Wilma Flintstone (maiden name Pebble or Slaghoople—see below) is a fictional character in the television animated series The Flintstones. She is the beautiful red-headed wife of caveman Fred Flintstone, daughter of Pearl Slaghoople, mother of Pebbles Flintstone and grandmother to Roxy and Chip Rubble. Her best friends were her next door neighbors, Betty and Barney Rubble.
Wilma's personality was based on that of Alice Kramden, wife of Ralph Kramden on the 1950s television series The Honeymooners. Thus, much like Alice, Wilma played the strong-willed, level-headed person in her marriage, often criticizing Fred for pursuing his various ill-fated schemes. Wilma would also often be the one to bail out Fred when one of his schemes landed him in trouble.
Background[]
Fictional character biography[]
While the mid-1980s spin-off series The Flintstone Kids depicts Wilma as a child, the series seems to be mostly apocryphal due to its presenting Wilma as a childhood friend of Fred and Barney (the original series asserted that they met as young adults) as well as using the last name Slaghoople instead of the original Pebbles. Still, the series' depictions that Wilma had younger sisters and that her father—who apparently died by the time Wilma reached adulthood—ran a prehistoric computer business might be taken as valid. Wilma did mention having a married sister in the sixth season.
As a young adult, Wilma worked with Betty as cigarette girls/waitresses at a resort. They first met and fell in love with their future husbands, Fred and Barney (who were working there as bellhops). Wilma's mother, Pearl Pebbles Slaghoople, also met her future son-in-law and took a disliking toward Fred (and vice-versa), starting a long-lasting rivalry between the two.
Eventually, Wilma and Fred were married, and Wilma became a homemaker, keeping house with such prehistoric aids as a baby elephant vacuum cleaner, pelican washing machine, and so forth. She was also a good cook. One of her specialties was Gravelberry Pie - the recipe for which she eventually sold to the Safestone supermarket chain. Wilma also enjoyed volunteering for various charitable and women's organizations in Bedrock, shopping, and (occasionally) getting to meet the celebrities of their world, including "Tony Curtis", Rock Quarry and Cary Grant. By Noyan Deniz Yalçınkaya
Wilma became pregnant in the original series' third season and gave birth to the couple's only child, Pebbles.
When Pebbles was a teenager, Wilma (along with Betty) gained employment as a reporter for one of Bedrock's newspapers, the Daily Granite (a spoof of the Daily Planet of Superman fame), under the editorial guidance of Lou Granite (a parody of The Mary Tyler Moore Show's Lou Grant). While employed there, she shared various adventures with prehistoric superhero Captain Caveman, who (in a secret identity) also worked for the newspaper (a la Clark Kent).
Later, after Pebbles grew up and left home, Wilma started a successful catering business with her neighbor and friend Betty before becoming a grandmother to Pebbles' twin children, Chip and Roxy.
Maiden name[]
Wilma's maiden name is the subject of a continuity error. Several early episodes in the original series clearly stated Wilma's maiden name was "Pebble." In the second season episode "The Entertainer", Wilma's old friend Greta Gravel remembers her as "Wilma Pebble", and in the third season episode "Dial S for Suspicion", one of Wilma's old boyfriends, calls her "Wilma Pebble."
However, later episodes and spin-offs firmly state her maiden name is "Slaghoople", based upon the name of Wilma's mother in the original series, Pearl Slaghoople. Flintstones' writer Earl Kress explained the discrepancy as such: "Unfortunately, it's just as simple as [Hanna-Barbera] not caring about the continuity."
