advertisement >   Well, we all know they could... and did. But they did not do it with the production levels they used at MGM, but rather took design and production tips from the recent upstart studio UPA. Designs were scaled back, production schedules turned into assembly lines, and animation became... well, limited. Or, as creative designer Iwao Takamoto liked to call it, "planned animation." In standard, feature animation, objects that move are animated on clear cels, one drawing per frame of film. That which does not move was background, a static, painted image behind- and that shows through the clear areas of the cel- when photographed. (It is worth noting that very early animation, such as Gertie the Dinosaur, had only one level, with all repeating, background elements drawn on each frame, one by one). The idea of limited (or planned) animation was to add more to what is static, to help limit what the animator has to draw for each frame. Characters may be separated into 2, 3 or more levels- a body, a head, eyes, and a mouth. The body and head could be "held" leaving just eyes and a mouth to animate. This limiting of an animators workload was the key to getting a half-hour show done every week. But it does show in the quality of the show. But in 1961, with television in its infancy, theatrical quality was not necessary. But today, one can easily see the various levels of cels used to save time and steps. Notice, yes, easily... but that hardly detracts from the simple enjoyment of this show. This four-and-a-half disk set is simple enjoyment for me. I have always liked the Flintstones, and this set is just candy for me. With the full 32 episodes from season two (The Hit Song Writers through Take Me Out Of The Ball Game), this is the largest season in the series. This was also the season in which Mel Blanc had his life-threatening car accident. Four or five of the shows feature either Daws Butler or Hal Smith substituted for Mel Blanc as Barney. Some of the best shows are in this set, including The Rock Quarry Story, Operation Barney and Trouble-In-Law. While none are knee-slapping, roll-on-the-floor laughers, they all have high degrees of entertainment- they all hold up well. While some production dirt is visible, the shows have been cleaned up well, with no splices, holes and very little grain. Sound is very simple, as one would expect from a show from the sixties: mono. The mono mix does m a bit lower than the stereo on the menus. My system is calibrated, so this is on the disks. Extras are quite simple, again, as one might expect from a show of this vintage. Three shows (The Hit Song Writers, The Beauty Contest and The Happy Household) have audio commentary, none by anyone involved in the actual production. They make for a nice diversion, but are hardly enlightening. Interspersed on the disks are various ads of the time featuring the Flintstones- a very nostalgic addition. There is a short, vintage feature on how to draw Fred, and a quick look at some vintage artwork. Disk two sports some of the Flintstones- and Hoyt Curtins'- music. Finally, there is full feature called "Carved In Stone." It is built completely with contemporary interviews with artists who worked at Hanna-Barbera at various times. Iwao Takamoto is the only person who actually worked at HB concurrent with The Flintstones, but I do not think he worked directly on the show; Ed Benedict would have been the Art Director for this show. But everything get's back to the show itself- and this show does stand on its own. The extras don't add much, but they don't need to- this show has not been played continually for over 40 years for nothing! On my scale of avoid, rent or buy, this is a DVD to buy- because of it's place in history- and for it's simple, inherent fun, this set is a must have for any animation fan.

A critique by David Koch
First Published on December 23, 2004

Back To The Animated Word