October 11th, 2020 
Jackson Murphy 
It’s the last day of a very different New York Comic-Con. Let’s Yabba Dabba Doo this! Kicking off the Sunday panels: The Flintstones 60th Anniversary Celebration, moderated by actress Yvette Nicole Brown. To tie-in with this milestone for Primetime Network TV’s first animated series, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is releasing The Flintstones: The Complete Series on blu-ray October 27th. (It’s on Digital now.)
You’ll be able to watch all 166 original episodes fully re-mastered in high-definition. Plus there are two bonus movies: The Man Called Flintstone and The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age Smackdown! That film is directed by Tony Cervone, who also directed the recent CG SCOOB! movie. Cervone remembers being impressed with The Flintstones as a child because the characters “were adults.” This cartoon dealt with adult problems. “As a kid, I saw that as sophisticated.”
The Flintstones was, of course, inspired by The Honeymooners. Cervone added that, “I had always been an enormous Honeymooners fan as a kid, too.” Jeff Bergman, who voices Fred in modern productions, was thrilled with the number of guest stars who appeared on the animated series. “I just remember thinking how cool that was.”
For Grey DeLisle Griffin (the contemporary voice of Betty), “I remember wanting to drive my little [plastic] car with my feet.” And for Eric Bauza, who voices Bamm-Bamm and Dino, “I used to love the talking appliances. [And] the voices were amazing.” Bauza even mentioned during the panel that he cherished visiting the old Hanna-Barbera Land in Canada that had Flintstones Mini Golf.
Animation Historian Jerry Beck calls The Flintstones, “a major game-changer” and “a huge sensation.” The amount of merchandise in the early ‘60s was incredible. “It was an influence to all of us,” Beck said. “It was safe for grown ups and kids to watch on TV. Anybody can enjoy it. The Flintstones changed my life.”
Next Up: The reboot of Animaniacs. It’s coming to Hulu on November 20th and features original voice cast members Rob Paulsen (Yakko), Tress MacNeille (Dot) and Jess Harnell (Wakko). “We were all a bit nervous coming back,” said Harnell. But with Steven Spielberg involved and a new group of makers bringing the show to a “new, contemporary level”, everyone was thrilled. “It was amazing jumping back into it.”
“The family dynamic is what Rob, Jess and I had. We bicker and insult each other and love each other more than anything else,” MacNeille said. As for Paulsen, “There’s a great song called The Second Time Around. Same with this.”
Story ideas started flowing in 2018, and as executive producer Wellesley Wild explained, “We got a list of events and happenings in 2020 and we wrote to them.” Unfortunately, 2020 had other plans, so satire on the Olympics doesn’t work quite as well. But Wild’s still incredibly proud of the show and Steven Spielberg’s involvement. “He’s incredibly hands-on.”
According to co-EP Gabe Swarr, Spielberg had a lot of input on the character designs and overall animation. However, “we try to go to visually different places.” One familiar one (with a twist) actually opens the reboot. The first scene, revealed during this panel, is an homage to Spielberg’s iconic Jurassic Park. And it’s very clever.
The third and final season of DreamWorks Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts premieres this week (starting Monday Oct. 12) on Netflix. With a day to go, the cast and crew reflected on their journey with the show. “I’m still in denial,” said Karen Fukuhara, the voice of Kipo. She acknowledged the growth of her character and loves her dearly. “She’s so earnest. She’s always inclusive and always sees the good in everyone.” Fukuhara worked with the studio back-to-back on She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and Kipo. “I think I’m gonna miss the DreamWorks family.”
Creator Radford Sechrist on this being the finale: “We definitely knew when the end of the series was.” Sechrist re-watched the first season in quarantine and encourages newbies to join-in on the phenomenon. “It’s a piece of entertainment. You can have a good time watching these characters and their journey.”
EP Bill Wolkoff on this season’s story: “Kipo is dealing with this growing megabeast that’s inside her, and she’s caught between two worlds. The ending we have in Season 3 was the ending we were building to.”
What attracted Story Editor Joanna Lewis to the show was its “incredibly, delightfully weird” nature. She singles out the relationship between Kipo and Wolf as the cornerstone of the show. “[They’re] kind of opposite sides of the same coin. These two girls have each other’s back and love each other. It’s a friendship we all wanna have.”
And finally, the third season of Disney XD’s Big Hero 6: The Series is currently airing new episodes. A trio of executive producers led this packed panel. “I’m most excited about the fans getting to hear all the songs in Season 3,” said Nick Filippi. “We get to find out a little history of some characters.”
“We’re definitely emphasizing a lot more comedy this season,” said Bob Schooley. “It’s a different season.” And for Mark McCorkle, he’s excited for viewers to experience, “all kinds of surprises.” “A personal highlight” for him: incorporating “a man-splaining monster.”
Several cast members got into a deep conversation about the late Stan Lee. Lucas Neff, the voice of Noodle Burger Boy, believes that for young comic book readers, Lee “is embedded in pretty much every kid’s life.”
And Scott Adsit, who voices Baymax on the series and lent his voice to the character in the Oscar-winning movie, really enjoys doing that voice for people’s phone messages. “Disney fans are very dedicated and emotional about their love of Disney stuff.”
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