Le Joyeux Noël des Pierrafeu

I'm not really sure how Christmas can exist in a prehistory setting, but I tried not to let this spoil my enjoyment.

Fred is roped into playing Santa Claus by his boss for a bunch of underprivileged kids, but the real Santa falls off his roof and sprains his ankle, forcing Fred to take his place.

As Xmas Specials go it's certainly one of the better ones. But it gets off to an iffy start when they recycle a song, frame-by-frame, from the dull as ditchwater 1972 Special 'A Christmas Story', thankfully the rest is all Flintstones. And without the distracting laugh track which frequently spoiled enjoyment of the TV show.

This classic special features your favorite Stone Age family. When Santa Claus falls off the roof, it's up to Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble to save Christmas.

At first, Fred refuses to play the part of Santa at the community center until he has a talk with Mr. Slate. And after Santa falls from the roof, Fred (as Santa) and Barney (as his elf assistant) are to deliver the presents themselves. Also, Pebles and Bamm-Bamm learn a little something about hope and miracles as they wait for Santa to arrive.

There are several other H. B. holiday specials with the Flintstones, one of which I also recommend is A Flintstones Christmas Carole. But the Flintstones Christmas is really the star atop of the Christmas. I also recommend another H. B. Holiday favorite - Yogi's First Christmas.

It is true that it isn't as good as the classic TV show, which is a wonderful childhood favourite, but A Flinstone Christmas was pretty good. The voice cast do a great job, even those who replaced the original voice actor(ie. Harry Corden replacing Alan Reed) bear strong resemblance to the original voice actors. I loved Mel Blanc as Barney, Blanc is without a doubt one of the best voice actors ever, and perfectly captured Barney's zaniness and goofiness. Jean Vyder Pyl is still great as Wilma, and Gay Autterson also does a good job as Betty, though not quite as good as Bea Benaderet. The character characterisation isn't as strong as it is in the TV show however.

That said, the animation is beautiful and stays true to the style in the TV show. I especially loved the image of Santa's sleigh pulled by the eight reindeer. And I loved the music, and contrary to another reviewer I liked the song Wilma sang to cheer up Pebbles. I liked the story too, about Santa(well voiced by Hal Smith) having an accident at Fred's house and Fred and Barney have to continue his run. All in all, I liked it, it isn't as good as the show, but it is nice seasonal fun. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Flintstone Christmas, A (1977)

*** (out of 4)

Christmas time in Bedrock becomes an issue when Santa Claus slips on Fred's roof and injures himself. Being unable to deliver presents to the children Santa asks Fred and Barney to do it. I've read countless reviews of this film and the majority of them put this film down because it doesn't contain any of the magic of the television show. I'll admit that this isn't nearly as good as even the weakest episode of the television show but at the same time it's hard to deny that there's still some pretty funny stuff going on here. Many of the original voice actors aren't here but that doesn't take away too much as for the most part the new people fits the roles nice enough. Again, the voice work isn't nearly as great as the television but for the most part the actors get the job done. What I appreciate most about this film is that they keep the visual look of the show and to me this is a very important part. I enjoy the fact that they really didn't tamper with the characters very much, although they do make Pebbles and Bam-Bam pre-teens here. Mr. Slate is on hand and of course we've got Wilma and Betty. I think what makes this film work so well is that they don't try to change the humor of Fred and Barney. The original series was wonderful because of the witty dialogue and this was especially true when it came time to insult Fred and his weight. That same type of humor is carried over here and for the most part it made me laugh. There are many great jokes about Fred "fitting" the part of Santa and Barney has many good one-liners. At just under 50-minutes the film doesn't run too long and I think fans of the series should really give this a break. Sure, it's not as great as the TV show but everyone knows they could have tried changing everything up and end up delivering a dud but they didn't.

Hey, kids, knock it off. Christmas isn't all about presents, ya know? Who raised you selfish little ruffians?

This would be followed by Casper's First Christmas and the movie Yogi's First Christmas.

They are kind of like a trilogy of poor story characterization, draining the last bits of life out of dead corpses, all to make a quick buck, for whatever it was supposed to do.

Christmas classics like the Rankin Bass offerings? I Don't Think So!! The Flintstones episode when Fred works as the department store Santa then fills in for the real Santa is a gem. It has aged well and is remarkably sincere.

Children should be made happy during the holidays and their love for Santa Claus is natural.

In the '77 Flintstones Christmas, the kids rant and rave for Santa and those presents like drunks on the weekend in a bar wanting a stripper.

Pebbles and Bamm Bamm are now small kids, not quite teens.

Mr. Slate: "If Flintstone doesn't get here in five minutes, he's fired!"

Wilma: "Ohhhh, that Fred! Wait till I get my hands on him!" This is the plot.

Wilma and Mr. Slate don't gradually get mad at Fred, they turn it on like a faucet.

Where's Fred? Get Mad.

Also worth noting an incredibly weak song that is sung (was it supposed to be Wilma singing?) to Pebbles about having hope. I guess hope that Santa Claus will arrive. Boo Boo Bear sings this same song in the Yogi's First Christmas cartoon. Not rich their either.

There is a much later Christmas special where Fred does the Ebenezer Scrooge bit, which believe it or not, it was just fun seeing the Bedrock gang again.

In the end, that is about where this Christmas special will stand; as a transition from the sixties originality, Flintstones vitamins and Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles, to 1970s weak duplication, the movie specials, finally the real life transitions and direct to video.

No harm will be in this cartoon, it may be brainless enough to watch at Christmas, but it could have definitely been stronger.