"Christmas Flintstone" (also known as "How The Flintstones Saved Christmas" on VHS releases) is a Christmas episode from

season 5 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

of the

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

television series ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...

'', which aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

on December 25, 1964. The episode is about

Fred Flintstone Fred Flintstone is the main character of the animated sitcom '' The Flintstones'', which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960 to 1966. Fred is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles Flintsto ...

taking over the role of

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

. The episode is followed by three Christmas-themed ''Flintstones'' specials: '' A Flintstone Christmas'' (1977), ''

A Flintstone Family Christmas ''A Flintstone Family Christmas'' (known in a working title as ''The Flintstones: Christmas Misdemeanors'') is a 1993 Animation, animated Christmas by medium, Christmas television special featuring characters from ''The Flintstones'' franchise. ...

'' (1993) and ''

A Flintstones Christmas Carol ''A Flintstones Christmas Carol'' (also known as ''The Flintstones: A Christmas Carol'', or ''The Flintstones: in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol'') is a 1994 American animated made-for-television film featuring characters from ''The Flintstone ...

'' (1994). It has been released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

Plot

Fred Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Ro ...

gets a part-time job at Macyrock's department store in order to help finance the family's

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

. Mr. Macyrock (voiced by

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...

) initially fires Fred for falling into an out-of-order elevator shaft, but when Mr. Macyrock's assistant tells him that their usual

is sick, he instead rehires Fred to be Santa. During his stint as Macyrock's store Santa, Fred entertains the children and customers by singing "Christmas is My Fav'rite Time of Year" and "Dino the Dinosaur". Mr. Macyrock tells Fred that he is the best Santa that Macyrock's ever had. On

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

, two of

Santa's elves In English-speaking cultures, a Christmas elf is a diminutive elf that lives with Santa Claus at the North Pole and acts as his helper. Christmas elves are usually depicted as green- or red-clad, with large, pointy ears and wearing pointy hats. T ...

named Twinky and Blinky, both of whom are 385–420 years old, appear to Fred at Macyrock's during closing hours. They explain to Fred that the real Santa Claus is sick and ask him to substitute for Santa and deliver presents to children around the world. Throughout his journey to countries worldwide on Santa's sleigh, Fred shouts Christmas greetings in French,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

and also sings a reprise of "Christmas is My Fav'rite Time of Year".

Voice cast

Alan Reed Alan Reed (born Herbert Theodore Bergman; August 20, 1907 – June 14, 1977) was an American actor, best known as the original voice of Fred Flintstone on ''The Flintstones'' and various spinoff series. He also appeared in many films, includin ...

Jean Vander Pyl Jean Thurston Vander Pyl (October 11, 1919 – April 10, 1999) was an American voice actress. Although her career spanned many decades, she is best known as the voice of Wilma Flintstone for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon ''The Flintstones''. In a ...

Wilma Flintstone Wilma Flintstone is a fictional character in the television animated series ''The Flintstones''. Wilma is the red-headed woman married to caveman Fred Flintstone, daughter of Pearl Slaghoople, and mother of Pebbles Flintstone. Her best friend is ...

Pebbles Flintstone Pebbles Flintstone (also known as Pebbles Flintstone-Rubble as an adult) is a fictional character in the ''Flintstones'' franchise. The red-haired daughter of Fred and Wilma Flintstone, Pebbles is born near the end of the third season. She is mos ...

, Customer *

Barney Rubble Barney Rubble is a fictional character who appears in the television animated series ''The Flintstones''. He is the diminutive, blond-haired caveman husband of Betty Rubble and adoptive father of Bamm-Bamm Rubble. His best friend is his next d ...

, Dino, Mr. Macyrock * Gerry Johnson as

Betty Rubble Betty Rubble is a fictional character in the television animated series ''The Flintstones'' and its spin-offs and live-action motion pictures. She is the black-haired wife of caveman Barney Rubble and the adoptive mother of Bamm-Bamm Rubble. Her ...

, Gift-wrapping Lady, Girl #1 *

Don Messick Donald Earle Messick (September 7, 1926 – October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor. He was best known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. His best-remembered vocal creations include Scooby-Doo, Bamm-Bamm Rubble and Hoppy in ...

Bamm-Bamm Rubble Bamm-Bamm Rubble (sometimes spelled Bam-Bam Rubble) is a fictional character in the ''Flintstones'' franchise, the adopted son of Barney and Betty Rubble. He is most famous in his infant form on the animated series, but has also appeared at vari ...

, Kid #1, Reporter, Blinky * Hal Smith as Santa Claus, Streetcrosser, Dinosaur *

Dick Beals Richard Beals (March 16, 1927 – May 29, 2012) was an American actor, who performed many voices in his career, which spanned the period from the early 1950s into the 21st century. Beals voiced both male and female children. Perhaps his most reco ...

as Kid #2, Twinky

Songs

* "Christmas is My Fav'rite Time of Year" * "Dino the Dinosaur" * "Christmas is My Fav'rite Time of Year" (reprise)

Production

First broadcast in 1964, the episode was produced and directed by

Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist who co-founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian im ...

and

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator and cartoonist who was the creator of ''Tom and Jerry'' as well as the voice actor for the two title characters. Alongside Joseph Barbera, he also founded the ani ...

, under

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

Legacy

Turner Home Entertainment Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner in 1986. Purchased by Time Warner in 1996 as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing th ...

released the episode on VHS as "How The Flintstones Saved Christmas".

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video ...

released the episode on

in Region 1 on October 2, 2007, along with the 1994 special ''

.'' "Christmas Flintstone" marked the first of four Christmas-themed ''The Flintstones'' animated works. It is followed by '' A Flintstone Christmas'' (1977), ''

'' (1993) and ''

'' (1994).

References

External links

* {{The Flintstones The Flintstones 1964 American television episodes American Christmas television episodes Animated television series episodes