
Bamm-Bamm Rubble

Bamm-Bamm Rubble (sometimes spelled Bam-Bam Rubble) is a fictional character in the "Flintstones" franchise, the adopted son of Barney and Betty Rubble. He is most famous in his infant form on the animated series, but has also appeared at various other ages, including as a teenager on the early 1970s spin-off "The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show" and as an adult in three made-for-television movies. Cartoonist Gene Hazelton contributed to the original model sheets for the character, and he has said that he based Bamm-Bamm's design on his own son, Wes.
Biography.
Bamm-Bamm is the adopted son of Betty and Barney Rubble after they found him left on their doorstep. After meeting his next-door neighbor Pebbles, he falls in love with her. Bamm-Bamm's "nickname" 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. Bamm-Bamm's excessive (and sometimes misused) strength was often a source of humor in the episodes in which the toddler version of Bamm-Bamm appeared. Unlike Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm was past the crawling stage and could be seen in a few episodes trying to help Pebbles walk.
As a teenager, Bamm-Bamm attended Bedrock High School along with Pebbles. In this version, Bamm-Bamm's super strength, while visible in the form of his muscular physique, was not actively mentioned and was only demonstrated on occasion. He became more passive and sensible in his manner and tended to be dominated by Pebbles' more aggressive personality. He was the owner of a "cave buggy", a prehistoric version of a dune buggy.
As an adult, Bamm-Bamm became a mechanic and married Pebbles. The two soon moved to Hollyrock (a fictionalized, prehistoric version of Hollywood) 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 after Fred secretly gives money to Barney and Betty to ensure that they could afford the adoption. Bamm-Bamm is seen with long, matted, filthy blond 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 had gained his incredible super-strength. Bamm-Bamm soon started to look like his cartoon counterpart after a bath, a haircut, and some new clothes. Bamm-Bamm was played by twins Hlynur Sigurðsson and Marinó Sigurðsson and voiced by actress E.G. Daily, who succeeded Don Messick in the role after his death.
Though Bamm-Bamm did not 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. 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 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 in which Bamm-Bamm has made appearances are:
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, Jerry Houser and Dee Bradley Baker.