Sunday, April 15, 2012

Post-Modern Stone Age Family – Delayed!

One of our favorite Bloggers, YOWP, reports that Seth MacFarlane's coming version of The Flintstones has been delayed! 

I'll not comment further here, but you can find some of my thoughts in the comment section of Yowp's post. 

I *WAS* looking forward to it, though! 

So, apparently, were Fred and Stewie! 

8 comments:

joecab said...

Me too!

And I continue to be surprised-but-not-surprised by how many cartoon enthusiasts are dead set against this. ... I don't want to say it's "snobbery" because I completely understand where this stance is coming from, but I don't think something we grew up with should be ever preserved in amber just as it was then. I really think it should reflect the times and I don't think Seth is going to go all gross-out with it.

Look at say a revivial of a play: if a play written in the 1920's to take place in the 1920's that's one thing. But to put on that same play today as is is something different and probably not the author's original intent unless you can put yourself in the mindset of the era. Of course updating it to modern sensibilities is also something else.

Guess what I mean is, you can't recapture the past. And part of what made the Flintstones so good was the whole "they're just like us" vibe, and I don't want to see nostalgia dampen the vision, and I don't think we need to fear Fred having bloody scuffles with The Giant Pterodactyl.

Now let's talk about Don Rosa's conscious decision to keep his duck stories in the 1950's era of Carl Barks ... ;)

Joe Torcivia said...

“Fred having bloody scuffles with The Giant Pterodactyl?”

That’s SO great! Thanks for a laugh-out-loud moment, JC!

This is a debate I’d love to hold, or simply be a party to… because no one is truly wrong – unless they’re just blanket “Seth MacFarlane haters”. Any argument short of THAT, is a fair point!

As I’ve said elsewhere, I feel Hanna and Barbera THEMSELVES have done worse by their characters over the years, than Seth MacFarlane could ever do.

Yeah, he can come across as smug and arrogant (and often does), but look at his treatment of STAR WARS in FAMILY GUY. Certainly more “reverent” than “irreverent”! Clearly, when he LIKES something, he’s inclined to treat it with respect… not unlike the way I’ve attempted to treat the creations of Carl Barks, in the few instances I’ve been privileged to work with them. I might ratchet-up the humor, in deference to the times and (ironically) my own FAMILY GUY-inspired sensibilities, but NEVER do anything I feel Unca Carl would not have done – and that includes the satirical reference to “Calisota Shore”!

I’d suspect MacFarlane feels equally privileged (if not more so) to work with The Flintstones and, especially having broken in (?) at Hanna-Barbera during their dying spurt of creativity with DEXTER and BRAVO, he’d do the property proud! Sure there will be “updatings” in the general sensibilities. How could there not be… it’s FOX Prime Time!

But the greater and more interesting question concerns reviving or updating ANYTHING from another time. If pressed, I’d probably fall on the side of “Leave it alone!”… and cite anything done with the Looney Tunes characters as the reason for my stance!

Oddly, the possible combination of Seth MacFarlane and The Flintstones would (to ME, anyway) seem to be an exception to that!

Comicbookrehab said...

The funny thing about Seth MacFarlane is that he actually would know how to do new Flintstones cartoons without turning it into Family Guy - as if that's the only thing he knows. I know that live-action movie with the teddy bear that talks like Peter Griffin looks like a flashback bit stretched out to 90 minutes, but that's his bailiwick. There were some pretty awful Flintstones cartoons done by "the good ol' boys" in the late 70's so this debate sounds a wee bit schizzy. I like "Dino and Cavemouse" and can enjoy "the Frankenstones" and "Bedrock Cops", but "Jogging Fever"? No thanks.

It's not like Frank Miller doing a Sin City sequel about a guy who lives in a cemetery and calling it THE SPIRIT...

Joe Torcivia said...

…Aaaand that makes THREE votes for MacFarland! And another vote against post-sixties Hanna-Barbera!

Love the Frank Miller SPIRIT dig! :-)

Comicbookrehab said...

Ha! I thought he watered it down somewhat - I like the flashback to Denny and Sand as kids and Spirit riding on top of the subway trains and Frank's appreciation of Eva Mendes curves. ;) What really doesn't work is The Octopus and Silken Floss.

Side note: I bought a pack of Spirit Movie trading cards and it came with a "special" card with a scrap of cloth claiming to be a piece of a kimono Scarlet Johansson wore in the film. I have no idea if this is for real...I would have to dust it for prints or something...

Joe Torcivia said...

If indeed it WERE real, it would be quite the collector’s item, ‘Rehab! Wonder how many of ‘em were distributed!

Comicbookrehab said...

That's got me thinking - the sample is about the size of a cufflink. Depending on Scarjo's measurements, there are a lot of fans with cards out there containing scraps of her costume!

I wonder if the original plan was to have the backs of the cards with pieces of the xerox Eva Mendes made of herself in the film - you would have to collect them all to assemble the full picture! :P

Joe Torcivia said...

And, as with the kimono scrap, that would be QUITE the jigsaw puzzle! :-)