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The Flintstones
Original 1994 Film Poster
Directed by	Brian Levant
Produced by	Bruce Cohen Colin Wilson
Written by	Tom S. Parrock Jim Jennewein Steven E. de Souza
Starring	John Goodman Rick Moranis Elizabeth Perkins Rosie O'Donnell
Music by	David Newman
Cinematography	Dean Cundey
Distributed by	Universal Studios
Release date(s)	May 27, 1994 (U.S.)
Running time	91 min.
Language	English
Budget	$45,000,000 US (est.)
Followed by	The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
IMDb profile

The Flintstones is a 1994 live-action film based on the prime time Hanna-Barbera animated television series The Flintstones. It is produced by Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Cameos and Appearances 4 Public and critical reaction 5 Trivia

Cliff Vandercave (Kyle MacLachlan), currently running Mr. George Nate Slate's quarrying company as executive vice-president, plots a scheme to abscond with company money and flee with his sexy co-worker, Sharon Stone (Halle Berry), to Rockapulco, Mexirock. He wants a patsy: someone to take the blame, an incompetent. Spying on the workers, he decides to invent an executive placement program, and gives the workers an exam. This exam stirs up an excited feeling in Fred Flintstone (John Goodman), making him think that this promotion will give him the chance to give his wife, Wilma (Elizabeth Perkins), the wealthy life that she used to have. Barney Rubble (Rick Moranis) (who also works for the company now) and Fred Flintstone take their exams using the proper chisel (analog to pencil). When Barney offers to take Fred's exam to turn them in, he notices that Fred did miserably, and swaps the exams in a well meaning attempt to pay Fred back for loaning him the money to adopt his son Bamm-Bamm.

In fact, Fred had the worst results, while Barney had the best, and when Cliff and Sharon review them, they promote Fred to the executive suite - believing that he cheated - and thinking that he will be perfect for the plan. Cliff takes Fred to his new office, and shows him all of the accessories, and introduces him to Sharon. Cliff made her Fred's secretary, knowing that Sharon will easily be able to seduce him and make it easier for them to frame him. She walks into his office, and he is unable to take his eyes off of her. His tie shoots up to his chin, a sign that he is completely turned on by her. She sits on his lap and tells him to "feel free to use her however he sees fit," and comes very close to kissing him while asking him if he would like coffee and gives Fred the idea that she is seducing him. She slides out of the room, giving him a seductive look and a charming smile. Although he is married, Fred is extremely blown away by Sharon's stunning beauty, but has no idea that Sharon is only seducing him to make him less focused on the modernization so it'll be easier for her and Cliff to frame him. Cliff tells Fred to fire Barney.

Meanwhile, Cliff shows off the company's future, automation, and Fred is concerned about the loss of jobs. Cliff intends, however, that the machinery will be shoddy and fall apart... after he's gone from the country. Sharon gives Fred the contracts to pay the contractors working on the modernization, but it really points all evidence on the destruction of the modernization to him. Fred tells Sharon that he is going to read the contracts. Sharon (who is wearing an incredibly sexy outfit), knowing that Fred can't resist her beauty, goes onto his desk and begins to seduce him, telling him not to read the contracts in a flirty voice. Fred doesn't know why she doesn't want him to read them, but his desire for Sharon is much stronger than his ambition, so he agrees not to read them. Wilma walks in and sees Sharon on his desk stroking her hand across his cheek and giggling, and Fred giggling along and staring at her amazing beauty. Wilma is surprised at seeing Fred give in to Sharon's seductive charm, but knowing Fred and how thick-minded he is, she lets it slide. The dictabird in Fred's office tries to tell him that his wife is in the room, but he ignores it and keeps focusing on Sharon, until he sees Wilma there for himself. Fred is surprised by Wilma's visit, so surprised that when introducing her to Sharon, he accidentally refers to her as Mrs. Flagstone and forgets his daughter's name. Sharon lures Fred into an admiring gaze as she leaves slowly, shaking her butt back and forth in the process and he shakes his head in admiration, and Wilma hits him in the chest to knock him out of his daydream, but forgets about it by leaving it at telling Fred that she is "very attractive". Wilma is uncomfortable knowing that Fred's secretary is very sexy, and that Fred is attracted to her. She isn't worried about Fred cheating on her, but that Sharon is up to something, not buying that a drop-dead gorgeous woman like Sharon is seducing a not-so-good looking man like Fred. Wilma tells Fred that the Rubbles had to rent out their home, and suggests that they move in with them.

