| The Great Gazoo | |
|---|---|
| The Flintstones character | |
 The Great Gazoo | |
| First appearance | "The Great Gazoo" (1965) |
| Last appearance | "Alien vs. Pebbles" (2021) |
| Created by | Hanna-Barbera |
| Voiced by | Harvey Korman (1965, 2000) Maurice LaMarche (1998) Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy,Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy) Seth Green (Robot Chicken) Eric Bauza (Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs) Flula Borg (Jellystone!) Frank Welker (Scooby-Doo, Where Are You Now!) |
| Portrayed by | Alan Cumming (inThe Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas) |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Zetoxian |
The Great Gazoo, or simplyGazoo, is a fictional character from theanimated seriesThe Flintstones. He first appeared on the show on October 29, 1965. The Great Gazoo was voiced by actorHarvey Korman.[1][2][3]
The Great Gazoo is atiny, green, floating scientist who was exiled to Earth from his home planet for inventing a Doomsday Device. Gazoo was discovered byFred andBarney when hisflying saucer crashed. Gazoo recognizes Fred and Barney's world as prehistoric Earth. Gazoo refers to Fred and Barney as "dum-dums" and constantly causes problems for them. He can materialize and dematerialize objects, teleport, freeze time, travel through time, de-age anyone, destroy the world, and perform other remarkable feats but when he attempts to help out Fred and Barney, he usually ends up causing even more trouble. The only people who are able to see Gazoo are Fred, Barney and the children; animals also can see him. Arunning gag is that Fred argues with Gazoo whileWilma believes that he is talking to himself. When their daughter,Pebbles, says "Gazoo", Wilma thinks Pebbles is sneezing.
The creation of the Great Gazoo is attributed to writerJoanna Lee, who wrote more than 20 episodes ofThe Flintstones.[4] He was based on Bill Moore, a design teacher fromCalArts.[5] The first draft of the episode that introduced the Great Gazoo was originally entitled "The Wizard of Ogg" and Gazoo's original name was "Professor Ogg". Other proposed names for Gazoo were Rip van Zonk, Hocus the Pocus, Dr. Puckwuck, and Shagelbextyzinkus (Ol' Shaggy for short).[4] In her original character description, Lee described Gazoo as "a mirror, reflecting life's vicissitudes, vagaries, ritual magic and dreary reality. Simply, [Gazoo] is life, brought home to our two favorite life participants, Fred and Barney".[4]
Because Gazoo is introduced into the show midway through the final season and is considered by some to be an absurd character who alters the premise and dynamic of the show, he is often cited by fans and critics of the show as being an example of the show's having "jumped the shark".[6] His obnoxious behavior is stated as another contributing factor to the show's cancellation. In all, Gazoo appeared in 11 episodes in 1965 and 1966.
Apart from the original TV series, he appears in many commercials forPebbles cereal like one where he sends Fred somewhere where he can have all the Cocoa Pebbles he wants only for Barney to be brought there as Gazoo quotes "I don't play favorites". One particular commercial for Fruity Pebblescerealcommercial in 1998 had him as part of a promotion for a contest where consumers would have to try to find each of the 10 boxes of all-orange cereal pieces after Gazoo had taken all the orange from Bedrock. The prize for any who found the all-orange cereal pieces would win a trip toFlorida. In 2003, Gazoo had become the mascot for Marshmallow Mania Pebbles cereal. Gazoo is also a character inFlintstones vitamins, and a central character in the 1991 video gameThe Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino & Hoppy.
Ozmodiar, a Gazoo parody with a nearly identical design, appeared as a brief cameo gag in several episodes ofThe Simpsons.[7]
In the 2000 filmThe Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, Gazoo (portrayed byAlan Cumming) is exiled to Earth by Gazaam the Mighty for his crazy hare-brained schemes. He then meets Fred and Barney after crashing near them, and begins to follow the duo for study; as always, Fred and Barney are the only ones who can see him. A running gag within the movie is his name mistakenly being pronounced as "Kazoo".
Gazoo makes a cameo in theLooney Tunes short titled "Attack of the Drones", where he attendsDuck Dodgers' meeting with the other members in the space force about saving the Earth from obsessed eating alien monsters known as Eaters.
Gazoo appears in the 2016DC ComicsHanna-Barbera Beyond seriesThe Flintstones, where he is human-sized, does not float, and was sent by bookie aliens to evaluate the human race. In this version "Great Gazoo" is a title that roughly translates to "game warden".
Gazoo appears in theYabba Dabba Dinosaurs episode "Alien vs. Pebbles", voiced byEric Bauza. In this episode, he first appears disguised as a mysterious futuristic alien creature who zapped the dinosaurs with his bubble laser, only to transport them to his spaceship jail. Only at the end of the episode, he is revealed to be the "Great Gazoo" who wanted to kill the prehistoric creatures.
Gazoo made a cameo appearance in theAnimaniacs revival segment "Suffragette City".
He makes a cameo appearance inSpace Jam: A New Legacy amongst the crowd of other Hanna-Barbera characters and several other Warner Brothers characters watching the basketball game between the Toon Squad and the Goon Squad. When the characters were making their way to the site of the game, the Great Gazoo was seen briefly teleporting away fromMuttley. During the basketball game, Gazoo can be seen floating near the Flintstones and the Rubbles.
The Great Gazoo appears inJellystone!, voiced byFlula Borg in a German accent. He appears in the episode "Gotta Kiss Them All" as the sociopath host of the virtual reality game "BuddyBlasters". The Great Gazoo becomes a regular character in season 2.
The character also makes a brief cameo appearance in theScooby-Doo reunion specialScooby-Doo, Where Are You Now! that aired onThe CW where he was voiced byFrank Welker.[8] He was seen withJabberjaw during the audition scene.
