the show was suicide. In the episode “Little Bamm-Bamm,” Barney and his wife Betty were trying to adopt a child named Bamm-Bamm. Unfortunately, they lost the rights to him at the last minute.
After being told the bad news, he walks out in tears and makes his way to a nearby bridge. Right as he is about to jump, Fred comes to the rescue and talks him out of it. Thankfully, Barney was still alive and he and Betty get to adopt Bamm-Bamm after all.
They Have Been Turned Into Comic Book Heros
The Flintstones have been featured in comic books numerous times, however, in 2016, DC Comics created a comic book series dedicated to the family.
The comics were well received with the summary reading “Welcome to Bedrock, where Paleolithic humans head to dinner for a taste of artisanal mammoth after shopping at Neandertall & Big Men’s Clothing … Join Fred and Barney as Mister Slate sends them on a mission to show some Neanderthals a night on the town in hopes of luring them into this new system called ‘working for a living’—in Slate’s Quarry, of course.” The series also addressed important topics such as racism, homosexuality, and even war veterans.
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