As Fred looks out the window in the conference room, he sees the quarry operators playing around, and wishes he still worked down there with them. In an attempt to make his new job "fun", he takes the model of the operational machine, and accidentally breaks part of it while trying to play around with it. Sharon walks in at the same time. He tells her that he is worried about the machine taking over the operators' jobs and putting them out of work. When she is about to leave, she tells him that she didn't mean to get him in trouble with Wilma the other day when she, Sharon, was attempting to seduce him. He tells her that she always forgives him and also tells her the story about how they first met. He says that he wonders what a beautiful girl like Wilma was doing with someone like him. Sharon tells him that she knows exactly what Wilma sees in him. Sharon tells Cliff that Fred is starting to catch on to their evil plan and that they should call it all off. He tells her "stick to her strengths", meaning "strengths" by her seducing Fred, and forcibly kisses her.

Fred and Wilma celebrate his promotion by going to the most exclusive restaurant in town, where the entertainment is provided by the BC-52s (the B-52's in stone-age garb) and Wilma lets her hair down.

An argument between Fred and Barney results in Barney telling the truth about the swapped exams, and the two of them stop speaking to each other. The Rubbles lose their home and end up in the swamps, while Fred adds a second story to his house, a hot tub, a large-screen television, and even a satellite dish. Following the argument with the Rubbles, and the revelation of Fred signing documents that fired the workers - which he was tricked into doing - Wilma leaves Fred and takes their daughter Pebbles with her, leaving Fred guilt ridden and lonely.

Fred eventually gets suspicious about what's going on, marches into the file room, and finds out what happens, so Cliff arranges to frame Fred. Fred goes on the run and is nearly lynched (along with Barney), but Wilma - who misses him - gets together with Betty to get the dictabird that can prove Fred's innocence, thus saving the two from the lynch mob. In doing so, Wilma incurs the wrath of Cliff, who kidnaps Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, forcing Fred and Barney to confront him. However, during a confrontation in the gravel pit, Fred duplicates an accident he did on the model of the machinery, and produces a result that causes Cliff, after being knocked out by Sharon, to be covered in a new and unknown substance. Sharon is arrested, but Fred offers to tell the policemen what she did and maybe they'll let her go. She tells him in an enticing voice that "even though she has been a bad girl, she was VERY, VERY good at it," and winks at him and smiles seductively as she walks away. He stares as she walks away, with a look in his face that shows that his strong desires for her haven't gone away, although he now knows that she was only seducing him as part of the plan. Mr. Slate then appears, asks what is going on, and decides to name the substance that Cliff was made into after his daughter, Concretia. With Wilma and Pebbles back at his side, Fred asks to go back to his old job operating the big dinosaur machine, while also getting benefits for the other workers, and fixes things up with Barney.

The film featured an all-star cast:

• John Goodman as Fred Flintstone
• Elizabeth Perkins as Wilma Slaghoople/Flintstone
• Rick Moranis as Barney Rubble
• Rosie O'Donnell as Betty O'Shale/Rubble
• Elaine and Melanie Silver as Pebbles Flinstone
• Hlynur and Marino Sigurdsson as Bamm-Bamm-Bamm/Bamm-Bamm Rubble
• Elizabeth Daily as the voice of Bamm-Bamm Rubble
• Dann Florek as Mr. George Nate Slate
• Kyle MacLachlan as Fred's evil boss, Cliff Vandercave
• Elizabeth Taylor as Wilma's mother, Pearl Slaghoople
• Harvey Korman as the voice of the Dictabird
• Halle Berry as Miss Sharon Stone

In addition, some notable stars appeared in cameo roles:

• Jean Vander Pyl, the original voice of Wilma, as Mrs. Feldspar, a conga line dancer in the scene where Fred is given a party in honor of his becoming an executive at the quarry (right behind Dino)
• Jonathan Winters as Grizzled Man who leads the lynch mob after Fred
• The B-52's as the "B.C.-52's"
• Richard Moll as "Hoagie", one of Fred's co-workers
• Irwin Keyes as Joe Rockhead
• Jay Leno as a talk show host
• William Hanna, creator of the original series, as the Boardroom Executive who denounces steam power as madness
• Joseph Barbera, co-creator of the original series, as a man driving a Mersandes
• Sam Raimi as Cliff look-alike

The character of Pebbles was split between two twins, Elaine and Melanie Silver.

The film was directed by Brian Levant.

Finally, Mel Blanc's voice recordings for Dino from the original series were reused.

This film met with mixed reaction from fans and critics alike. Most felt that Goodman's portrayal of Fred was on character, and Moranis' portrayal of Barney was within tolerance. However, some critics saw Perkins' portrayal of Wilma as a bit lacking.

