The Man Called Flintstone
| The Man Called Flintstone | |
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 Original poster |
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| Directed by | Joseph Barbera William Hanna |
| Produced by | Joseph Barbera William Hanna |
| Written by | R.S. Allen (story) Joseph Barbera Harvey Bullock (story) Warren Foster William Hanna Alex Lovy |
| Starring | Alan Reed Mel Blanc Jean Vander Pyl Gerry Johnson Paul Frees June Foray Harvey Korman |
| Music by | Doug Goodwin (songs) John McCarthy (songs) Ted Nichols Marty Paich |
| Cinematography | Dick Blundell Gene Borghi Charles Flekal Bill Kotler etc. |
| Studio | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 3, 1966 |
| Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
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! (1964).[1] The film is a theatrical spin-off of the 1960-66 television series, The Flintstones, and is a swan song of the TV show, made immediately following the end of production on the series. The working title of the film was That Man Flintstone,[2] with the film poster featuring Fred in the same pose of the Bob Peak poster for Our Man Flint.
This film was the first feature film voice role for Betty Rubble's voice actress Gerry Johnson. Additionally, it marked the first voice work of Henry Corden, who supplied Fred's singing voice, and would go on to fully assume the role of Fred after Alan Reed's death in 1977.
While the film includes numerous musical interludes, including one song performed by Louis Prima, the popular theme song from the show itself is not used. However, plots from several episodes of the TV series are used, including an episode in which Fred becomes involved in a spy caper spoofing Goldfinger, and another in which he encounters JL Gotrocks, the world's richest man, and his exact double.
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[edit] Plot
The film is a spoof of the James Bond films, and also borrows elements from several episodes of the Flintstones TV series. In the film, Fred Flintstone (voiced by Alan Reed) is recruited by a secret government organization to take the place of Rock Slag, an injured agent, (voiced by Paul Frees) in an obvious imitation of Don Adams's own James Bond spoof TV character Maxwell Smart as Slag happens to be Flintstone's doppelgänger. Flintstone's mission: to travel to "Eurock" (under the guise of a family vacation) and defeat the latest plan of the evil criminal mastermind known as the "Green Goose" (also voiced by Paul Frees). The catch is Fred is unable to tell his family or friends about the mission. Various hijinks result as Flintstone attempts to accomplish his mission while maintaining the illusion of being Slag which is complicated by several women who are pursuing Slag for marriage after off-screen romantic encounters with Slag.
[edit] Reception
Variety gave The Man Called Flintstone a positive review on August 10, 1966, calling the production "excellent" and noting that the "stone-age scenery and machinery are mildly amusing and sometimes highly inventive". The review judges that the plot is a fast-moving and clever spoof of contemporary spy films.[3]
[edit] DVD release
In 2005, a North American DVD version was released by Warner Home Video. However, owing to licensing complications between Warner Bros. (current owners of the Flintstones property) and Sony (current owners of then-Flintstones distributor Columbia Pictures/Screen Gems), only a Canadian release occurred; a United States release was canceled and would not be rescheduled until the rights issue was cleared in August 2008.
The DVD was finally released in the United States on December 2, 2008, along with a DVD of Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!, a film with which The Man Called Flintstone was released as a double-bill during the 1970s.[4]. The final USA DVD release by Warner Bros. altered the opening of the film from the then-Columbia Pictures release, which used a parody of Columbia's famous "torch lady" logo featuring Wilma in said role. At present, only the out-of-print 1988 VHS release of this film includes the original custom opening logo, and there are no plans to re-insert it for DVD releases.
In 2010, the movie has also been made available as a download through the iTunes Store. Unlike the DVD release, the iTunes version is in its original widescreen aspect ratio.
[edit] References
- ^ Beck, Jerry. The Animated Movie Guide. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2005. ISBN 1-55652-591-5. pp. 160-161.
- ^ p. 161 Beck. Jerry The Animated Movie Guide 2005 Chicago Review Press
- ^ The Man Called Flintstone (film review). Variety, August 10, 1966
- ^ TVShowsOnDVD.com news report of the DVD's release
[edit] External links
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