Scrooge U: Part XXII — Beware of the Bedrock Bug

Jim Hill

18 years ago

There's nothing wrong with "A Flintstones Christmas Carol" that a sharp pair of scissors couldn't take care of.

To explain: In its heart of hearts, this William Hanna, Joseph Barbera & Buzz Potamkin production really wants to be a faithful adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic holiday tale. Otherwise, why would the film-makers have gone to all the trouble of hiring John Rhys-Davies to serve as the voice of Charles Brickens, the narrator of this holiday special?

Over the course of this 70-minute long program, Rhys-Davies often reads word-for-word extracts from Dickens' original text. Which clearly shows that the producers of this animated holiday special were at least trying to make some sort of attempt to honor this show's source material.

But that still doesn't excuse all of the vomit jokes.

"What vomit jokes?," you ask. Well, that's practically the entire backstory of "A Flintstones Christmas Carol." You see, the Bedrock Community Players are staging their annual production of "A Christmas Carol." And Fred (Voiced by Henry Corden) is lucky enough to land the lead in this show. Who — in this Stone Age version of Dickens' classic tale — is named Ebonezer Scrooge.

And Wilma (voiced by Jean Vander Pyl) … She was originally just supposed to be the stage manager of this holiday pageant. Unfortunately, thanks to that horrible flu that's making the rounds in town (I.E. The Bedrock Bug), she now has to pull double-duty. Serving as both "A Christmas Carol" 's stage manager as well as the show's wardrobe mistress.

And if things weren't already difficult enough for poor Mrs. Flintstone, Wilma also has to deal with Fred's ego. Which — because he won the starring role in this community theater production — has become so over-sized that Flintstone's now doing things like forgetting to pick up their daughter, Pebbles at cave care.

As for the show itself … That seems to get underway okay. Fred plays Scrooge to Barney Rubble (voiced by Frank Welker)'s Bob Cragit. And — with the exception of most of the names in this story being changed to some sort of rock-related pun — the Bedrock Community Players' version of "A Christmas Carol" (at least initially) follows the path of virtually every good adaptation of Dickens' classic holiday tale.

By that I mean … We get to see Ebonezer reject his nephew's holiday dinner invitation. Scrooge also sends away the two gentlemen who are looking for a charitable contribution. And the greedy old miser reacts with fright when he sees his doorknocker transform into the face of his old partner, Jacob Marbley (Voiced by John Stephenson).

While the audience in the theater seems to be enjoying Flintstone's performance, Fred finds that he doesn't have that all many fans backstage. Wilma's still furious with him for forgetting Pebbles at cave care earlier that afternoon. Now add to this the stress that comes when many of the other actors that are scheduled to appear in this show begin succumbing to the Bedrock Bug.

Since the cast is now dropping like flies, Wilma is forced to go on and fill in for a few roles ..

She first plays the Ghost of Christmas Past. Then — when the actress who plays Belle is too sick to go on — Mrs. Flintstone also fills the role of Scrooge's fiancee.

And — again — I want to stress here that, as long as "A Flintstones Christmas Carol" is focused on the show that's being presented inside of the Bedrock Community Theatre, this animated holiday special is a surprisingly faithful adaptation of Dickens' classic holiday tale. In that we get to see the Ghost of Christmas Present take Scrooge to see what his nephew is up to on Christmas Day. And we also get to hear Mrs. Cragit (Voiced by B.J. Ward) voice her objections to her husband's suggestion that the family drink a toast to "… the founder of the feast."

This animated version of "A Christmas Carol" also manages to fold in some of the scariest aspects of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Be section of the story. In that we get to see the undertaker, the charwoman and the laundress attempting to sell Scrooge's belongings at Old Joe's Rag & Bone Shop. As well as Ebonezer refusing to pull back the sheet & take a look at the body that's lying in state on his own bed.

But — in the end — the film-makers just can't keep this version of "A Christmas Carol" faithful to the original text and still accommodate all of the backstage Bedrock Bug nonsense. So — in the end — the original version of Dickens' classic holiday tale is totally tossed out the window. By that I mean: Ebonezer winds up reconciling with Belle. Scrooge takes Cragit on as a full partner in the business. Ebonezer even goes so far as to give Bob top billing in their new firm.

Which is why — at this point in the program — Charles Brickens cries "They're just making this up as they go along." And after tossing the script over his shoulder, the narrator now exits the show in disgust.

And — as the curtain comes down — a newly humble Fred Flintstone now reconciles with his family. If only for a moment before he too has to rush off-stage and vomit loudly. Given that Fred has just now come down with the Bedrock Bug.

There are several other sub-plots in this show that I haven't touched on in today's article. Like how Flintstone has put off all of his holiday shopping to the very last minute. Which necessitates Fred actually breaking into Blooming Shales during one of "A Christmas Carol" 's two intermissions. I didn't mention that stuff because … Well, it takes away from what's actually good about "A Flintstone Christmas Carol." Which is the footage that focuses on the Bedrock Community Players' production of Dickens' classic holiday tale.

That stuff is surprisingly good. As for the rest of this not-so-special holiday special … Well, as I mentioned at the very start of this article, there's nothing wrong with "A Flintstones Christmas Carol" that a sharp pair of scissors couldn't take care of. If you clipped out all of those vomit-related jokes, you'd actually have a halfway decent animated version of Dickens' classic holiday tale.

TOMORROW … We go from Ebonezer Scrooge to just a pair of plain old boneheads. That's right. Beavis & Butt-head's version of "A Christmas Carol." (Huh-huh huh-huh. That's cool.)