The Flintstones (partially found production material for cancelled Seth MacFarlane reboot of animated series; 2013)
The Flintstones is an animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and aired between September 1960 and April 1966. The show is generally regarded as a televised animated classic, spawning several spinoffs. There have been many attempts to reboot the series, such as in early 2011, when Seth MacFarlane (best known for Family Guy and American Dad fame) announced that he was planning on reviving the series.
Development/Cancellation
The reboot was first announced as a promo on Fox in early 2011, with the first episode releasing sometime in 2013. The show was going to be geared more to a Fox audience as MacFarlane grew up with the 1960s show. The reboot was going to try to capture the essence of the 1960 version of The Flintstones but have the stories that take place in the world to be a bit more current. The humor was going to be somewhere around "1990s Simpsons".[1]
In early April 2012, a draft from one of the scripts was sent to the former head of Fox Kevin Reilly for approval. He was quoted as stating that "he liked it, but didn't love it."[2] He then talked to Seth, which he gave him a choice of starting over on the reboot or shelving the project altogether to work on other projects (at the time he was working on several projects including his theatrical directorial debut with Ted, updating Carl Sagan's Cosmos, and working on Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show). He chose to do the latter.[3][4] The team that worked on the reboot was reportedly disappointed at Seth Macfarlane's decision and most of them were eventually laid off, with the promise of they might get to work on American Dad one day.
On September 15th, 2017, Seth MacFarlane hosted a Reddit AMA. When asked about The Flintstones project, he had this to say:
"As of now, probably not. Honestly I couldn't figure out a way to find enough differentiation between a modern-day Fred Flintstone and... Peter Griffin."[5]
Availability
Before 2019, there was no concept art nor any animations posted online. There is known to be storyboards for several episodes as well as 10 minutes of animation only shown to investors and not to be broadcasted. On April 19th, 2019, YouTube user Rebeltaxi reuploaded his video on 4 adult reboots of The Flintstones including Seth MacFarlane's. In the reupload he has shown off some never before seen concept art colorized by artist Andy Clark (known for working on Sanjay and Craig, We Bare Bears, and Dexter's Lab). The concept art can also be seen below.
Gallery
Videos
Concept Art
External Link
References
- ↑ A Huffington Post interview with Seth MacFarlane about the reboot. Retrieved 19 Apr '19
- ↑ A Hollywood Reporter article on the reboot, which was put onto hold. Retrieved 19 Apr '19
- ↑ AVClub article on Seth's The Flintstones reboot being put on hold. Retrieved 19 Apr '19
- ↑ Another Hollywood Reporter article on the delay of Seth Macfarlane's The Flintstones project. Retrieved 19 Apr '19
- ↑ Seth MacFarlane's 2017 Reddit AMA, where he was asked about his Flintstones reboot. Retrieved 19 Apr '19