A Flintstone Family Christmas

Premiered December 18, 1993.

The Christmas season has once again arrived in Bedrock and Fred Flintstone (Henry Corden) is excited about the holidays.  Fred is disappointed that people he encounters don't seem to have much Christmas spirit. 

His friend Barney Rubble (Frank Welker) points out that it's hard to feel merry with all the suffering going on in the world, like rising crime and the collapse of financial institutions.  Fred says he won't let such societal problems ruin Christmas for his family.  

Barney, Fred and their wives Betty (B.J. Ward) and Wilma (Jean Vander Pyl) are excited that their children Pebbles (Megan Mullally) and Bam-Bam, who are now married and have children of their own, will be flying in later that afternoon.  Fred is happy that his grandchildren will get to see him play Santa Claus in the Bedrock Christmas parade.  

When Fred and Barney are running Christmas errands, they're held up by a man in a Santa suit.  They give the mugger their money and watches and he takes off. 

Barney and Fred identify him later in a police lineup and are surprised to see he's a "caveless" child named Stoney (Christine Cavanaugh).  The boy's social worker Stella Stalactite (Didi Conn) tells them Stoney he has a long history of theft.  Stella says that she's had trouble placing Stoney with a foster family, which means he's headed for juvenile detention.  

Over Fred's loud objections, Wilma decides to bring Stoney home with them, since she believes no one should spend Christmas in jail.  

Fred eventually realizes that Stoney has never experienced a real Christmas and he makes an effort to welcome the boy into his home. 

They take Stoney caroling, ice skating, tree shopping, and take him to see Santa.  Stoney has a good time and seems to be changing his ways.  Unfortunately, Stoney gets himself into trouble when he runs a shell game and takes money from a stranger. 

When Fred goes to defend Stoney, he winds up unconscious and in the hospital.  Worst of all, Fred's boss Mr. Slate (John Stephenson) says Fred's injuries will prevent him from playing Santa in the parade.

Stoney decides to lock Mr. Slate in the Flintstones' bathroom so Fred can be in the parade.  This leads to both Fred and Stoney being arrested and sent to jail.  

At the same time, Bam-Bam and Pebbles' encounter further flight delays, jeopardizing their Christmas plans.  It appears that Christmas will be ruined for the Flintstones and Rubbles.  

Will Fred and Stoney spend Christmas in jail?  Will Pebbles and Bam-Bam arrive in time to celebrate Christmas?  

J.A. Morris says:

I had never seen A Flintstone Family Christmas until now and I generally liked it.  The special brings a little bit of social commentary.  Homelessness was a topic that got a lot of attention when this was produced and it's on the rise again in this country.  

There's scene where Stoney comments about how no one wants to think about homeless people because it takes away from their enjoyment of the holidays.  This rings true.  For all the talk about "good will toward men," there are lots of people for whom Christmas is just another day to get through and survive.  I'm not suggesting A Flintstone Family Christmas offers any in-depth analysis of homelessness, but it's better than nothing.  

Some viewers might think Fred conversion from skeptic to fan of Stoney is unearned.  I think it's consistent with Fred's behavior in various specials and episodes.  He often acts like a grump, but he's basically a good guy under his gruff exterior.  

If I have any problems, it's the portion where Stoney and Fred are arrested for kidnapping Mr. Slate.  It feels a bit far-fetched and silly, even by Flintstones standards, and just seems like an excuse to put Fred and Stoney in a cell where they can bond. 

Like every most Flintstones specials, this one features some entertaining "modern stone age" technology.  My favorite was the electric eel that powers Fred's Christmas lights!

A Flintstone Family Christmas also features a scene where Fred watches a stone age version of It's A Wonderful Life, which includes a cartoon version of Jimmy Stewart.

The cast of voice actors is strong with Henry Corden, Jean Vander Pyl and John Stephenson reprising their roles as Fred, Wilma and Mr. Slate, respectively. 

