Fred and Barney Meet the Thing facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fred and Barney Meet the Thing
Genre	Animation
Based on
Directed by	Ray Patterson George Gordon Carl Urbano
Voices of	Henry Corden Mel Blanc Jean Vander Pyl Gay Autterson Joe Baker Wayne Morton Marilyn Schreffler
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13 (26 segments of The Thing)
Production
Executive producer(s)	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Producer(s)	Alex Lovy
Running time	60 minutes
Production company(s)	Hanna-Barbera Marvel Comics Group
Distributor	Taft Broadcasting
Release
Original network	NBC
Picture format	Color
Audio format	Mono
Original release	September 8 (1979-09-08) – December 1, 1979 (1979-12-01)
Chronology
Preceded by	The New Fred and Barney Show
Followed by	Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo

Fred and Barney Meet the Thing was an American animated TV show. It aired on NBC from September 8, 1979, to December 1, 1979. This show was a spin-off of The Flintstones. It was made by Hanna-Barbera, a famous animation studio.

The show actually had two different cartoons in one hour. Even though the title says "Fred and Barney Meet the Thing," the characters from The Flintstones and The Thing never met in their separate stories. They only appeared together in the opening and short breaks. This unusual mix happened because Marvel Comics owned the rights to some Hanna-Barbera characters at the time. They even published comic books about them, including The Flintstones.

For the 1979–80 TV season, the show got longer. It added episodes of The New Shmoo. The new, longer show was called Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo. Like many cartoons from Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, this show used a laugh track. This was one of their last shows to do so.

Meet The Thing

This part of the show was based on the Marvel Comics superhero, the Thing. But it was a very different version! The stories followed a skinny, red-headed teenager named Benjy Grimm. He could turn into the strong, rocky Thing by touching two magic rings. He would say, "Thing Ring, do your thing!" Then, orange rocks would fly in and change him into the stone-skinned hero. When the Thing spoke, he had a gruff voice like comedian Jimmy Durante.

The stories mostly took place at Centerville High School. Benjy hung out with his friends: Betty Harkness, her rich boyfriend Ronald Radford, and Betty's tomboy sister Kelly. The principal, Miss Twilly, was the main adult around. Only Kelly and her scientist dad, Professor Harkness, knew Benjy's secret.

The Thing used his super strength to protect his friends. He often stopped the mean practical jokes of a bully named Spike Hanrahan and his biker friends, Stretch and Turkey. They were like a cartoon version of the Yancy Street Gang. Sometimes, the Thing also fought against mad scientists. Other famous members of the Fantastic Four did not appear in this show. The way the Thing looked and how he got his powers were very different from the original comics.

Twenty-six short, 11-minute episodes of The Thing were made. Two of these shorts aired in each hour-long show. Today, the episodes of The Thing are owned by WarnerMedia (through Hanna-Barbera). However, the character of the Thing himself is owned by The Walt Disney Company. This is because Disney bought Marvel Comics in 2009.

Thing Adventures

Here are some of the exciting adventures The Thing had:

• The Picnic Panic: Benjy and his friends go to a picnic. But the Yancy Street Gang shows up and causes trouble. The Thing has to save the day!
• Bigfoot Meets the Thing: While on a ski trip, Benjy and his friends come face-to-face with a real Bigfoot.
• Junkyard Hijinks: Benjy and his friends decide to turn the Yancy Street Gang's junkyard into a playground.
• Circus Stampede: The Yancy Street Gang lets a mouse loose at the circus. This causes elephants to stampede and other animals to escape!
• The Thing and the Queen: Betty runs for homecoming queen. The Yancy Street Gang tries to ruin her campaign.
• Carnival Caper: The Thing helps out at a carnival after stopping a runaway ferris wheel.
• The Thing Blanks Out: The Thing gets amnesia after hitting his head.
• The Thing Meets the Clunk: A robot named Clunk is supposed to do good. But it malfunctions and causes problems for The Thing.
• Beach Party Crashers: The Yancy Street Gang crashes a beach party and tries to ruin a volleyball game.
• Decepto the Great: A magician is stealing from kids at the high school fair. The Thing must stop him.
• The Thing's the Play: Betty gets kidnapped by an acting teacher who mistakes her for an old actress.
• Double Trouble for the Thing: An evil scientist creates a robot Thing to commit crimes. This makes people think the real Thing is bad.
• The Big Bike Race: Benjy enters a bike race to win a chance to escort the Race Queen to the dance.
• The Thing Goes to the Dogs: Ronald's dog is dognapped by the Yancy Street Gang. The Thing has to rescue her.
• The Thing Goes Camping: A camping trip turns wild with a bear and a landslide.
• Photo Finish: The Yancy Street Gang tries to cheat in a zoo photo contest.
• Lights, Action, Thing!: A mechanical octopus monster attacks a movie set.
• The Thing and the Captain's Ghost: The Yancy Street Gang dares Ben and his friends to stay on a haunted ship.

The New Fred and Barney Show

The "Fred and Barney" part of the show was a second season of The New Fred and Barney Show. It included seven new 30-minute episodes. It also showed reruns of episodes from the first season.

Fred and Barney's Adventures

Here are some of the adventures Fred and Barney had:

• Stone Age Werewolf: Fred and Barney go fishing on an island. They hear rumors of a werewolf there.
• Fred & Barney Meet the Frankenstsones: Fred and Barney visit a haunted spa run by the Frankenstone family.
• Physical Fitness Fred: Fred tries to get in shape to impress Wilma and Betty.
• Moonlighters: Fred and Barney try different part-time jobs to earn more money.
• Fred Goes to the Houndasaurs: Wilma buys a pet Houndasaur. This causes trouble for Fred.
• The Bad Luck Genie: Fred finds a genie in a bottle. But the genie's wishes cause more problems than good.
• Dinosaur Country Safari: Fred and Barney visit a dinosaur safari. Fred disobeys the rules and gets into trouble.

Voice Actors

These are the people who gave voices to the characters:

For The New Fred and Barney Show

• Henry Corden as Fred Flintstone
• Jean Vander Pyl as Wilma Flintstone and Pebbles Flintstone
• Mel Blanc as Barney Rubble and Dino
• Gay Autterson as Betty Rubble
• Don Messick as Bamm-Bamm Rubble
• John Stephenson as Mr. Slate

For The Thing

• Wayne Morton as Benjy Grimm and Stretch
• Joe Baker as The Thing
• Noelle North as Kelly Harkness
• Marilyn Schreffler as Betty Harkness and Miss Twilly
• John Erwin as Ronald Radford
• Art Metrano as Spike Hanrahan
• Michael Sheehan as Turkey
• John Stephenson as Professor Harkness

See also

In Spanish: Fred y Barney se encuentran con la Mole para niños