The Flintstones 1994 Mattel

The Flintstones has been a beloved pop culture icon for some 50 years and its popularity hasn't waned in all those years. The Flintstones cartoon series was the longest running in television history (right up until the Simpsons  beat that record, and then some, years later) Before the Flintstones made their Live action big screen debut in 1994 there were some original straight video feature length episodes produced to go along with the syndicated  series that had found favour with a new generation as well as a spin off series featuring all of those familiar characters but in their adolescence  years (a popular trend at the time that included "Muppet Babies" and "A pup named Scooby-doo") but it was that Spielberg produced big budget adaptation that really got people excited especially when John Goodman was perfectly chosen to be the flesh and blood embodiment of Fred Flintstone! Another piece of perfect casting came in the form of Rick Moranis who perfectly captures the hapless but kind hearted Barney Rubble. The real stars of The Flintstones however could be said to be the fantastic prehistoric creatures  the Jim Henson workshop's  wonderfully brought to life complete with their familiar sarcastic observational quips Flintstones fans will be familiar to!
The Flintstones movie proved to be finically successful but wasn't very warmly received by critics who felt the adult themes and cartoonish tom foolery didn't mix well but praised the cast and production as top notch.  


As with most big budget summer tent pole  movies there was a slew of merchandise to be had! Mattel who held the licence to produce toys based on the Flintstones series put out a line of action figures and accessories to tie-in with the new movie which they designed with the combined look of the movie characters with the proportions of their animated counterparts! The line quickly became store shelf fodder not being particularly popular and therefore eventually resigned to the bargain bin! Here we will look at a couple of figures from the line:   
  

Hard Hat Fred Flintstone: Fred is a hard working family man who loves his wife and daughter more than anything else (With Bowling coming in at a close second!)When he gives away his and Wilma's savings to best friend Barney and his Wife Betty so they can adopt son Bam-Bam his generosity is repaid when Barney switches aptitude tests at work! Fred is promoted and Barney fired as a result forcing a rift between The Flintstones and The Rubbles!  

With the Flintstones popularity as strong as ever this live action movie update had a slew of merchandise produced too tie-in with this highly anticipated release with Mattel producing not only a standard set of action figures but also a series of bendable figures with accompanying play sets and vehicles! The standard set featured some very nicely detailed and fun accessories and decent likenesses of the on screen characters with Fred in particular looking very much like the actor John Goodman who portrayed him! Mattel made the creative decision to make these figures proportioned in a similar style to the original cartoon series which some have criticised but ultimately works quite well and isn't too off putting! The line consisted mainly of different Fred and Barney figures with each of their respective partners, Dino and Cliff Vandercave making up the rest of the line with this version of Fred appearing in his classic attire complete with workman accessories! 

One of the best things about these figures are the accessories which in true Flintstones style feature some poor creature functioning as an everyday tool or household appliance such as a pterodactyl serving as pickaxe!

Lawn Mowin' Barney Rubble: Kind hearted Barney can often be found at the side of best friend Fred even when his good buddy gets a new high flying position at work and Barney is made unemployed until Fred's new lifestyle gives him allusions of grandeur and Barney calls it a day on their life long friendship!   

As with the Fred Flintstone figure produced Barney Rubble was also given a few different variants based around some of the jobs he had to take up after being fired from the quarry including "Crash Test Barney" and "fillin' Station Barney"! This figure is the classic looking version of the character with a very nice likeness of actor Rick Moranis! These figures tend to be quite basic in appearance and aren't the most detailed with very limited articulation and feature soft rubber heads with the overall look being a good mix of the Cartoon and movie incarnations as mentioned above the figure comes complete with a lawn mower and chainsaw inspired by a brief scene in the film itself where Barney is mowing his lawn which itself a nod to the original cartoon series where the characters will perform mundane tasks with the help of various creatures who often quip to the audience "Its a living!"   

The accessories for this figure are two solid plastic creatures functioning as household appliances one being a lobster Lawnmower and the other a Beaver Chainsaw! Both are very nicely detailed though they have only basic paint applications are still very nice looking and well sculpted with some intricate detailing particularly on the lobster (which has been coloured purple instead of red for some reason!)




The Flintstones original big screen adventure is perhaps the most successful of the live action adaptations of well known Cartoon shows, Its (mostly) perfectly cast with fantastic production designs and creature effects and despite its uneven tone it at least plumped for a story with a little more maturity than you'd expect and the result is a movie that whilst fun to watch is deeply flawed, flaws which as time goes by become more and more apparent. Mattel's toy line is also fun but flawed with the choice of design being slightly off-putting for some but is made up for by the addition of some great accessories that accompany each figure!


    
The full list of figures available in the series:


-Hard Hat Fred
-Lawn Mowin' Barney
-Wilma with Pebbles
-Betty with Bam-Bam
-Licking Dino
-Cliff Vandercave
-Big-Shot Fred
-Fillin' Station Barney
-Big Eat Fred
-Crash Test Barney
-Bowl-O-Rama Fred
-Dino-Drilling Barney
-Yabba-Dabba-Doo Fred (8")


Vehicles:


-Flintmobile
-Le Saber Tooth 5000