Frank Welker takes over the role of Barney from Mel Blanc, and Welker also portrays Dino.  Megan Mullally, best known for playing Karen on Will And Grace, voices the now-adult Pebbles.  Stella Stalactite is played by Didi Conn, remembered for her roles in Grease and Benson.  

A Flintstone Family Christmas is an enjoyable holiday special headed by a great cast of voice actors. with a little bit of social commentary thrown in.  With a length of 23 minutes, it's also a special that doesn't overstay its welcome. 

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 candy canes.

RigbyMel says:

Like J.A. Morris, A Flintstone Family Christmas was a new viewing experience for me.  It's interesting to see how this little animated special reflects perceptions and concerns about crime and homelessness during the 1990s when it was produced.  

Having watched several Flintstones Christmas specials in a row, it's also interesting to see how Santa's mode of transportation seems to ... shift a bit from special to special.    This time around, we get a sleigh pulled by pterodactyls.   Santa has options in the Stone Age, it would seem.    

My weird sense of humor is also tickled by this special's inclusion of a photo of the Modern Stone Age Family that is labeled "Christmas B.C." seeing as the B.C. (i.e., before the birth of Jesus) would indicate that the caption shouldn't exist in the prehistoric context.  

A Flintstone Family Christmas is a well-intentioned special.  It's possible that the message about homelessness and caring for others might inspire kids to try and go out and do some good after viewing.   

However, the storytelling isn't quite as good as other Flintstones holiday offerings (especially having watched several of these in close proximity this holiday season).   

RigbyMel's rating: 

.5 

2 and a half candy canes

A Flintstone Christmas

Premiered December 7, 1977.  

"It's my favorite time of the year

It's that magical time of good cheer

I guess part of the reason's

The heart of the season

Of Christmas is practically here."
-sung by Fred Flintstone

Christmas has come to the town of Bedrock and Fred Flintstone (Henry Corden) and Barney Rubble (Mel Blanc) are excited about the holiday season.  

Their wives Wilma (Jean Vander Pyl) and Betty (Gay Hartwig) are organizing the Ladies Auxiliary Party for the Bedrock Orphanage.  They want Fred to play Santa Claus at the party, but Fred refuses.  He says his co-workers would never let him live it down.  When Fred goes to work, his boss Mr. Slate summons Fred into his office.  Slate says his wife also wants Fred to play Santa at the orphanage party.  Fred's fear of his boss is enough to convince him to play St. Nick.  

On Christmas Eve, Barney and Fred are preparing to go to the party, when they find a man in a Santa suit buried in a snowdrift in the Flintstone's yard.  He's sprained his ankle, has a bad cold and needs help.  The man claims to be the real Santa Claus!  

Fred and Barney think he's an escaped mental patient until they see Santa's sleigh and reindeer on the roof! 

Barney suggests that due to his injury, Santa should get a replacement to deliver gifts and nominates Fred.  Using Santa magic, he creates an elf suit for Barney and puts his suit on Fred.

Their worldwide journey is going fine until they encounter a blizzard.  The storm is so turbulent that it causes Santa's bag of toys to fall out of the sleigh!  

Fred and Barney contact Santa via CB radio and he tells them to fly to his North Pole workshop to collect more toys.  

Barney and Fred meet Mrs. Claus (Virginia Gregg) at the North Pole.

At the orphanage party, the children grow restless since Santa-Fred hasn't arrived.  The kids begin to chant "WE WANT SANTA," and Pebbles worries to Wilma that Santa won't come to the party.

Can Fred and Barney deliver all the presents in time to make it to the party?  

J.A. Morris says:

A Flintstone Christmas is a good, solid, enjoyable holiday special.  I bring some nostalgia to this review because I remember when this special first aired and I was excited about it at the time.  I enjoyed it then and it's still fun all these years later.  However, there are some problems with this special.

In Bedrock, even the pteranodons are feeling the Christmas Spirit!

