The Flintstones

[Daikun]

Okay. At least it's animated. Could be good.

Who wants to bet it'll be CGI?

[LumRanmaYasha]

There's nothing wrong with it being CGI so long as it's well done CGI that does a good job of rendering the characters in that format.

[gunswordfist]

I was about to say that I hope it's not CGI.

[Avaitor]

Remember the WWE crossover movie that was announced a while ago? Here's a trailer.

I actually think this looks pretty okay. The designs take a little getting used to, but I think they look good in motion, even vibrant in some parts. And the voice acting shows promise in some parts (Tress MacNeille as Bamm Bamm is an inspired choice), but others, not so much. Barney in particular sounds way off. But I'm still at least partially interested.

Also, I like seeing Hoppy again. I always found him to be a cute companion for Dino, but he's often forgotten.

[Daxdiv]

CM Punk is still in the movie, despite not being part of the company anymore. OK.

[LumRanmaYasha]

The trailer honestly makes me a fairly interested in watching it. It looks like it could be a fun flick. Barney's new voice rubs me the wrong way, though.

[Avaitor]

The movie is out today, and the reception seems pretty decent. Fans of the franchise are happy, even if it is nothing special. It also comes with HD restoration of two classic episodes, which is even more of an incentive for me to buy it, which I'm considering.

[talonmalon333]

I've been seeing previews for this during commercials while watching wrestling. Honestly it didn't look all that great to me. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know. I'm not a fan of the original show, though.

[Avaitor]

I finally got around to watching this, and I liked it. Not loved, obviously, and you do have to be a fan, or at least appreciate the franchise to get into it. Also being a fan of wrestling helps, but that's never been my thing (I recognized everyone here, but that's about as far as I go), and I got a kick out of it.

This wasn't a laugh riot, and there are some corny gags in there, but enough jokes worked. It also gets the core dynamic down pretty well, as the characters are nailed almost perfectly. Fred in particular has that perfect balance between jackass and sweetheart that could make or break the show if done unevenly. The designs aren't exactly how I would have liked to see the characters again, but they fit pretty well (Barney mostly aside) and look strong in motion. The only real roadblocks in animation tends to come from the backgrounds, which are a little too rubbery to really fit.

And the voice acting is pretty solid, again excepting Barney. I give Kevin Michael Richardson credit for trying Mel's original voice for Barney, but that doesn't really fit the character anymore. But Jeff Bergman is a great Fred, Tress and Grey find the right tone for Wilma and Betty, and even the wrestlers all do pretty well. The most surprising thing in terms of voice acting was hearing John O'Hurley as Mr. Slate, and it took until he did a decent take on the "FLINTSTONNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEE" yell before I could hear him as anything but J. Peterman. It's a little sad to hear someone else as Slate, especially as I checked to see that not only is John Stephenson still alive, but this is the first time that he didn't voice him, but he is in his 90's, so I understand.

Pretty much, I don't regret buying this, even if it's hardly a five star production. It's still nice to see The Flintstones again, and I hope that this isn't the last time we'll see the characters (we'll see if that feature film is made). This wasn't even an hour long, so despite feeling rather tightly paced, I can't really recommend buying it unless it's on sale, but if you do like the show and want to see more of Fred and Barney, go for it.

Besides, I don't mind the purchase, because I still have the classic episodes to check out in HD! I'll get to those soon.