So “The Flintstones,” the 1994 live-action movie adaptation of the animated cartoon starring John Goodman, Rick Moranis, Rosie O’Donnell and Kyle MacLachlan hurt the modern stone age family’s brand. Sure, you probably (maybe, possibly) saw it, so your eyes and ears can tell you what’s self-evident. But apparently the brand was damaged far worse than you can possibly imagine (though Universal, who made the ’94 film, letting movie rights lapse to Warner Bros. in the intervening years is also a good indicator).
So how low have “The Flintstones” fallen? Keep in mind that the show was the most financially successful network animated franchise for three decades, until “The Simpsons” arrived on the scene. And while an animated film a la “The Smurfs” from Sony would be ideal ($563.7 million and counting as “Smurfs 2” hits theaters this summer), instead, WB has teamed-up with the WWE Studios (World Wrestling Entertainment; yes, they produce films too) for an animated direct-to-video movie which will arrive in 2015, according to Variety.
Also fairly WTF random, WWE stars Vince McMahon, John Cena, CM Punk and others on the talent roster will voice versions of themselves attending a WWE event with Fred, Barney and the rest of the Flintstones clan. What “The Flintstones” have to do with WWE content-wise is beyond this writer. On the other hand, WWE reported $659 million in revenue in their 2012 fourth quarter and their family-centric network of TV shows, magazine, websites and live events is vast and lucrative. So in there you go.
Evidently there’s also an animated “Scooby-Doo” film in the works that will feature WWE’s stars in a new mystery when it’s released in March 2014, just prior to “WrestleMania 30.” The deal to co-produce a “Flintstones” film extends to an ongoing joke involving John Cena and The Rock over the last few years, and you can watch what that’s all about below. Dear god, why? Why?
