Barnard "Barney" Rubble is a character from the Hanna-Barbera animated television series The Flintstones. He is the diminutive blonde-haired caveman husband of Betty Rubble and adoptive father of Bamm-Bamm Rubble. He is best friends with his next door neighbors, Fred and Wilma Flintstone. Barney has been with Fred on most if not all of his adventures (or misadventures), including the many Christmas outings the two families have had. In 2002, he and Fred were ranked #6 in TV Guide's Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters.
Appearances
The Flintstones
In the original series' Christmas episode, "Christmas Flintstone", Barney is shown accompanying Fred when he decides to apply for a part-time job at Macyrock's Department Store.
Barney as Bob Cratchit Cragit in A Flintstones' Christmas Carol.
In A Flintstones' Christmas Carol, the next Flintstones Christmas production in chronological order, Barney portrays the roles of both Bob Cragit and Fezziwig in the Bedrock Community Theater's production of A Christmas Carol. Early on in the movie, he and Fred, who has the starring role of Ebonezer Scrooge, rehearse their lines, and Fred criticizes Barney for missing his cues and not doing as good a job at his acting. However, Barney is just as quick to point out that Fred's become so obsessed with his role that he's treating his family the same way Scrooge treated his friends.
At the beginning of A Flintstone Christmas, Barney donates change to all the Salvation Army Santas in downtown Bedrock, during which he sings "Which One is the Real Santa Claus?" Later, when he and Fred find the real Santa Claus having crashed in front of Fred's house, Barney suggests that Fred fill in for Santa this Christmas, with Barney assisting him, dressed as an elf.
The last chronological Flintstones Christmas special, A Flintstone Family Christmas, has Barney standing with Fred as a fellow grandfather as they celebrate Christmas with their married children, Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, and their kids, Chip and Roxie.
Barney disguised as Santa in the Fruity Pebbles Christmas commercial.
Outside of the show itself, a Fruity Pebbles commercial produced in the early 1980s finds Barney tricking Fred out of his breakfast cereal by disguising himself as Santa, only for the real Santa to show up. The ad was remade with a musical take a few years later, only this time, Barney drops down Fred's chimney just as the real Santa has already shown up. (Oddly, while Santa admonishes Fred for not sharing, he never addresses Barney's frequent attempts at larceny.) A later Cocoa Pebbles commercial, parodying A Christmas Carol, has Barney, as the Ghost of Christmas Present, scaring Fred into sharing the cereal with him.
Other Christmas productions
Barney was one of the Hanna-Barbera characters who appeared in walk-around costume form in Pat Boone and Family Christmas Special.
Barney makes a cameo appearance along with Fred in Yogi Bear's All-Star Comedy Christmas Caper. Snagglepuss finds them working as street corner Santas who are collecting for the Water Buffalo Lodge's charity fund. When a prospective giver comes by, Fred and Barney attack Snagglepuss, subduing the "vicious lion," and thus garnering admiration and monetary larges.
Gallery
