Don Messick Movies

Fred is thrilled when he is invited to spend a weekend on the yacht owned by his boss Mr. Slate, but the thrills dissipate quickly when he finds out he is expected to paint the vessel. The situation worsens when Fred causes the yacht to run aground on a deserted island, stranding himself, his boss, his wife, and Barney and Betty. "Claiming" the island as his own, Fred soon proves to be a less than efficient leader, but when a second emergency arises he manages to save the day--and his job. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this takeoff of the popular adventure series Flipper, Fred and Barney visit Oceanrock Aquarium, where the star attraction is the intelligent performing seal Dripper (yes, seal, not dolphin, if we're going to get technical!) At the same time, Dripper's trainer, jealous of his charge's popularity, decides to kidnap the seal and hold it for ransom. Through a series of blunders, Barney is kidnapped by accident, and it's the intrepid Dripper to the rescue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A more appropriate title for this animated 60-minute special might have been Alice in Hanna-Barbera Land, since the cartoon producers have eschewed the original Lewis Carroll text and John Tenniel illustrations for something that more closely resembles The Jetsons or Scooby Doo. Updated to the 1960s, the story begins as Alice, a precocious suburban youngster, escapes the wrath of her stern father when she and her dog Fluff follow the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole and into Wonderland. In standard Hanna-Barbera operating procedure, several of the familiar Wonderland denizens are redrawn to resemble the actors providing their voices: thus, The White Knight looks and talks like "Jose Jimenez," the Hispanic character created by comedian Bill Dana (who also wrote the script), while the Queen of Hearts is a visual and verbal clone of Zsa Zsa Gabor. In a similar vein, some of the characters have been completely overhauled to be more "relevant" to Sixties viewers: Humpty Dumpty is now Humphrey Dumpty, with his Bogart-like voice provided by Allan Melvin; the Mad Hatter has a female counterpart, Hedda Hatter, voiced by gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (famous for her bizarre headwear); and the Caterpillar has suddenly grown two heads, who look and sound exactly like Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble. The songs, by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse of Bye Bye Birdie fame, are pleasant but forgettable, with the exception of "What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing In a Place Like This?", sung by the Cheshire Cat (his "hipster" voice supplied by Sammy Davis Jr.). In fact, it is obvious that Hanna-Barbera thought that they had a hit on their hands with this song, the title of which is used as the "subtitle" of this irreverent but entertaining cartoon romp. Alice in Wonderland first aired March 30, 1966, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It's game night for the Flintstones and the Rubbles, with the foursome enjoying a bit of friendly competition. Things fall apart rather suddenly when a fight develops over whether men or women have superior minds. In his efforts to patch things up, the Great Gazoo succeeds only in making things worse. Only a series of bizarre nightmares can bring the couples back together (watch for a reprise of that "Boulderette" chorus line from the earlier episode Pebbles' Birthday Party. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While the Flintstones and the Rubbles are vacationing in Rocky Gulch, Fred is appointed the local sheriff--a job that has cost the lives of several of his predecessors. Though he does his best to do his job, Fred finds himself at the mercy of the evil Slatery Brothers, and before long both he and Barney are guests of honor at a "necktie party". Coming to the rescue in the nick o' time are three very familiar-looking westerners: Ben, Hoss and Little Joe Cartrock! This is the only Flintstones episode without a laughtrack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Teen idol James Darren supplies the singing voice (but not, surprisingly the speaking voice!) for his cartoon counterpart "Jimmy Darrock" in this lampoon of the "Beach Party" movies of the 1960s. When the local beach is invaded by surfing teenagers, Fred becomes fascinated with the sport. Unfortunately, Fred's enthusiasm far outdistances his surfing skills, and he must rely upon Jimmy Darrock, a movie star posing as a lifeguard, to keep him from going down for the third time. James Darren sings "Surfin' Craze", a marvelous quasi-Beach Boys tune composed by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, in this final episode of The Flintstones' fifth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The idol of millions of Stone Age children is costumed superhero Superstone, who always heralds his arrival with his signature cry "Bee-hee-hee-HAWW-HAWW." When Superstone is unable to make a scheduled personal appearance in Bedrock, Fred is hired to impersonate the caped crusader. Before the evening is over, Fred has been made the fall guy for a ticket-theft scam hatched by a pair of wisecracking crooks ("Yeh, yeh, I'm hip"). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While attending the Stone Age World's Fair in Bedrock, the Flintstones and the Rubbles meet an eccentric scientist who has invented a time machine. Before they know what is happening, the foursome has been whisked into the distant future--that is to say, their future and our past! This leads to some memorable encounters with such historical celebrities as Nero, King Arthur, and Christopher Columbus, and ends up with Fred, Wilma, Betty and Barney being plunked in the middle of the 1964 New York World's Fair! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Winning some free flying lessons in a raffle, Fred begins entertaining dreams of becoming an airline pilot. However, he proves to be a less than apt pupil, and it isn't long before pretty female instructor Kitty Rockhawk has given up on teaching Fred how to fly. Even so, by episode's end is up to our hero and his copilot Barney to successfully land an out-of-control airplane, using only radioed instructions as their guide. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Quests are in Africa, where Dr. Benton Quest intends to use a state-of-the-art weather balloon for an experimental flight deep into jungle territory. The balloon lands atop an otherwise inaccessible mountain peak, currently the domain of a snarling Nazi war criminal named Von Dueffel. The heroes find their lives in dire jeopardy when they discover that the villain is forcing the local natives to work his diamond mine. "The Devil's Tower" made its ABC network bow on February 4, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A shipboard fire forces Jonny, Dr. Quest, Race, Hadji, and Bandit to accidently maroon themselves on an unchartered island. The heroes are sought out by a duo of gunrunners named Silky and Chopper, who intend to hold Jonny and Hadji for ransom. In true Tarzan fashion, Jonny and company are shielded from harm by a band of friendly, tree-dwelling apes. "Attack of the Tree People" made its first network appearance on January 21, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first Jonny Quest series came to an end with the episode titled "Riddle of the Gold," which was originally slated to be shown as episode five. The Quests' perennial adversary, Dr. Zin, is back, this time plying his perfidy in India. Investigating a gold mine that has suddenly become active years after it was tapped out, Dr. Quest and his son, Jonny, discover that Dr. Zin has hatched a scheme to become the wealthiest man in the world by manufacturing synhetic gold. The good guys' task now is to live long enough to notify the authorities. Originally telecast in the middle of "rerun season" on April 15, 1965, "Riddle of the Gold" would be the last first-run Jonny Quest episode to be telecast until the property was revived by Hanna Barbera in 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide