Lee Eisenberg
"The Flintstones' New Neighbors" was a TV special produced right after "The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone". In the earlier special, the Flintstones and Rubbles go to a castle in Eastern Europe where the Dracula-like owner mistakes Wilma for his bride. In this next one, a family called the Frankenstones moves in next door to the Stone Age clan. The patriarch looks like Frankenstone from the previous one, except that whereas the previous one knew only brute force and couldn't form complete sentences, this guy is probably the politest and most cultured person in Bedrock.So what happens is that Wilma, Barney and Betty are happy to get to know the Frankenstones, but Fred considers them freaks...until he needs their help rescuing Pebbles. I guess that Fred is just the typical working stiff who doesn't like seeing any changes in his neighborhood. A prehistoric Archie Bunker, you might say.We could be cynical and guess that Hanna-Barbera Productions simply repeated the previous special - as well as "The Munsters" and "The Addams Family" - but this is a pretty fun half-hour. It's the only time that I remember where anyone operates a car by picking it up around himself and running.
novastar_6
This doubled up with "The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone" make for an excellent video for children.In this cartoon, Barney and Fred encounter a giant spooky house with vultures, bats, and a storming cloud filled with rain, thunder and lightning over the roof, being moved through the streets. Fred insists that the house must be being moved to the city dump, and at dinner tells Wilma about what he saw. At that exact time, Barney and Betty rush over to break the bad news to them, the same creepy house has been placed on the lot next door to Fred and Wilma. Fred insists it's bad news for the entire neighborhood, and the family must be full of sideshow freaks once they see a giant green hairy hand wheeling in the family's clothes including a 2 neck sweater, a shirt with 4 sleeves, and a pair of pants with 4 legs.While Fred is skeptical about the new neighbors, Wilma wants to make a good impression so he, she, and Pebbles go over to welcome them to the neighborhood. They meet the Frankenstone family, Frank Frankenstone (who bares much resemblance but less malice to the Frankenstone monster from "The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone), his wife, Hidea, and their daughter Oblivia, and their son Stubby, who digs graves in the cellar. The Frankenstones explain the giant hand they saw was their maid, who then enters the room with a salted scorpion on a cracker for Fred. They also have a pet octopup named Creepy, who takes an instant liking to Fred, but the feeling is far less than mutual.On the way home, Fred and Wilma see Betty and Barney going to meet them, and he insists it's against zoning laws to keep vultures for pets, something to which he'll look into first thing in the morning. First thing next morning, while Fred drives Barney to work, they pass by a giant sign pointing to the Frankenstone house that reads "This way to the freak show", which is revealed that Fred was up early in the morning writing. Barney likes the Frankenstones and Fred doesn't, so tells Barney he has to pick between the two of them. Barney replies he doesn't like people telling him who to and not to like, and he doesn't like people who play dirty tricks on their neighbors, so he sides with the Frankenstones.On Washingstone's birthday, Wilma insists Fred take them up to Mount Rockcliff, where the Rubbles and the Frankenstones also are on a picnic and playing baseball. Frank sends an accidental foul ball into Fred's custard, and while Fred's busy telling Frank off, Pebbles wanders away after a butterfly, and ends up sliding down the cliff and landing into a pterodactyl's nest alongside 3 eggs ready to hatch. The Flintstones, Rubbles and Frankenstones then forget their petty argument and go rushing to save her before the mama pterodactyl returns. One egg falls out of the nest and the other 2 hatch, and when the mama pterodactyl returns, she mistakes Pebbles for one of her own babies.So Barney sends the mama bird on a wild goose chase with the 3rd egg while Frank and Fred get Pebbles out of the nest. The mama bird catches up with Barney making a getaway with the egg in his car and picks up the car and starts smashing it when one of her already born babies falls out of the nest, so she goes flying back to the rescue, giving the Rubbles, the Flintstones and the Frankenstones the chance to make a getaway back for home. The mama bird returns her fallen baby to the nest only to find somebody has stolen Pebbles.At home, Fred apologizes for his stupidity and starts off on a better foot with the Frankenstones. At which time, the mama bird shows up looking for her third baby, who hatches in Barney's car and comes right out of her egg calling for her mama, who upon seeing her baby, leaves the Flintstones alone and takes her baby home with her.Another highly recommend Flintstones special for the whole family. 10 out of 10 stars.
