Flintstones Christmas Carol

The next animated special based on Charle Dickens' A Christmas Carol this month goes to The Flintstones, and is hopefully the last one after the many Christmas Carol adaptations I've had to review! Anyway, made in 1994, this special is actually the last one to feature Jean Vander Pyl voicing Wilma before her death in 1999 after having voiced the latter for 45 years. So does this Christmas special help give a festive send off for Wilma's original voice actress, or do I have to throw rocks at the writers to put some sense into them? Let's find out!

Story: Besides the fact it of course takes the plot of the original book, this is actually told as a Stone Age play with Fred as Scrooge, Barney and Betty as Cratchits, Bamm Bamm as Tiny Tim and Wilma pretty much as everybody else. Unfortunately Fred playing Scrooge goes into his head quickly and ends up neglecting his child Pebbles, ignoring everyone, doing his Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve just before the show and being mean spirited to everyone. Not really the best plot since he obviously realizes the error of his ways at the end of the play and while doing the show, but I'll say it makes good parallels with the plot of the play. Not only that, but there's also a subplot involving everyone in Bedrock succumbing to the Bedrock bug, which leads to Wilma making the costumes, directing the play and doing onstage roles as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Belle and even an extra! I'll say I liked how it showed Wilma can be an endearing character and manages to make the movie feel less mean spirited & more heartwarming despite her husband's selfishness. As for the humour, it's not all that great besides some funny lines here & there in the play or the slapstick, but the rock related/prehistoric puns throughout just got annoying real fast! It may not be the strongest Flintstones film out there (better than the live action ones) & is pretty predictable from top to bottom with unfunny puns, but it's still pretty fun to watch!

Animation: since it's Hanna Barbera, the animation is on the cheap side, even for a cartoon. The quality is the same as a Saturday morning cartoon, in fact, just like the TV show, and it can look quite rough around the lines and the backgrounds. Also, the character designs are quite over the top & cartoony, but it works since, well, this is a Flintstones movie we're talking about. Same goes for the character animation being over the top & cartoony, but it works for something like this. However, I will say the prehistoric props used in the play are creative as well as the costumes and sets along with the instruments used for the orchestra. The quality, like I said isn't really that good, but it didn't stop me from enjoying watching it.

Characters: Fred, the Scrooge in the play, is now a douchebag & a selfish idiot who neglects his wife and daughter because he got the lead role and forgot to buy Christmas presents, which leads him to doing it on Christmas Eve when he was supposed to be at the theatre early to get ready. He just annoyed me in this & the movie doesn't really do much to get us to like him up until the very end. Wilma, on the other hand, was more likeable and actually managed to be more than just the generic loving wife and mother as she works her ass off to make sure everything is perfect for the show due to the Bedrock Bug, including making costumes, being a stage manager & acting more than one part in the show. Barney, who plays Cratchit in the play, is Fred's best friend who has to put up with his selfishness, but still has a good heart. Betty is still the same loving wife to Barney, Pebbles & Bam Bamm are the same cute little kids & Dino is of course the same pet to the Flintstone family. As for the other characters, they're not really as memorable, with Mr Slade wanting to play Scrooge despite playing the Ghost of Christmas Past, Maggie initially playing Belle until she gets hit with the Bedrock Bug (whose oddly a bit too excited over doing the love scenes despite Fred being married & it actually just being acting), Philo Quartz, who also gets hit with the Bedrock Bug calls Fred out on his selfishness, but still has a good heart. And finally, there's Charles Brickens (voiced by John Rhys Davies), obviously a reference to Charles Dickens, who also narrates the play & is pretty funny whenever any of the actors ab-lib any moments on-stage. Although the characters are their same selves, I don't think a selfish lead can really help them & it doesn't really help none of them are developed besides Wilma!

Although A Flintstones Christmas Carol isn't the best Flintstones special out there thanks to the weak story, selfish main character, subpar animation & unfunny puns, but it's still nice to watch nonetheless thanks to the other characters, good humour & heartwarming moments. This really is something to watch if you're a Flintstones fan. As for others, I'd probably recommend something like Mickey's Christmas Carol if you're looking for an animated Christmas Carol film with established cartoon characters.
Story: 6/10
Animation: 4/10
Characters: 5/10
Overall: 5/10