The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Classic, clever Flintstones teen spin-off.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

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Kids say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that sometimes Pebbles' attractiveness to boys -- as opposed to that of her friends -- is focused on. Also, the boys' and girls' activities can tend toward the stereotypical, and there are some minor cartoon scuffles. But overall, there's really nothing to worry about here.

  • Pebbles and her friends never give up, even when their initial efforts to achieve anything are thwarted by typical high school enemies (who often don't wind up being so bad after all). Some gender-role stereotyping.
  • Characters occasionally scuffle or treat each other roughly. Some pratfalls.
  • Pebbles' physical attractiveness is noted, sometimes at her friends' expense.

What's the story?

THE PEBBLES AND BAMM-BAMM SHOW, which originally aired from 1971-76, is a spin-off of the show about everyone's first favorite cartoon family, the Flintstones. Pebbles Flintstone (voiced by Sally Struthers) and Bamm-Bamm Rubble (Jay North), along with a cohort of odd friends and sidekicks, attend Bedrock High. Their adventures generally center around Pebbles' crazy schemes and tend to mix a Happy Days sensibility into the prehistoric world.


Is it any good?

 

Unlike many spin-offs, Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm pretty much follows in the footsteps of its parent show. The episodes are just as thoughtfully written, and the plots -- though they might seem overused these days -- were original at the time and are still fun to watch. And younger kids will enjoy the pratfalls and the silly prehistoric gadgets, even if they have trouble following the story.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about what this show has in common with its "parent" show, The Flintstones. How is it similar, and how is it different? What's new in this show? Do the appearances of the adult Flintstones make it more fun to watch? Why or why not? Why do you think entertainment companies like to make spin-offs? Why might it be easier to get people to watch a spin-off than something brand new?


This review was written by KJ Dell Antonia
Teen, 16 years old
July 11, 2011
 
A 15 Year Old Animation Buff's POV
As an animation buff, I do research on the various eras of animation of recreational purposes. I bought this DVD not for entertainment, but for research. The show is from the 1970s and 1980s, A.K.A the dark ages of animation. If you thought the original Flintstones series (which is a classic and a WAY better pick than this schlock) had bad animation, wait until you see this. While The Flintstones actually had new drawings in every episode, The Pebbles and Bam-Bam Show reuses the same drawings over and over and over. It's a very ugly show. Not only that, but at times the show is borderline sexist. No, scratch that. It IS sexist. For example, in the episode Mayor May Not, Pebbles becomes mayor for a day and decides to redo the entire town's system. For example, she hands over the fire department's duties to the water department, since you put out fire with water. The boys in the group tell her it's a bad idea, and the girls in the group tell her it's brilliant. Guess what? It turns out to be a bad idea. This suggests that all girls are automatically less intelligent than boys. Not only that, but there's an episode (I forget the name) that explains that girls have NO PLACE in sports and instead should be cheerleaders, or "pom pom girls" as Pebbles calls them. Welcome to 1971, everybody. While I STRONGLY disagree with the sexist messages this show sends, I think it's still a better pick for your six year old than the new PG-13 superhero movie. I can't see anyone besides small children enjoying this. I recommend buying your kids the original Flintstones, a show that animation fans of ALL AGES can enjoy. It also uses the sexist notions that we all have for comedy (the women in the show often outsmart the men), whereas The Pebbles and Bam-Bam show plays it straight.

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This review was written by KJ Dell Antonia
This review was written by KJ Dell Antonia
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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