A Flintstone Family Christmas
A Flintstone Family Christmas (known in a working title as The Flintstones: Christmas Misdemeanors) is a 1993 animated Christmas television special featuring characters from The Flintstones franchise. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and aired on ABC on December 18, 1993.[1] The special was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 1994 for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour).[2] This is the only appearance of Stoney and the final appearance of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm in their adult forms as well as their children, Chip and Roxy.[3] Hanna-Barbera continued doing the series but with the original timeline.
A Flintstone Family Christmas | |
---|---|
Written by | Sean Roche David Ehrman |
Directed by | Ray Patterson |
Voices of | Henry Corden Jean Vander Pyl Frank Welker B.J. Ward John Stephenson Christine Cavanaugh |
Composer | Steven Bramson |
Country of origin | United States Philippines |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
Producer | Larry Huber |
Running time | 23 minutes |
Production companies | Hanna-Barbera Cartoons Fil-Cartoons |
Release | |
Original network | ABC |
Original release | December 18, 1993 |
Plot
Fred Flintstone gets into the Christmas spirit by hanging up decorations and being altogether joyful while awaiting the arrival of his daughter Pebbles, her husband Bamm-Bamm and their twin children, daughter Roxy and son Chip. After learning that they will arrive at 4pm, Fred and Barney leave to get their turkeysaurus for dinner. However, on the way back home they are mugged by a Santa. Fred hands over his wallet and watch and orders Barney to give him the bird, but while tossing the turkeysaurus the Santa "breaks" in half. Seizing the opportunity, the two run away from the mugger.
When Fred and Barney get to the police station, they identify the thief, who turns out to be a "caveless" abandoned child named Stoney. According to the social worker, Stoney used to be the horror of foster homes because of his stealing habits. Feeling sympathy for Stoney, Wilma decides to take him in as a ward, despite Fred's initial reluctance. They try to show Stoney that they trust him and attempt to teach him that stealing is wrong.
However, things get slightly bleaker when Pebbles and her family get stuck in an airport because of a blizzard. The Rubbles and the Flintstones then go Christmas tree shopping, but can't afford any that aren't "smaller than their grandchildren". Stoney attempts to help by convincing people to bet on him as he plays a game in order to earn enough money for the Flintstones to buy the tree. When a man loses, he chases Stoney, who runs for cover near Fred. The man claims that Stoney cheated him, and Fred asks if this is true. Stoney then truthfully replies "no", and when Fred believes him, he gets hit in the head with a tree by the man.
Fred then goes to the hospital, but his boss informs him that he can't participate in the Christmas parade (which is something Fred is quite eager to do since the beginning of the movie) and when he tries to protest, his boss finalizes his "no". To make it up to Fred, Stoney poses as his boss's driver and locks him up in the Flintstone's bathroom, which will allow Fred to participate in the parade. Instead, Fred saves his boss and ends up in jail, where he eventually bonds with Stoney. Fred even advises Stoney that cutting corners to get what you want is not the solution. Fred sees Stoney is a good kid. However, the social worker then takes Stoney away and considered to send him back to Juvie, and meanwhile Fred's boss makes him go to the parade. While there, Fred saves Stoney.
At home, Fred sees Pebbles and her family, and Stoney bonds with the twins. Fred says that the new addition to the family gets to put the star on the Christmas tree. Stoney thinks Fred is referring to Roxy and Chip, but it turns out it is him and he becomes a Flintstone. Bamm-Bamm helps him put on the star and they all have a happy Christmas.
Voice cast
Main cast
- Henry Corden as Fred Flintstone
- Jean Vander Pyl as Wilma Flintstone
- Frank Welker as Barney Rubble, Dino
- B.J. Ward as Betty Rubble
- John Stephenson as Mr. Slate
- Christine Cavanaugh as Stoney
- Didi Conn as Stella
- Megan Mullally as Pebbles Flintstone-Rubble
- Jerry Houser as Bamm-Bamm Rubble
Additional voice cast
Home media
A Flintstone Family Christmas was originally released on VHS by Turner Home Entertainment in the Cartoon Network Video line on September 24, 1996, entitled The Flintstones: Christmas in Bedrock.
On September 27, 2011, Warner Home Video's Warner Archive released A Flintstone Family Christmas on DVD in region 1 via their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection, in a release entitled A Flintstone Christmas Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.[4] The special received an HD restoration when it was released on HBO Max.
Other media
A hardcover storybook adaptation - A Very Special Flintstones' Family Christmas by Lisa Ann Marsoli based on the teleplay written by Sean Roche and David Ehrman - was released by Turner Publishing on October 1, 1993.
References
- Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 260. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- "Flintstones Family Christmas". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
- Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 108. ISBN 9781476672939.
- "Flintstone Christmas Collection, A DVD - Warner Bros. Archive: WBshop.com - The Official Online Store of Warner Bros. Studios". www.wbshop.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-30.