A Flintstones' Christmas Carol (1994) - Part 2

The 1994 made-for-TV "A Flintstones' Christmas Carol" feature the Bedrock Community Players staging their version of "A Christmas Carol."

It seems like everyone in town is involved with the show in some capacity. So, how did they do with the casting?

Note: There may be a few minor spoilers of the framing story ahead.

They have something of an advantage in the casting of Scrooge, as the main star, Fred Flintstone, is perfect for the part, in a way that say, Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny or Howdy Doody is not.

I think Henry Corden does a good job voicing Fred, but he could never top Alan Reed, Fred's original voice. But he had been doing it since Alan Reed's death in 1977, so he's comfortable in the role.

In a bit of Flintstonization, Scrooge's first name is "Ebonezer."

There's also a logical Bob Cratchit (renamed Cragit here) in Barney Rubble. He's always a good foil for Fred and seems warmhearted. Barney also doubles as Fezziwig in the Christmas Past segment.

Mel Blanc, Barney's original voice, had also passed away by the time this show was made, but Frank Welker plays the part very well. He's a top voice actor.

Since Barney is Bob Cragit, the natural pick for Mrs. Cragit is Betty Rubble. She seems to have had a lot of different voice actors. This time B.J. Ward does the honors. She's OK, but her giggle seems a little forced to me. For my money, nobody came anyway near Betty's original voice, Bea Benaderet.

A production cel featuring Wilma.

It's wonderful to hear Jean Vander Pyl, the originator of Wilma Flinstone's voice one more time. Wilma starts as the stage manager, but steps into three other roles as the original actors are stricken by the flu-like Bedrock bug!

Mr. Slate is not as much of a Scrooge as he seems!

Also from the original cast of "The Flintstones" is John Stephenson, who plays Mr. Slate. Mr. Slate is cast as Jacob Marbley, to keep with the Flintstones spirit. Mr. Slate might seem like the first choice for Scrooge, as he points out himself, but I think he's better as Marbley anyway, plus that allows for Fred to remain the main character.

We have one more voice actor from the original series, the great Don Messick. He plays Bamm-Bamm Rubble, who as Tiny Tim actually says something other than "Bamm! Bamm!" Mr. Messick also recreates his role of Joe Rockhead from the show.

An often heard criticism (sometimes by me) is that a lot of Tiny Tims seem too healthy. Well, none could ever be as healthy as Bamm-Bamm, although he does not show off his prodigious strength in the role!

Pebbles Flintstone also has a part as what must be the youngest Martha Cratchit ever! She's voiced by Russi Taylor here.

Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm are still babies, so this places the timeline for this special around the time of the original series. Other shows and specials have had P & B-B at various other ages.

We have some other characters here, some from the Flinstsonesverse, but I think the character who plays Ned, Scrooge's nephew, is unique to this special. I believe he's the paperboy that we see in the opening scenes, but he can't be Arnold, as he would still be a kid in this continuity. 

We don't learn the name of the cartoon actor playing the part, but I think he's really good. Presumably he's called "Ned" because we already have a Fred and they couldn't think up a more Flintstoney name. Ned is voiced by Will Ryan, another total pro.

One more character who's obviously created for this project is Charles Brickens, who narrates the play. He's voiced by John Rhys-Davies, who has great pipes. I associate him most with his role of "Sallah" in the "Indiana Jones" series of films.

Dino's no stranger to Christmas!

Of course, the true star of "The Flintsones" has always been Dino, who portrays the Cragit family pet in the play and also takes over another role, which I will not spoil because it's awesome!

Next up - a little bit about this community theater production...