The Flintstones

The Flintstones is a cartoon franchise started in 1960 featuring a "modern stone age family" living in the "Town of Bedrock" according to the theme song. The series is modeled after the 1950s TV show, The Honeymooners.

Major characters were the Flintstone family of Fred, his wife Wilma and their daughter Pebbles, and their neighbors Barney and Betty Rubble and son "Bamm-Bamm" (all characters had surnames related to rocks or stones, as did place names; one notable guest was "Cary Granite", a spoof of Cary Grant). Dinosaurs are featured as domestic animals assisting in household chores (including serving as the "engines" in automated appliances in some cases), as pets (including the Flintstone's "Dino"), as beasts of burden, and as food ('brontoburgers' etc.).

The series also inspired a lot of merchandise, including a cereal brand called "Pebbles" which came in "Fruity" and "Cocoa" flavors. The advertisements for the cereal brand involve Fred and Barney doing something together, only for Barney to manage to make off with Fred's Pebbles cereal, causing Fred to try and stop Barney only to end up humorously injured from whatever activity they were doing in the commercial.

The Flintstones animated TV series ran from 1960 to 1966. A film version was made in 1994. There were also several spin-off series and video games. A more adult-oriented sequel is planned with Elizabeth Banks writing it, though the premise is not well-received.^[1]

Elements of the Flintstones were later incorporated into The Simpsons, resulting in several comparisons between them in earlier seasons of the latter show.

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