Meet The Flintstones… Again!
Who says you can’t get new blood out of an old stone? This week, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane has spoken at SXSW Festival about his plans to reboot a much loved Hanna-Barbera 60s classic, The Flintstones.
There has been speculation about this mammoth task since May 2011 but we now have a few more clues as what to expect. MacFarlane announced “It’s still in the early stages. I’m finishing a rewrite on the pilot… We’re trying to, essentially, stay true to what that show is. There’s something cool to me about, in 2013, turning on your TV and seeing The Flintstones and having it look like The Flintstones.”
So should we be concerned that the producer of edgy adult themed cartoons has been given control of this modern stone age family? “There’s really not a lot about that show… that needs to be changed visually and stylistically,” he commented. “They invented the template that we’re using in animation. We kinda want to keep it, more or less, the same. [But] the stories that we tell will be a little more current.”
So whereas the 60s show made tongue-in-cheek references to modern day appliances such as woolly mammoth vacuum cleaners and clam shell “electric” razors, should we expect the same treatment with today’s must have technology? Will Fred be calling Wilma on his latest iStone 4S for example? MacFarlane summed up his ambitions by saying “We’re kind of shooting for the level of edge in mid-’90s Simpsons.”
The Flintstones originally aired from 1960 – 1966 on America’s ABC network. The show was initially aimed at an adult audience and use the framework of a traditional sitcom through it’s subject matter and even the use of a laughter track. This was the first time an animated series depicted a married couple sharing a bed, so it’s no wonder that by series three Pebbles was born. Since then it has inspired spinoff series and both animated and live-action feature films.
MacFarlane has frequently cited the show as one of the primary reasons why he became interested in animation. But with great power come great responsibility. “It’s like being handed the keys to a very old expensive car,” he said. “You want to be careful not to be Ferris Bueller with it. It was the first thing I drew, when I was two years old. It’s a nice, full-circle thing.”
The new series is due out in 2013 so fingers crossed that MacFarlane gets the tone just right. Yes Family Guy is extremely popular with a certain audience. It thrives on adult themes & inappropriate humour. However, MacFarlane is quite an unlikely choice for a family friendly sitcom like The Flintstones. Why take a risk with an old classic? What’s next? Will they ask the creators of Southpark to remake Muppet Babies? Let’s just hope the reboot rocks!