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Bamm-Bamm Rubble is the adopted son of fictitious characters Barney and Betty Rubble. He is most famous in his infant form on the animated series The Flintstones, but has also appeared at various other ages, including as a teenager on the early 1970s spinoff The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show and as an adult in three made-for-television specials.
Bamm-Bamm lived in the fictional prehistoric city of Bedrock, a world where dinosaurs coexisted with cavepeople. The cavepeople enjoyed "primitive" versions of modern conveniences such as telephones, automobiles and washing machines, often utilizing the prehistoric animals.
Biography
Bamm-Bamm was adopted by Barney and Betty Rubble, after they found him left in a basket on their doorstep. After meeting his next-door neighbor Pebbles, the two became lifelong playmates. Bamm-Bamm's name came from a note left in the basket, causing Barney and Betty confusion over the strange name. This was explained when Bamm-Bamm yelled the phrase "bamm, bamm!" and swung his club (and in the process, shook the room he was in). Bamm-Bamm's excessive (and sometimes misused) strength was often a source of humor in the episodes the toddler version of Bamm-Bamm appeared in. Unlike Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm was past the crawling stage and could be seen in a few episodes trying to help Pebbles walk.
In his first appearance, Barney and Betty's adoption efforts were nearly stymied by a much wealthier couple, a parody of the real-life Rockefellers, and their ace lawyer, a parody of classic TV attorney Perry Mason. The 'Stonyfellers' won the case, but told 'Perry Masonry' to let Barney and Betty have Bamm-Bamm when they discovered Mrs. Stonyfeller was pregnant. In one scene, the judge silenced Barney when he demanded the baby boy be called Bamm-Bamm, only for Bamm-Bamm to loudly say his name while clubbing the judge's podium. The shaken judge quickly decided that his name was indeed Bamm-Bamm. The Rubbles later also got their own pet, Hoppy, a Kangaroo-like creature, and both Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm rode in his pouch (something not possible in real life for non-Kangaroos, and even then only for females).
Years later, as a teenager, Bamm-Bamm attended Bedrock High School along with Pebbles and their friends, Wiggy, Penny, and Moonrock. In this version Bamm-Bamm's super strength was not actively mentioned and was only shown on occasion. He became more passive and sensible in his manner and tended to be dominated by Pebbles' more aggressive personality. He also was the owner of a "cave buggy," a prehistoric version of a dune buggy.
As an adult, Bamm-Bamm became a mechanic, fell in love with and married Pebbles. The two soon moved to Hollyrock (a fictional prehistoric version of Hollywood, California) so Bamm-Bamm could pursue his true goal of becoming a screenwriter. Later the couple had twins, Chip and Roxy.
Film
In the 1994 live-action Flintstones movie, Bamm-Bamm appears as a four year old who is adopted by the Rubbles and was seen with long brown hair and only wearing a fig leaf loincloth. He was mentioned to have been raised by wild mastodons, a parody of various examples of interspecies adoption. This also hinted at how he'd gained his incredible super-strength. Bamm-Bamm soon started to look like his cartoon counterpart after a bath, a haircut (similar to a bowl cut), and some new clothes. Bamm-Bamm was played by twins Hlynur Sigurðsson and Marinó Sigurðsson and voiced by actress E.G. Daily (who returned to the role of Bamm-Bamm in a Pebbles cereal commercial).
Though Bamm-Bamm didn't appear in the prequel film The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, the name of the film's antagonist, Chip, is a reference to the name of Bamm-Bamm's son with Pebbles. Chip's mistress, Roxy, also gets her name from Bamm-Bamm and Pebbles' daughter.
Chronology
Through the various Flintstones incarnations, the age of Bamm-Bamm (and Pebbles) has varied wildly from spinoff to spinoff---appearing as an adolescent in one spinoff and as an infant again in the next. Arranged roughly in chronological order, the Flintstones incarnations Bamm-Bamm has made appearances in are as follows:
Infant/Toddler
- The Flintstones
- The Man Called Flintstone
- The New Fred and Barney Show
- The Flintstones' New Neighbors
- The Flintstones: Fred's Final Fling
- The Flintstones: Wind-Up Wilma
- The Flintstones: Jogging Fever
- A Flintstones Christmas Carol
- Cave Kids
- The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age Smackdown
- Fruity Pebbles, Post commercials
Child
- A Flintstone Christmas
- Flintstones: The Movie
Pre-teen
- The Flintstones: Little Big League
Teenager
- The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show
- The Flintstone Comedy Show
Adult
- I Yabba-Dabba Do!
- Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby
- A Flintstone Family Christmas
Casting
- Bamm-Bamm's voice over the years was provided by Jay North, Don Messick, Lucille Bliss, Frank Welker, Christine Cavanaugh, Michael Sheehan, Elizabeth Daily, and Jerry Houser.
- Bamm-Bamm (in his conventional toddler incarnation) sometimes appears in the various Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles cereal commercials that have been produced over the years.
- Although Bamm-Bamm possessed incredible strength as an infant, in his appearances as a teenager (as seen in The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show), his strength was either downplayed or not shown, though it reappeared in Bamm-Bamm's adult appearances.
- After his debut episode on The Flintstones, a few episodes afterward did not feature Bamm-Bamm.
- Bamm-Bamm and Pebbles appeared in a cameo as background characters in the 2010 series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated], in the episode "Revenge of the Crab Man". They were portrayed in their teen age design.