“WILMAAAAAAAAAAAAA” was a shout heard far and wide across the state of Florida this month when iconic character, Fred Flintstone, was pulled over for speeding in Pasco County.
Videos by ComicBook.com
In a story that proves Florida will always be capable of outdoing itself, Don Swartz was riding around in his car, which was decked out to look like Fred Flintstone’s iconic foot mobile, when the local authorities stopped him for going too fast.
The cops decided to have a little fun and posted about the incident on Facebook, saying, “Mr. Flintstone was issued a citation for speed and became unruly and had to be detained.” They go on to say he was given a “Notice To Appear,” but in reality, they let Swartz has his wife, Trina, off with a warning.
The incident happened in Meadow Bedrock Pointe Subdivision in Wesley Chapel. Considering the Flintstones live in Bedrock, the town must love paying homage to the grumpy prehistoric dad. It clearly doesn’t matter to the Swartz family that Halloween was weeks ago, a fact that we completely respect.
The photos of the officers with “Fred” went viral this week, lending some much needed lightheartedness to a week of rough news.
The Flintstones was an animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, the creative team behind an array of other classics such as Scooby-Doo and The Jetsons. The show originally aired in 1960 and has continued to be an important staple in American history. The show was considered the most financially successful cartoon until it was usurped by The Simpsons.
In 1994, a live-action Flintstones movie was released, introducing the characters to a whole new generation. The movie featured a star-studded cast, with John Goodman in the lead as Fred. The movie also featured, Rick Moraines, Rosie O’Donnell, and Elizabeth Perkins in the other main roles with Halle Berry and Kyle MacLachlan as the film’s villains. It was also the last theatrical film to feature the great Elizabeth Taylor.
The last new onscreen Flintstones content was a 2015 straight-to-video collaboration between Warner Bros. Animation and WWE Studios called The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown! This was a follow-up to the previous year’s Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery.
You can also read about Fred and his pals in DC Comics’ The Flintstones, created in 2016 as part of the Hanna-Barbera Beyond series.
While it doesn’t look like there will be any legal consequences for Fred/Don, we’re sure its a moment Pasco County won’t soon forget.
We feel obligated to end this story with a hearty, “YABBA DABBA DOO!!”