The plot, which involves Fred substituting for Santa and delivering gifts, is mostly recycled from "Christmas Flintstone," which we reviewed here recently.  The primary difference is that Santa injures himself at the Flintstones' home and Barney accompanies Fred in the round-the-world sleighride. 

That's not the end of the world, since many viewers probably saw this special before watching the 1964 Christmas episode (myself included).  It's also worth noting that "Christmas Flintstone" featured a sleigh driven by flying rein-dinos, in A Flintstone Christmas, it's the traditional flying reindeer.  

Speaking of recycled material, A Flintstone Christmas re-uses three songs from A Christmas Story, a 1972 animated special produced by Hanna-Barbera.  "Which One Is The Real Santa Claus," "Sounds Of Christmas Day," and "Hope" were all featured in A Christmas Story.  It also features two new songs, "A Brand New Kind Of Christmas Song" and "It's Our Favorite Time Of Year" (H-B later re-used the latter song in Yogi's First Christmas).  

The biggest problem I have with A Flintstone Christmas isn't that it re-uses songs.  It's that it contains too many songs that don't really move the plot forward.  They don't relate to the story, they just...happen. 

For instance, during a Christmas street scene, Barney and Fred notice all the Santas working on sidewalks and in department stores and wonder which one is the real Santa.  This leads into their performance of "Which One Is The Real Santa Claus."  It's not a bad song, but it leads to nothing and isn't relevant to the rest of the story.  It would have been easy to have a "call-back" to the song when the real Santa Claus shows up at Fred's house, but that never happens.  

The same can be said for the rest of the songs.  It just feels like the musical numbers are inserted to pad out the special's running time.  "Hope" is the only song that relates to the story, since Wilma sings it when her daughter Pebbles doubts Santa will come.  

Having said all that, it's still a decent special.  If you're a fan of the Flintstones, the Rubbles and their Modern Stone Age lives, you'll enjoy A Flintstone Christmas.  The voice actors all provide solid work.  Henry Corden plays Fred here, taking over for Fred's original portrayer Alan Reed.  Corden took over the role in 1977 and would continue to voice Fred until 1997.  Mel Blanc and Jean Vander Pyl were the original voices for Barney and Wilma, they're also good in this special. 

John Stephenson returns as Mr. Slate and it's always entertaining to hear him scream "FLINTSTONE!"  

Hal Smith, who voiced Santa in "Christmas Flintstone," also portrays him in this special.  

While A Flintstone Christmas is no classic, it's a light, fun and entertaining special.  Fans of Fred and Barney will enjoy watching them save Christmas (again) and the strong voice work makes it worth watching at least once.  There's a good 24-minute special here without all the songs.  The overreliance on songs that distract from the plot keeps me from giving it a higher rating.

J.A. Morris' rating:

.5

2 and a half candy canes.

RigbyMel says:

A Flintstone Christmas is a solid enough holiday special.   It's essentially a re-make of the 1964 "Christmas Flintstone" episode with a longer running time in which the trope of helping an injured Santa Claus save Christmas is re-revisited.  

As J.A. Morris says above, the voice talent is super strong in this episode.   The songs are pleasant enough -  I like the "Which One Is The Real Santa Claus?" song in particular - but really do feel like they exist to pad out the running time so the special will fit into an hour long slot (with commercial interruptions).   

This padding is underscored by some pretty obvious recycling of animation, particularly in the Santa's workshop sequence with the elvish activity.  

I was amused by the inclusion of the 1970s CB radio fad being used as a plot device so that Fred & Barney can communicate with Santa while making Santa's Christmas Eve delivery rounds.  

It's interesting to see how things like this that were popular at the time a special was made make their way into these types of programs. 

Fun fact:  According to Wikipedia,  Mel Blanc was an active CB radio fan and would often communicate with kids in the Los Angeles area in the voices of some of his many cartoon characters. 

A Flintstone Christmas is ... fine, but definitely not a holiday classic.  Still, kids will enjoy it as will fans of Hanna-Barbera animation, so it's worth watching at least once.  

RigbyMel's rating:

 

2 candy canes.