Are the flintstones still relevant?
In 2020?
shareI hope you're not asking this question seriously!
sharewhy not?
share
MovieChat Forums > The Flintstones (1960) Discussion > Are the flintstones still relevant?
I honestly don't know. I used to watch the show as a kid in the 80s and 90s, but I haven't seen it on tv in years. I don't see any merchandise around anymore either.
shareIt's interesting; if you grew up at the end of the 20th Century, like we did, The Flintstones were part of a range of cartoon characters (including other Hanna-Barbera characters like The Jetsons and Yogi Bear, The Muppets, a lot of the pre-TV staples like Popeye, Felix, Woody Woodpecker etc) who were an assumed part of popular culture. They had been popular "forever" (i.e. since long before we were born) and we assumed they always would be. But a lot of these characters have struggled to retain relevance in the 21st Century, to the point where you wonder if most kids today even know who they are, and in contrast a lot of newer characters who were assumed to be flash in the pan fads, like the Ninja Turtles or Pokemon, have stayed popular. Even the WB staple of characters (Bugs Bunny etc) are much less popular than they were in the 90s, and no new projects with the characters have really caught on. The only characters of this type I can think of that have stayed hugely popular are Mickey Mouse & friends (the Disney empire is simply too powerful and efficient for them to die out), Tom and Jerry (check out the huge numbers T&J clips get on YouTube), and Scooby Doo, which I was never a huge fan of but I guess as a horror-tinged mystery show does provide something which is still fairly unique in Western Animation.
The only Flintstones merchandise I can recall seeing in the past ten years are retro T-Shirts. Still, it's on HBO MAX now, so it's out there for the younger generations to discover, should they want to.
You're totally right about the Flintstones being characters that always seemed like they were going to stick around forever. I obviously know not all things last, but it's a shame that kids nowadays aren't able to watch decades old shows multiple generations grew up with like we did.
I'm in Europe and except for retro T-shirts, the Flintstones just aren't around anymore. The last time I saw them was on the BBC over 10 years ago and that was kind of a surprise.
Flintstone Vitamins and the two Pebbles Cereals (Cocoa and Fruity) are the only remaining product tie-ins that I can think of as still existing in the U.S. I'm not sure what was ever available in other countries.
shareWell i'm watching it this very moment. (Betty is so out of Barney's league, what is it, the money? Giant schlong?) But that's a real good point about merchandise. Or even culture impact like tattoos and what not. You just don't see it anymore. Not like the Looney Tunes or even Betty Boop and Popeye. They still have impact.
shareThe Flintstones was a cheap rip-off of Jackie Gleason’s Honeymooners. It was beneath contempt, nor ever relevant to anything other than sheer greed and slime.
shareWith the exception of the movie reboot, which was clever, they have not really maintained themselves in pop culture. Not like Scooby-Doo, Mickey Mouse and others which are more successfully marketed and maintained.
Totally off-topic, but I am amazed at what a POOR JOB Disney has done at keeping Mickey Mouse relevant. He's a character in the Disney theme parks, and of course marketed heavily at Disney stores and as a licensed image, but the cartoons totally vanished. I would've thought Disney would've done more to keep the cartoons current. Kids go to Disneyland and Disney World and they want to see Mickey Mouse and somehow know who he is, but do they really know much about him?
In what way?
shareWas it ever relevant? It's just a cartoon heavily inspired by The Honeymooners tv show.
share