Publication Date: 07-19-2026

The Flintstones (1994) review

Dir. Brian Levant

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★

NOTE: At Half Price Books this weekend, I found the Flintstones movie soundtrack from 1994. I can’t resist a compilation disc featuring the B(C)-52’s, the Crash Test Dummies, and “Weird Al” Yankovic,” so I bought it, and put it on during a long car-ride with Catherine. Catherine had the quote of the trip: “why would anyone in the world want this?” So, on that note, I’ve combined my original review and some stray Letterboxd musings from my second viewing of the film to deliver my definitive review below, so I’ll never have to watch this movie again.

I will confess and say that I was never a fan of the original Flintstones cartoon. It never resonated with me as anything more than a one-note joke breathlessly carried out for an overwhelming 166 shorts. Its setups were tired, its jokes cliché, and its characters bland and one dimensional.

The film adaptation is more of the same, with one gleaming flaw from the start; its live action transfer. May I ask why? Why does the film industry continue to force programs that were born to be animated into the live action format. A way to save money is my only guess. But if you would stick to the old animation, wouldn’t more people show up? Bottom line: The Flintstones was cheesy and completely cartoony with its slapstick, its ridiculous use of dinosaurs and prehistoric lifeforms as common household appliances, and its more subtle quirks that made the show memorable. All of those worked because it was all animated; you could never envision this happening in real life. Why would you want to?

Our story begins with Cliff Vandercave (Kyle MacLachlan) discussing to a co-worker how he plans to take over the company Slate & Co. by looking like he is working hard on improving it while he is simultaneously shafting it out of much-needed cash. He plans on using Fred Flintstone in order to carry out this plan. Fred is played by John Goodman and his best pal Barney is played by Rick Moranis. To be fair, both men inhabit their roles nicely. Goodman is the go-to man to play Fred and while Moranis seems to not be built like the cartoon Barney, one must recognize that he does a faithful job at bringing the character to life. The same can be said for Elizabeth Perkins, playing Wilma, Fred’s long-suffering wife.

Basically, Fred gets appointed the honorable job of being the vice president of Slate & Co. and it comes as no surprise that he lets the power get to his head and shortchanges his best friend Barney which starts by firing him. From there, it’s all cliché best friend breakup arguments, tired sight gags, and a helluva lot of unfunny rock puns.

The set design, at first, is welcoming and nice to look at. But after ninety long minutes of staring at rock buildings, CGI dinosaurs, and poorly crafted slapstick jokes, the endeavor goes from welcoming to downright bloated. Moreover, the film is frequently laborious, and I don’t think they chose a particularly compelling plot either. This is one of those PG movies that’s “too adult for children yet too childish for adults.” Even if the young children of yesterday (1994) and today were familiar with The Flintstones, I highly doubt they’d want to watch a film where the plot revolves around deception, embezzlement, and tap-dancing on the line of being faithful in your marriage.

Credit is due to the casting — everyone from John Goodman to Rosie O’Donnell fits the bill and has fun with their characters — but there are far too many closeups of Fred’s face and feet, which might’ve worked in animation, but were never meant to look the least bit plausible or attractive in the real world.

The Flintstones is a rather monotonous adventure, much like how the show was. Its jokes become stale too quickly, and even the slightly humorous little tidbits such as the creatures of Bedrock working as household appliances becomes unfunny because of the way they look in the film. “Weird Al” Yankovic’s “Bedrock Anthem” is a funnier, more jubilant encapsulation of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, and it’s about 87 minutes shorter too.

My review of The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas

Starring: John Goodman, Rick Moranis, Elizabeth Perkins, Rosie O’Donnell, Halle Berry, Elizabeth Taylor, and Kyle MacLachlan. Directed by: Brian Levant.