In at least two cases, the physical appearance of the actors selected for the roles was the source of near-universal dislike by both critics and fans however. Taylor as Wilma's mother, Mrs. Slaghoople, was said not to have matched the physique of the original cartoon character, who had been a physical match for Fred; Taylor was easily dwarfed by Goodman. Some saw O'Donnell's portrayal of Betty to be unacceptable, as her overweight physique did not match that of the slender Betty, but to O'Donnell's credit, she managed to recreate the tone and verbal mannerisms established by Bea Benaderet and Gerry Johnson in the original cartoon. In spite of her portrayal, O'Donnell was the recipient of the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress for her performance in this film. Siskel and Ebert also gave this film two thumbs down.

Despite these issues, the film was a box office hit, grossing over $130 million domestically, including the $29.6 million made during the Memorial Day weekend in 1994. It was also a major seller in the DVD market, and according to Netflix has been in their top 100 rentals since the company first went into business.

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Halle Berry's character was named after actress Sharon Stone. According to pre-release publicity for the film, the real Sharon Stone was invited to play the role herself; Stone had to decline, as she was already working on another film, Diabolique. She has since admitted her deep regret for turning down the role. After Sharon Stone declined, the producers mulled changing the character's name to "Rosetta Stone," but decided most people would miss the archeological reference. Coincedentally years later Berry and Stone starred in a move (Catwoman) together.

• According to executive producer Steven Spielberg, while Goodman was intended to play Fred from the moment the film was planned, Danny DeVito was the original first choice for Barney. DeVito eventually turned down the role as he felt he was too gruff to do the character properly, and reportedly suggested Moranis for the role.

• Harvey Comics published a comic adaptation of the film in two different art styles that could be read through a pair of enclosed 3-D glasses - one style was drawn in the film's realistic style, the other in the style of the cartoon.

• According to industry estimates, this project employed the largest number of screenwriters ever on a single movie. A staggering thirty-five screenwriters took a crack at writing this script, while only three were actually credited. Usually a large number of writers on a film does not work, but it did in this case, as The Flintstones was a box-office hit.

• Mr. Slate's reference to his daughter, Concretia, was the first time the Slates were ever noted for having a daughter. However, in the original series, Slate has a son named Arthur.

• Bedrock claims to be "First with Fire", a take on North Carolina's slogan "First in Flight". Fred also remarks that there are (only) four thousand other people in the world.

• The film's main title comes out of the clouds with a chorus singing it, an obvious homage to the famous opening sequence of The Simpsons, the first successful prime-time animated series since The Flintstones.^{[citation needed]}

• The opening logo used in this film reads "Univershell" (instead of "Universal") and depicts Pangea on the Universal globe.

• The song played several times in the film, "The Bedrock Twist" is a reference to an episode of the original series in which Fred and Barney met the writer of said song. Goodman and Moranis sing along to a recording from the original episode during the opening credits; later in the film the B-52s perform an updated version.

• Executive producer Steven Spielberg is listed as Steven Spielrock in the credits of the film.

• The ice cream truck's jingle is the theme to The Jetsons, another Hanna-Barbera cartoon.

• Elizabeth Daily later reprised her role of the voice of Bamm-Bamm for a 2007 commercial advertising Bamm-Bamm Pebbles Cereal.

• When the Flintstones arrive at the theater, the logo has the 1956 Revue jingle.

v • d • e The Flintstones
Characters	Fred Flintstone · Wilma Flintstone · Pebbles Flintstone · Barney Rubble · Betty Rubble · Bamm-Bamm Rubble · Dino · Baby Puss · Hoppy · The Frankenstones · The Great Gazoo · The Gruesomes · Mr. Slate · Bedrock
Television shows	The Flintstones (1960–1966) · The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (1971–1972) · The Flintstone Comedy Hour (1972–1973) · The Flintstone Comedy Show (1973–1974) · Fred Flintstone and Friends (1977–1978) · The New Fred and Barney Show (1979) · Fred and Barney Meet the Thing (1979) · Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo (1979–1980) · The Flintstone Comedy Show (1980–1982) · The Flintstone Funnies (1982–1984) · The Flintstone Kids (1986–1988) · Dino: World Premiere Toons (1995) · Cave Kids (1996)
Television specials	A Flintstone Christmas (1977) · The Flintstones: Little Big League (1978) · The Flintstones' New Neighbors (1980) · The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone (1980) · The Flintstones: Fred's Final Fling (1980) · The Flintstones: Wind-Up Wilma (1981) · The Flintstones: Jogging Fever (1981) · The Flintstones' 25th Anniversary Celebration (1986) · The Flintstone Kids' "Just Say No" Special (1988) · A Flintstone Family Christmas (1993)
Television films	The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (1987) · I Yabba-Dabba Do! (1993) · Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby (1993) · A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994) · The Flintstones: On the Rocks (2001)
Theatical films	The Man Called Flintstone (1966) · The Flintstones (1994) · The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000)
Merchandise	Other media · The Flintstones (pinball) · Fruity Pebbles · Cocoa Pebbles · Flintstones chewable vitamins