Seth MacFarlane reboots The Flintstones

[Dr Frankenollie]

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[Elladorine]

You mean like how he respects all the The Simpsons and South Park episodes he ripped off?

Maybe he doesn't respect those particular shows? Whether he spoofs or rips-off certain ideas is debatable, but he has to at least have decent knowledge of them in order to take those jabs. And I was actually speaking more of old-school animation . . . you know, like The Flintstones.

The Simpsons was more groundbreaking for being the first good prime-time animated sitcom; just because it was groundbreaking doesn't mean that it's good. The 3-D B-movies of the 1950's were groundbreaking but weren't really any good (besides Dial M For Murder, but that wasn't the first 3-D movie).

There were a different set of expectations. Once again, we're talking about completely different eras where not only animation and television were different, but all entertainment in general. The Flintstones did something with animation that had never been done before, mainly focusing on ordinary family issues (despite the novel setting); something people excitedly experienced all over again when the Simpsons was new (as bland as the early seasons were).

Watch Dimensions in Dialogue. Watch the early Aardman animations. Just because the budget wasn't great doesn't mean that they could have done something inventive and pleasing to the eye with it.

I have. Again, a matter of opinion. And I'm not sure how you can compare budget stop-motion shorts from the 70's and 80's with budget hand-drawn animation for an ongoing series from the 60's, they're not the same thing. The examples you bring up don't have the same broad universal appeal required to be a network moneymaker either; I doubt they'd have survived prime time in the US back in the 60's.

And many modern professional animators would probably have a field day arguing with you over the quality of the artwork of artists like Ed Benedict. The stylized UPA-influenced limited animation had its own type of charm before they were forced to do more of an assembly-line process full of inexperienced artists in the following years; the quality got more and more bland as time went on due to the types of restrictions they faced. These designs are deceptively simple, in that if you don't have a sense of design and know how to handle them, they look like lifeless crap. I suppose one could argue that they'd always looked like lifeless crap, but once again, it's a matter of opinion. The art from the original Flintstones has a lot more appeal, variety, and organic feeling than the sterile, overly-tight look of most modern television animation.

Even if you don't like these characters, there's a reason they've lasted for decades.

Yeah-audiences had nothing better to watch.

Well, I suppose you could argue that all television animation from the 50's on through the 90's sucked, but there were indeed a few gems here and there. And how many animated television characters have survived since the 60's like they have . . . maybe the Jetsons? Scooby Doo? Both of which were programs churned out by the same studio.

And technically speaking, one could make the same argument for animation from much older generations like Otto Messmer's Felix the Cat. Well yeah, they only liked the B&W silent character because they had nothing better to watch! Just because modern audiences may have a harder time appreciating older and sometimes dated material for what it is, that doesn't make it any less ground-breaking or less appreciated within its own time.

[The_Iceflash]

It will be even worse now that Seth McFarlane will turn it into nothing but badly-written and spectacularly unfunny cutscenes.

Why will it? Why are people so keen to "typecast" a guy. It's unfair to typecast actors, and its unfair to typecast creative people too. Did you know he worked on Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken and Dexter's Lab? He didn't just turn up at Fox and they handed him loads of money to make a TV show.

and does this surprise you?

No offense but I definately don't think adding those to his resume helps his cause.

[Elladorine]

I personally don't care for Cow and Chicken, but Johnny Bravo and Dexter's Lab were awesome and each of these shows were major contributors to bringing back character and visual story-based television animation.

[milojthatch]

It will be even worse now that Seth McFarlane will turn it into nothing but badly-written and spectacularly unfunny cutscenes.

Why will it? Why are people so keen to "typecast" a guy. It's unfair to typecast actors, and its unfair to typecast creative people too. Did you know he worked on Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken and Dexter's Lab? He didn't just turn up at Fox and they handed him loads of money to make a TV show.

and does this surprise you?

I actually knew that. Still doesn't comfort me.

[Dr Frankenollie]

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[Elladorine]

As I was trying to say, "good" is subjective and a matter of opinion. We can just agree to disagree, right? Maybe I'm having a hard time understanding why you're complaining about the reboot of a franchise you've already clearly disliked in the first place.

