Transcript note: This transcript is based on the original working script. It may contain production notes, draft wording, spelling mistakes or other material that differs from the finished video - these scripts were meant to be spoken, not read.

The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas attempts to answer the question that I would imagine very few people actually ever had.

How DID Fred and Wilma Flintstone end up together?

It’s a sequel, but prequel, to the 1994 version of The Flintstones live action film.

Which - wasn’t perfect - BUT - It had an idea about what it was doing.

There was a strong cast, a cynical edge and just enough stone age satire to pull it all off.

It knew the joke.

Viva Rock Vegas… Doesn’t.

And look - In theory, I'm not against prequels.

Sometimes they work. But this one… well…

Let’s take a look at what makes The Flintstones, Viva Rock Vegas a Franchise, Flogged

[intro]

OK - So - This is a prequel first and foremost.

And not because there was some burning creative idea that demanded we explore the early years of Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble.

But because John Goodman and Rick Moranis weren’t around anymore to do a full sequel.

Mr Goodman had zero interest in it and Mr Moranis had stepped back from acting.

So, instead of just leaving it alone - They had to poke the stegasaurus.

Hollywood rewound the clock, recast the leads as Mark Ady and Stephen Baldwin to give us younger versions of Fred and Barney.

And in doing so - Give us the main problem - They didn’t build on anything.

They tried to reverse engineer nostalgia.

The story - Such as it is - Follows Fred and Barney heading to Rock Vegas as they attempt to woo Wilma and Betty.

It isn’t deep - Romance, misunderstandings and basically a plot that exists to move them from one set piece to another.

I don’t have a problem with that - It’s at heart a colourful kids film - I’m not looking for anything deep and meaningful here.

Simple story with recognisable characters - It’s an easy win, yeah?

Except - It never really decides what it wants to be.

As I said - It’s a kids film - But - The premise is built on something a bit, adult.

The very first thing we come across are the Zetoxian aliens - The literal little green men from The Flintstones cartoon, namely Gazoo.

Gazoo is sent to study human mating rituals.

Which OK, fine, that's a framing device.

But it immediately puts the film in a weird spot: fart jokes for kids, wink-wink stuff for adults.

And neither lands particularly well.

It's not necessarily bad. It's just… confused.

If done cleverly - It can work - But - This - This, isn’t that.

We’ve got proper full commitment kids stuff, aimed directly at the cheapest laugh possible alongside jokes that feel like they were probably written with a bit of a wink, but land with a thud.

It’s caught in the middle of nowhere.

It’s a weird concept - We’re basically watching Fred, Wilma with Barney and Betty go through the early stages of their relationship through the lens of aliens.

That’s the hook, that’s what we’re doing here.

They aren’t even good aliens - Gazoo is probably most famous for being the moment The Flintstones jumped the shark.

He joined the cartoons final series in 1965 and is often pointed at as one of the reasons it got cancelled in the first place.

It’s all so - Odd.

The lean into nostalgia is hard.

We’ve got the “Wilma getting her hairstyle and pearls” moments, little puppy versions oF Dino etc.

But none of it adds anything - It just shrinks the world down.

For those that have put in any thought to this stuff - The characters no longer have a life lived - It just happens over the course of an hour and half film.

The mystery is gone.

And there’s the whole Rock Vegas setting itself.

Which - To be fair - Probably gives us the film at it’s most watchable.

There is some effort in the visual gags - It’s what you expect it to be - Stone age versions of modern technology.

This stuff is all tried, tested and classic The Flintstones territory.

You’ve seen it before, and it works.

Look, I know logic isn't the point.

It's The Flintstones.

But there's a difference between playful anachronisms and sloppy ones.

This film crosses that line just enough times that you start noticing - and once you notice, you can't unsee the plastic sets either.

OK - So - I might be being a tad harsh on it all

Not every kids film needs to be Toy Story.

Kids weren't stupid in 2000. They'd seen smart family films. They knew the difference..

This one just… isn't interested in being smart.

Nothing here is aggressively bad, as such.

Just. Pointless.

It exists, because it could.

The name had value.

Someone, somewhere thought they could squeeze a bit more out of it.

And then proceeded to do that with as little as effort as possible.

Instead of building on something that worked - It just looped back and explained things that didn’t need explaining.

All it needed to do was lean into the satire or pick a lane with its humour.

Just commit to being a proper family film - Or give it a proper edge.

But this?

It’s safe, and it’s flat and falls apart the minute you look just that little bit too closely.

This is what happens when you take something that worked well enough, strip out most of the cast, rewind the timeline for no real reason, and aim it squarely at children who weren’t asking for it in the first place.

Like I say, I don’t want to be the guy that rips apart what is essentially a kids film.

But - Films like this, at some point…

Well - They don't insult you. They just don't respect your time.

And honestly?

[beat]

That's worse.