''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 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 ani ...

made-for-television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

featuring characters from ''

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 ...

'' franchise, and based on the 1843 novella ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas ...

'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

. Produced by

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 ...

, it features the voices of

Henry Corden Henry Corden (born Henry Cohen; January 6, 1920 – May 19, 2005) was a Canadian-born American actor, best known for taking over the role of Fred Flintstone after Alan Reed's death in 1977. His official debut as Fred's new voice was in the 1 ...

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 ...

and

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

. It first aired November 21, 1994 on ABC. The special followed numerous

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

-themed ''The Flintstones'' productions. 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 kind ...

Plot

The Bedrock Community Players is mounting ''

,'' and all of the town's citizens are either planning to attend or be involved in the production:

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 ...

is playing Bob Cragit, with

Betty Betty or Bettie is a name, a common diminutive for the names Bethany and Elizabeth. In Latin America, it is also a common diminutive for the given name Beatriz, the Spanish and Portuguese form of the Latin name Beatrix and the English name Beat ...

as Mrs. Cragit and his son

Bamm-Bamm 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 va ...

as Tiny Tim; Mr. Slate is Jacob Marbley;

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 ...

is serving as the

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...

, while her daughter Pebbles plays Martha Cragit; even Dino has a role, playing the Cragit's family pet. It is

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 Rod ...

, though, who has landed the leading role of Ebonezer Scrooge. Unfortunately, he has let his role go to his head, thinking himself a star and spending all of his time rehearsing his lines rather than focusing on his job or family. 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 ...

, in his rush to get to work and complete his Christmas Shopping, Fred forgets that he must take Pebbles to " cave care", and later to pick her up from cave care. When Fred arrives at the theater, he discovers a furious Wilma, who breaks down in tears as she tells Fred about his mistake. The play finally begins with narrator Charles Brickens reading the opening lines, and after a momentary bout of stage fright, Fred enters. The play proceeds as normal. As the second act opens, Wilma and Betty discover that Garnet, the woman playing the

Ghost of Christmas Past The Ghost of Christmas Past is a fictional character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. The Ghost is one of three spirits which appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption. Following a visit from ...

, has contracted the "Bedrock Bug," a flu-like illness. As stage manager, Wilma is left to play the part herself. During the next scene, at Fezziwig's Christmas party, Betty informs Wilma that Maggie has come down with the Bedrock Bug as well; Wilma dons her costume and plays Belle. Fred realizes he forgot the presents and runs to the store, he is approached by the hooded figure of the

Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is a fictional character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. The Ghost is one of three spirits which appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption. Following a vis ...

, revealing to be the actor Philo Quartz, he drives him back to the theater. The second act takes place. The third act begins with the

appearing before Scrooge; he shows the elderly man an abandoned gravestone marked with the words "EBONEZER SCROOGE." The scene shifts to Scrooge's bedchamber—he is alive, and he discovers that it is Christmas morning. He recruits a passing boy (played by the same child who Fred entrusted with his presents) to purchase a prize "Turkeysaurus" and have it sent to the Cragits for a feast. Scrooge prepares to go out and explore the city on Christmas morning; along the way, he meets Wilma, who has taken on the role of one of the members of the Piltdown Charitable Foundation, as the original actor has caught the Bedrock Bug. Fred acts as if the woman is Belle (much to narrator Brickens's frustration, as the ad-libbing is not in his script), and begs for both her and Wilma's forgiveness, admitting his recent selfishness and promising that he has changed his attitudes. Wilma reluctantly plays along. The play ends with the narrator informing the audience of the permanent change in the elderly man. Bamm-Bamm forgets his line "God bless us, everyone!," leaving Pebbles to make the declaration herself. When the curtain falls, the company drops Fred and scolds him "for being such a Scrooge." Fred apologizes, informing Wilma that he has finally realized that his friends and family, rather than his role in the production, are what matter most. As the company begins to depart, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come takes off his hood, revealing himself as Dino, who took the part after Philo came down with the Bedrock Bug. A changed Fred says that when the Flintstones get home, he's going to make dinner and invite Wilma's mother. Unfortunately, after he says this, he comes down with the flu, and Wilma decides to make dinner with her mother's help, since the Bedrock Bug "lasts for a day".

Voice cast

Production

The special came after three

-themed episodes and specials in ''

'' franchise, namely " Christmas Flintstone" (1964), ''

A Flintstone Christmas ''A Flintstone Christmas'' is a 1977 animated Christmas television special featuring characters from ''The Flintstones'' franchise. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and is the second Christmas-themed animated work in the franchise, after the 1964 ...

'' (1977) and ''

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). It was produced by

in Los Angeles, California and directed by Joanna Romersa. The teleplay was written by Glenn Leopold, based on ''

'' by

. The music was composed by Steve Bernstein.

returned as the voice of

, a role she performed since first chosen by Bill Hanna and

Joe 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 ...

to voice the character in 1960. The special was animated by Fil-Cartoons in Manila, Philippines

Broadcast and release

The special premiered on the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Calif ...

on November 21, 1994. It has been rebroadcast in later years, by

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...

and Canada's YTV. On September 26, 1995,

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 ...

initially released ''A Flintstones Christmas Carol'' on VHS in their Turner Family Showcase collection, debuting 24th among children's video rentals in the United States in October of the same year.

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 Vide ...

released it on DVD in Region 1 on October 2, 2007. An included bonus was " Christmas Flintstone", an episode from Season 5 of ''

''.

Reception

The special received a

Film Advisory Board The Film Advisory Board (FAB) is a member-supported organization founded in 1975 by Elayne Blythe (1919–2005). The FAB's "Award of Excellence" was developed to award quality family-oriented and children's entertainment in both print and elec ...

award. ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

'' gave it two stars, saying the

story within a story A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes ...

is challenged by "the continual cutting away to backstage incidents that turn the careful momentum of Dickens' narrative into jagged stops and starts," adding "how can these prehistoric folk be celebrating the birth of a messiah not due for several millenia?"

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flintstones Christmas Carol, A 1994 television films 1994 films 1990s American animated films 1990s Christmas films American Broadcasting Company television specials American Christmas comedy films American television films American animated comedy films Animated Christmas films Animated Christmas television specials Animated films based on animated series Animated films based on novels 1990s Christmas comedy films Christmas television films Films based on A Christmas Carol Television shows based on A Christmas Carol Films based on television series The Flintstones films Hanna-Barbera animated films Television films based on television series American Christmas television specials