[Dr Frankenollie]

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[Duckburger]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/2 ... dio-190882

THR: Fox made a little news at the upfront by announcing that Seth MacFarlane would reboot The Flintstones with production starting this fall for debut sometime in 2013. That’s a co-production with Warner Bros. Television (which owns rights to original Hanna-Barbera cartoon) and your studio. Sounds complicated.

Newman: It was probably the most complicated negotiation that I’ve been involved with here. It’s understandable. It is an iconic brand. And although it hasn’t been exploited recently, it’s part of their history and legacy and so they’re very careful with it. Sharing it with another studio was a hard decision and one I respect because I think they realized they could continue to simply hold it, but they weren’t really going anywhere with it. But we have the single most prolific animation creator in television [in MacFarlane]. On the other hand, Seth is very important to us. And we’re not going to share [him] with another company very often. So it was really two big, successful studios coming together with two incredible properties. And that was complicated.

THR: Are you taking a chance by remaking something that is so iconic?

Newman: It’s going to be put under a microscope because people are so nostalgic about the brand. But Seth is going to be very respectful of the original. It’s a show that is perfect for recreating because it was a comment on the 1960’s through the prism of a Stone Age family. And now we have the ability to comment on the 21st century. It’s the type of property that’s perfect for someone like Seth MacFarlane who just loves social commentary.

Just as I suspected, it's going to be nothing like Seth's other shows. This is definitely good news for people who were worried.

[milojthatch]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/2 ... dio-190882

THR: Fox made a little news at the upfront by announcing that Seth MacFarlane would reboot The Flintstones with production starting this fall for debut sometime in 2013. That’s a co-production with Warner Bros. Television (which owns rights to original Hanna-Barbera cartoon) and your studio. Sounds complicated.

Newman: It was probably the most complicated negotiation that I’ve been involved with here. It’s understandable. It is an iconic brand. And although it hasn’t been exploited recently, it’s part of their history and legacy and so they’re very careful with it. Sharing it with another studio was a hard decision and one I respect because I think they realized they could continue to simply hold it, but they weren’t really going anywhere with it. But we have the single most prolific animation creator in television [in MacFarlane]. On the other hand, Seth is very important to us. And we’re not going to share [him] with another company very often. So it was really two big, successful studios coming together with two incredible properties. And that was complicated.

THR: Are you taking a chance by remaking something that is so iconic?

Newman: It’s going to be put under a microscope because people are so nostalgic about the brand. But Seth is going to be very respectful of the original. It’s a show that is perfect for recreating because it was a comment on the 1960’s through the prism of a Stone Age family. And now we have the ability to comment on the 21st century. It’s the type of property that’s perfect for someone like Seth MacFarlane who just loves social commentary.

Just as I suspected, it's going to be nothing like Seth's other shows. This is definitely good news for people who were worried.

I think at this point, I'll have to wait and see what comes from this. But, I heard similar words from JJ Abrams about his "Star Trek," and as a huge Trek fan, hated that film with a fiery passion. But who knows, I may end up liking this re-boot?

[PixarFan2006]

It seems Seth is getting worse and worse with his shows. And it seems we are running low on ideas for new shows (not like this hasn't been happening for a while).

[Just Myself]

Meh.

That's really all I have to say about this - Meh. Aside from playing the nostalgia factor, The Flintstones was never anything amazing in my eyes, and Animated TV comedies as a whole do nothing for me. I don't care for Family Guy, American Dad or any of the other Fox animations, The Simpsons have been slipping since the late 90's, and I cannot count the ways with which I loathe South Park. The last animated comedy I liked was King of the Hill, and that show also had its moments of immense stupidity.

I'll check this out when it hits the air (or when I return from my mission trip - whichever comes first), but I'm not expecting anything amazing. The animated Napoleon Dynamite series sounds more interesting to me.

[ajmrowland]

I'm actually kinda doubtful that this'll not be more like classic Flinstones. I dont see Peter Griffin in this at all. still, too early to judge.

The South Park guys surprised us with that play of theirs.