The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown!
Directed by Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone
Starring the voices of Jeff Bergman, Kevin Michael Richardson, Tress MacNeille, Grey Griffin, John Cena, Rey Mysterio, The Undertaker, Mark Henry, CM Punk, Vince McMahon, and the Bella Twins.
Backstory
A few years ago, my movie news sites lit up with the headline that Warner Brothers animation and the WWE were teaming up to make a straight-to-video animated film about the Flintstones meeting WWE superstars. As a lifelong Flintstones fan, my curiosity was piqued. But not piqued enough to actually buy the Blu-Ray when it came out in the spring of 2015. But, the good thing is, in this day and age, these things pop up on a streaming video service soon enough. And as I said above, when I saw it was on Shomi, I figured, "I ain't doing nothin' today, so why not?"
Plot
After a disastrous day at work, Fred Flintstone fails to get an advance on his salary, thus putting the vacation he promised with Wilma into jeopardy. That night, Fred and Barney are working the Water Buffalo Lodge's fundraising carnival, where they man the booth for people to go in and box with Hoppy. Upset that CM Punkrock is abusing Hoppy, Barney climbs in the ring and lays the smackdown on CM Punkrock. People love it, and this gives Fred an idea as to how to raise the money for the vacation. Fred forms his own wrestling league, the FFE (Fred Flintstone Entertainment), with Barney as his star wrestler. Filling out the league, Fred approaches his new co-worker, Mr. Slate's nephew, John Cenastone, and he soon brings his friends Rey Mysteriopal and the Undertaker to fill the ranks. Needless to say, their unique brand of sports entertainment is a hit! But, CM Punkrock wants a rematch with Barney, and he's bringing his friends Marble Henry and the Boulder Twins. Will Fred shut things down to save Barney? Or, in classic Fred Flintstone fashion, will he let his greed get the better of him?
What I Liked
I laughed a lot more than I thought I would. There's some classic Flintstones gags in there, all be it with a more modern twist. My favourite had to be when Fred is recruiting John Cenastone to be in his league:
John Cenastone: Sure, Mr. Flintstone! I mean, I don't want to break rocks forever.
Fred: I hear ya, kid. No one wants to break rocks forever.
(Fred stares off into space. Sad music plays in memorial of Fred's dead dreams.)
The wrestlers seem to be having fun, too. I love the obvious gag of wooing away the Undertaker from his day job as an actual undertaker. The wrestling matches have a definite Looney Toons vibe to them. And it's short, coming in at 50 minutes long, giving it a nice "one hour special episode" feel.
What I Didn't Like
Call me a traditionalist, but I wasn't a big fan of the more modern animation. This has more of a John Kricfalusi/Ren and Stimpy vibe that seemed a little out of place. Just a little too rubbery for The Flintstones
Final Verdict
Actually not too bad. If you're a Flintstones fan, check it out.
No comments:
Post a Comment