This is no way to mark The Flintstones' 60th anniversary.
To be fair, Yabba Dabba Dinosaurs, starring Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm, has been in development since 2018, and was intended for Boomerang's streaming service here in the US. It'll debut on Boomerang in the UK next month, after its American counterpart basically rejected it.
This intro might help explain why:
Fans will remember that even as a baby, Bamm-Bamm was gifted with super strength. Intelligence? Not so much. I'm guessing the kids are the same age they were depicted in 1996's Cave Kids. Animator Mark Marek has worked on other series for Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon (i.e. Breadwinners), and his style is influenced by Butch Hartman (Fairly Oddparents), with a side order of John Kricfalusi, especially in how Fred (Jeff Bergman) is drawn.
Why did it fail here? Because the morons in charge of Da Boom worked butt backwards in preparing the show. They sent test clips to subscribers after the pilot had been released, for example, instead of testing the pilot before release, as television networks traditionally do. Also, they couldn't be bothered promoting the show by airing it on either CN or Boomerang over the air. WB simply decided to cut their losses, as only one season was produced, and now the UK gets the scraps.
Judging from the above clip, Bamm-Bamm should've been able to take that "Little Shop of Horrors" knock-off out with his fists instead of his club, but what do I know?
Rating: C.
9 comments:
Reminds me of Total Dramarama.
After seeing the pilot episode, the impression that I got was that Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm were somewhere between the ages of 8 and 10.
Granted, Mark Marek's art style isn't the greatest, and yes I would have preferred a more traditional look as far as character designs go, but I liked the idea of a Flintstones series that focused on P&BB not as teenagers and the focus not so much on Fred and Barney for a change. Also, I found the show's pilot episode to be amusing and the addition of The Crags (a savage land full of dangerous dinosaurs located just adjacent to Bedrock) was a fresh take on the franchise. It's too bad that Warner Brothers is likely just going to sweep this show under the rug and then deny it's existence instead of just tweaking it a little.
Like Goldstar said, it's a shame WB is in all likelihood just going to lock this show away in the vault and simply never speak of it again. Had this show worked, Warner Bros. could've added a Crags Land extension to Bedrock at Warner Bors. World in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, India to compete with Jurassic World at Universal Studios. Missed opportunity there.
They entrusted the show to the wrong guy. Look, Marek's got some talent, but people expect a certain "look" to the characters. We saw what happened with "Be Cool, Scooby-Doo". CN/Boomerang/WB is expecting a certain sameness to their product now, as some of the art also invokes Steven Universe. Do you really want a cookie cutter product in this day & age?
hobbyfan, what do you mean by cookie cutter product?
The look of the characters is an excellent point, as is the comparison to "Be Cool, Scooby-Doo". Whether or not Be Cool was actually funny is debatable (I can't say for myself, as I've never seen any full episodes of it), but the characters and backgrounds in Be Cool made the whole thing look like a really long Family Guy cutaway and longtime Scooby fans couldn't look past that and simply refused to watch it.
The few fan receptions on Yabba Dabba Dinosaurs! that I've read is mostly folks hating on the character designs. I have nothing against Mark Marek as an artist, but I'm not sure why Warner Brothers thought that the Henry & June guy would be a good choice to head a new series based on one of H-B's most iconic franchises, especially the first original regular series made after several years with nothing but the occasional DTV and cereal commercial.
YDD! should have been a spark to re-ignite the Flintstones franchise and help introduce the characters to a new generation of fans. Instead, it'll likely be nothing more than a WB "quickie" (as in quickly gone and forgotten) show and a mere footnote in the franchise's history. And it's a shame too, as the concept of YDD sounded good on paper.
And, as noted, it's the Flintstones' 60th anniversary this year.
@Steven: "Cookie cutter" means there's a certain sameness to the shows, they all look alike after a while.
It seems a lot of cartoons these days are taking after Pacific Arts style (Star Vs. TFOE or Stephen Universe and the latest iteration of the Thundercats). I find this disheartening, not to mention ugly.
Goldstar is correct re: Be Cool Scooby Doo. I watched the majority of the show and while it had funny moments, the character artwork was too distracting for me. I DID keep feeling like I was watching a Family Guy cutaway! Granted, Mystery Inc. took some liberties with its designs but they were far easier on the eyes and weren't taking away from the aesthetic the showrunners were going for. Probably the only artwork uglier than Be Cool was Shaggy & Scooby Doo Get A Clue (hello, dots for eyes!!)
Shaggy & Scooby Doo Get a Clue was flash animated, and not always in a good way, which contributed to whatever issues existed.
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