The Flintstone's Turn 60!

Nestled amongst some of the most iconic cartoon series’ in history, such as Tom & Jerry, Huckleberry Hound, The Jetsons, Top Cat and Scooby Doo – The Flintstone’s helped make Hanna Barbera one of the leaders in animated film and TV during their time! In 2020 we are celebrating our favourite pre-historic family’s 60^th Anniversary, first airing in 1960! Still completely recognisable today – here are some fun facts you may not know about Fred & the gang!

1. Record Breaking!

Airing 166 episodes between 1960 – 1966, The Flintstone’s held the record for most aired episodes ever for a prime time animated sitcom. A title they held until 1997 when they were surpassed by The Simpsons.

2. Ground Breaking!

Fred and Wilma proved that the Stone Age was more progressive than the 60’s, it seems, when they were one of the first married couples on TV (and definitely the first animated) to share the same bed! It is very easy to forget that even right up to as recent as the 1970’s it was quite commonplace for married couples to sleep in twin beds in the same room! Interestingly, if I recall Fred Flintstone had a pretty hefty snore on him… Perhaps Wilma could have maybe some with some distance between them?

3. They Were EVERYWHERE!

In 1962 it was decided that Fred & Wilma would have a baby! Initially this was set to be a son, however the Ideal Toy Company changed producers’ minds, suggesting that a girl would fit in well with a doll idea they were working on. After the arrival of baby Pebbles, that doll went on to clock up sales of 3 MILLION dolls within the first few months. The Flintstone’s franchise was HUGE! Their faces appeared everywhere including toys, clothing, lunchboxes, breakfast cereal and those chewable vitamins!

4. They Had Interesting Pets!

We all remember Dino. The cute purple dinosaur, akin to a boisterous puppy that was pet to Fred and Wilma. Do you remember the Rubble’s pet, Hoppy? A very interesting mix of Kangaroo and Dinosaur that bounced around and even carried Bamm-Bamm and Pebbles in his pouch. I wonder if this was any influence or was the origin to the notion Americans have that we Australians keep Kangaroos as pets?

FUN FACT: Do you remember the third pet in the series? ‘Baby Puss’ – strangely only ever seen in a small handful of episodes (unlike Dino’s almost mandatory appearances), the Flintstone’s Sabre Toothed cat was rarely seen during the show BUT was the star of the iconic credits for every episode, locking Fred out of the house!

5. Bringing the Prehistoric from Animation to Live Action was HARD!

It took a massive 9 years and 32 different writers to take the animated icons and bring them to REAL life on the big screen! The 1994 classic finally came to glorious fruition starring John Goodman, Rick Moranis and Rosie O’Donnell and also featuring some big hitters like Elizabeth Taylor, (a lesser known at the time) Halle Berry and cult music icons The B-52’s. In a nod to their animated heritage there was even cameos by William Hanna & Joseph Barbera (from Hanna Barbera!) – I still remember dancing around the house to ‘Walk the Dinosaur’.

Originally, Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble were drawn to appear much rougher and hairier. They were very distinctively ‘Cavemen’ with long hair and beards with hunched over appearances. Joseph Barbera was not a fan of the original concept, so they were ‘straightened up’ and given a more clean-cut appearance – and we’re glad they did!

A combination of their very distinctive outfits and use of colours together with their long standing pop culture residency – the whole Bedrock Gang are ever popular costume options! They provide endless entertainment and never fail to get a laugh as dress up options for singles, couples, families or groups!

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