The Man Called Flintstone (1966)

Why so much hype?

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Blistering performances.

"THE MAN CALLED FLINTSTONE" was the second of two releases from Columbia Pictures in the mid 1960s-the first one was "HEY THERE,IT'S YOGI BEAR!" that the studio released in 1964! and,,after buying the DVD in 2008,i became enraged,when i discovered that the COLUMBIA logo with "Wilma Flintstone" was not included in the DVD release! Columbia's former TV subsidiary Screen Gems,which was revived in 1999 by SONY,had a very long and prosperous relationship with Hanna-Barbera in the 1960s and early 70s so why they couldn't allow that logo to be used,is both an insult,and an outrage! some history should still be upheld and honored,even though the studio is a SONY owned asset-and both Warners and Columbia had a pretty long relationship,since both studios worked on the Burbank lot! so whatever the exact reasons for this awfully BAD edit of "The Flintstones" first full length movie,it was unacceptable and NOT the same thing i remembered growing up with-this was a great Family film in 1966,when "THE FLINTSTONES" had just finished its six year run on ABC-TV..and that awful edit job,that they replaced the COLUMBIA logo with,just ruined this whole release!

Fred Flintstone, that lovable blue-collar caveman from Bedrock, becomes a spy in this feature length cartoon: Hanna Barbara's farewell to the six season television series. Begins with a fantastic mountainside car chase involving two goons and a suave James Bond-like spy, Rock Slag, who looks exactly like Fred. The chase results in Rock being injured: Cut to Fred and his marble-eyed sidekick Barney taking a failed shortcut home. They wind up at the hospital where Fred's given an assignment to replace his double: and the adventure begins.The Flintstones and Rubbles go on a European trip where Fred learns of a nefarious criminal, The Grey Goose, and his plot to blow up the world. Loads of fun action – mostly involving those two thugs attempting to kill Fred. But when various musical numbers are thrown in… the worst concerning the progression of children in the future that has nothing to do with the plot or characters… what begins as a clever spoof gets derailed.But the good stuff returns with a chase through an abandoned theme park: including a nod to Orson Welles's LADY FROM SHANGHAI fun house. What would have made a great hour-long two-part episode, sans the musical interludes, winds up a flawed Flintstone journey – yet even the bad parts are creatively bizarre... it was 1966, after all.For More Reviews: www.cultfilmfreaks.com

I first remember seeing "The Man Called Flintstone" in 1968 when the elementary school I attended in Warren, Michigan obtained a 16mm print of the film and ran it as an "after-school" movie, complete with popcorn and soft drinks. (My folks never had the time to take my younger sister and I to see it at the theater, but then, in 1966 I was only 4 years old.) Cartoon Network's Boomerang channel ran it a couple of months ago, and it was certainly a treat to see "The Man Called Flintstone" again after so long. I do agree, the movie's opening with Wilma as the Columbia Pictures torch lady was a riot; her torch exploded into the opening credits. Sadly, current television prints have deleted this opening, since Hanna-Barbera first became part of the Turner Entertainment empire in 1992 and is now a part of the Time Warner empire; Warner Bros. Television now syndicates this film (Sony Pictures Television ceased television syndication of "The Man Called Flintstone" in the mid-1980s). I highly doubt that opening will ever be restored, even if the movie ever appears on DVD. And I never knew that was Henry Corden, the future voice of Fred Flintstone, singing the duet with Mel Blanc as Barney. I recently discovered (according to a Goldmine record collectors' guide) there was a soundtrack album of "The Man Called Flintstone" - on HBR Records (Hanna-Barbera's record label), naturally - but it is very hard to find. If and when I ever do locate a copy, though, it'll certainly have a place in my record library (I recently found a copy of the soundtrack album of "Hey There, It's Yogi Bear," Hanna-Barbera's first movie musical, and that album is even harder to locate)! Notice to collectors: extant copies of the soundtrack of "The Man Called Flintstone" command $50 and up, depending on the condition of the vinyl (good luck locating it).I can also hope Warner Home Video will strongly consider putting "The Man Called Flintstone" on DVD soon!

This movie based on the famous TV series may be one of the best annimated movies ever made. It is a spoof of James Bond movies of the era. The script is well written with an interesting story line and an exciting ending. The musical numbers are fun too. There is a song that Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm sing where they are dreaming about their futures and the visuals during the song are animated in stick figures that look to be drawn by kids. This has to be the cutest song and animation that I have ever seen.