On this day in 1963, the littlest Flintstone, Miss Pebbles Flintstone made her first appearance. Pebbles' birth was actually the last episode in a story arc, something that was very unusual for a cartoon series during that time period. True it was a pretty short arc but most episodes of cartoon shows at that time were stand alone affairs that would have no effect on future episodes. The times it had been done previously were all in a serialized fashion with each episode ending a cliffhanger and then we see how they got out of it next week. Examples of this being Rocky and Bullwinkle and Ruff and Reddy. The Flintstones handled this a completely different way. Each episode had a clear, beginning and end, but each revolved around the idea of The Flintstones having a baby. This began in The Surprise (season 3, episode 19). In that episode Barney and Betty are babysitting a baby. With this baby Barney is too busy to do anything with Fred. This leads Fred to go on about how he hates babies. At the end of the episode Wilma in tears confesses that she is going to have a baby, thinking Fred will be unhappy about this idea. Instead Fred is ecstatic giving a trademark "Yabba-Dabba-Doo." The next episode Mother in Law's Visit (season 3, episode 20) would involve Wilma's mother visiting due to the news of Wilma being pregnant (the word pregnant is never said once in any of these episodes but anybody who knows that babies aren't delivered by the stork will have no trouble knowing what is going on). The next episode Foxy Grandma (Season 3, episode 21) features Fred trying to find someone to help pregnant Wilma around the house. Next in Fred's New Job (season 3, episode 22), Fred tries to get a raise from Mr. Slate to help take care of the coming baby. Finally in The Blessed Event (season 3, episode 23), Pebbles would be born. The Blessed Event is in some ways a remake of the I Love Lucy episode Lucy Goes to the Hospital (season 2, episode 16) in which Lucy gives birth to Little Ricky after a similar story arc.
There was debate about The Flintstones having a kid from the very beginning of the series' creation. Most of this had to do with a little boy named Fred Jr. In fact Fred Jr. appeared in a Little Golden Book made before the series' release. The original design for Fred Jr. was by Ed Benedict, who designed many classic Hanna-Barbera characters.
Plans to have a Fred Jr. one day counited. However when the Flintstones were going to actually have a baby it was changed to a girl, due to insistence on the part of Ideal Toys (you see a girl toy would sell better than a boy toy). So Gene Hazelton designed a baby girl and the rest is stone age history. Naturally a baby boy would later be added to the show with the addition of Betty and Barney's adopted son, Bamm-Bamm. As indicated in the page from Sponsor magazine below, the birth of Pebbles was considered an event and boosted ratings for a short time.
When recording the voice for Wilma on the episode in which Pebbles was born, Jean Vander Pyl was pregnant with her son and remembered crying. Along with being the voice of Wilma she would also be the original voice of Pebbles.
Unlike most cartoon children, we got to see little Pebbles grow up. However this never happened during the original show. A spin off series called The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (1971-1972) would feature her as a teenager. The TV movies A Flintstones Christmas (1977) and The Flintstones:
Little Big League (1978) would feature her still as a little kid, but no longer a baby. We would actually see Pebbles get married to her childhood playmate Bamm-Bamm in the TV movie, I Yabba-Dabba Do! (1993), and they would have babies of their own in another TV movie Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby (1993). These babies would later reappear in another made for TV movie A Flintstones Family Christmas (1993).
Here is the theme song to The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show.
Below is a clip of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm having their children from Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby. Notice how this is not as squeaky clean as you might except. The original TV series was meant for adults and one has the feeling that this movie was trying to get back to that.
Now in honor of Pebbles' birthday let us bring on the dancing girls.
-Michael J. Ruhland
GOt sometimes bored with the P&BB show. Pebbles did age in Fred's dreams (GROOM GLOOM from season 4 and RIP VAN FLINTSTONE in season 6)!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I appreciate the comment that the later Flintstones specials had appeal for adults...they certainly did for me.
ReplyDeleteThe birth of Pebbles is a pretty unique event in cartoons and comics history. Not too many cartoon series have a character who is born into the series and becomes an integral part of the cast...and if we accept the later efforts as even a little bit canonical, gets to grow up as well. Also there was much excitement generated around the time of "The Blessed Event" back in 1963. I remember watching that episode on its initial broadcast, although I was only three at the time.