Mariage[]
In the first few episodes of the series, particularly the series' first episode, "The Flintstone Flyer," Wilma is portrayed as a domestically abusive and domineering wife, almost to the point of outright sadism, throwing a tantrum and physically assaulting her husband (or at least attempting to do so) upon discovering that he and Barney had fooled her and Betty so that they could go bowling instead of going to the opera, even though Fred had a bandaged head injury. This is also presumably the reason why Fred and Barney could not muster up the courage to simply tell their wives outright that the opera coincided with the bowling championship. Also, in the same episode, she and Betty are shown to be willing to assault their husbands violently in public without second thoughts, demonstrated when they bash Fred and Barney over the heads with their heavy handbags in the bowling alley, in front of other players. At the end of the episode, when Fred and Barney are forced to flee their violent wives on Barney's flying machine, Wilma and Betty wait patiently in the garden for Barney to tire, and even six hours later, they show no remorse for their actions and still look forward to hurting their husbands more when they land. In subsequent episodes, she gets angry but never harms Fred seriously, often lecturing him or slapping him for his exceptionally bad behavior. For example, in the twenty-third episode of season 2, Wilma bites Fred's finger when he points at her.
While generally a foil to Fred's poor behavior, Wilma is not immune to it herself. She, usually along with Betty Rubble, will occasionally rack up large bills on a charge account or spend the family's money with reckless abandon. Wilma and Betty will also occasionally plot acts of revenge on their husbands for their oafishness.
She and Fred often argue because of Fred's behavior and because Fred sometimes flirts with other women. In the 2001 TV movie The Flintstones: On the Rocks, the marriage is not working out, and they consider divorce, but they reconcile at the end.
Personality[]
Her personality was based on that of Alice Kramden, wife of Ralph Kramden on the 1950s television series The Honeymooners. Thus, much like Alice, Wilma played the strong-willed, level-headed person in her marriage, often criticizing Fred for pursuing his various ill-fated schemes. Wilma would also often be the one to bail out Fred when one of his schemes landed him in trouble.
Physical Appearance[]
Wilma is a beautiful cavewoman. She has swirly orange hair, wears a white loin cloth/dress, a pearl necklace, and red lipstick (in some specials and shows it's pink). Another notable thing about Wilma is that she has black dots for her eyes.
Voice and Portrayals[]
- Jean Vander Pyl - from The Flintstones through What a Cartoon! (1995)
- Julie McWhirter Dees - The Flintstone Kids (1985-1986)
- Elizabeth Lyn Fraser - The Flintstone Kids (1986-1987)
- Elizabeth Perkins - The Filntstones (1994)
- Kristen Johnston - The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000)
- Tress MacNeille - Johnny Bravo, The Flintstones: On the Rocks (2001), Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law (2002-2005), The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown! (2015)
Appearances[]
Television[]
The Flintstones[]
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show[]
The Flintstone Comedy Hour[]
The New Fred and Barney Show[]
Fred and Barney Meet the Thing[]
Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo[]
The Flintstone Comedy Show[]
The Flintstone Funnies[]
The Flintstone Kids[]
What a Cartoon![]
Wilma is not seen, just only a voice-over in "Dino Stay Out" (1995).
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law[]
Johnny Bravo[]
Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs![]
Miscellaneous[]
Cartoon Network commercials[]
Films and Specials[]
The Man Called Flintstone[]
A Flintstone Christmas[]
The Flintstones: Little Big League[]
The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone[]
The Flintstones' New Neighbors[]
The Flintstones: Fred's Final Fling[]
The Flintstones: Wind-Up Wilma[]
The Flintstones: Jogging Fever[]
The Flintstones' 25th Anniversary Celebration[]
The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones[]
The Flintstone Kids' "Just Say No" Special[]
Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration[]
The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera[]
I Yabba-Dabba Do![]
Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby[]
A Flintstone Family Christmas[]
The Flintstones[]
A Flintstones Christmas Carol[]
The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age Smackdown[]
Live-action films[]
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas[]
The Flintstones: On the Rocks[]
Cameos[]
Space Jam: A New Legacy[]
Printed Media[]
Merchandise[]
Relationships[]
Quotes[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
This character article is a stub. You can help Warner Bros. Entertainment Wiki by expanding it.
v - e - d  | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
v - e - d  | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
v - e - d  | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|