Five Questions for Fred Flintstone Pez top of page | cover page

Fred Flinstone Pez is soon to be a page right out of history.

Pezhead Monthly: Fred Flintstone Pez, the Pezhead community was shocked and saddened to learn this past month that the Flintstones set is going to be retired by the Pez company. This of course means that you, along with fellow dispensers Barney Rubble Pez, Pebbles Pez, and Dino Pez, will no longer be produced and will eventually no longer be sold in stores. What are your thoughts on the news of this occasion? Fred Flintstone Pez: You know, I have to be honest, we all kind of knew this day was coming. Back in 1993 when Barney, Pebbles, Dino and I first hit store shelves, we never thought that we would enjoy ten years of retail bliss. And now that it's all winding down, I have nothing but warm memories about our fantastic Pez journey. PM: That's good to hear. Do you have any plans for your upcoming retirement? FFP: Well, when I first heard the news, I met with the gang and we batted around some ideas like moving to Florida, driving across the country in a Winnebago, or just hanging out at the mall all day. But then we realized that no, we are Pez dispensers! Countless others before us have retired, and like them we have an obligation to spread

PM: Once a Pez, always a Pez. However, Fred Flintstone Pez, I'd imagine it is a little surreal to be retiring at the same time as your daughter, isn't it?

FFP: You can say that again. I had such high hopes for her outlasting me, but I have to remind myself that she's been out there as long as I have. My, how they grow.

PM: Looking back over the years, do you wish anything could have gone differently for the Flintstones Pez set?

FFP: Well, sometimes we did find it a little unfair that we were never given the courtesy of updates to the set. It would have been great if Wilma Pez, Betty Pez, and Bam Bam Pez could have joined us somewhere along the way. Dino Pez often wondered aloud why others such as Looney Tunes and Disney were given "cool" or "extreme" makeovers, and we were not. I found myself reassuring him that we didn't need any makeovers, because we are after all a modern stone age family.

PM: Fred Flintstone Pez, thanks much for speaking with us. I have one final question, and it's a rather difficult one to ask. To be frank, the Flintstones set has been on the shelves for a long time, and people who rush to the stores in search of the latest and greatest dispensers are often disappointed when all they can find is you. How much do you really think Pez collectors will miss you?

FFP: Wow, that's a really humbling question. If I had tear ducts, I think I might be on the verge of crying right now. But I do see your point, and it's not like I'm ignorant to the reality of the situation. Chances are the four of us won't be entirely missed by those hundreds of collectors who already have us as part of their collection. But I'll tell you what, there will come a day when collectors new to the hobby will only hear of us in stories from "back in tha day." It will be a sad day indeed when we are remembered as mainstays of the Cartoon Network and children's multivitamins, and not as Pez dispensers. If that's the case, I think we're all Yabba Dabba Doomed.

(Editor's note: In honor of the Flintstones set being retired, be sure to also check out "Excerpts from the Diary of a Pez Dispenser on the Move" and "A Sonnet for Fred". )

Pez Poetry top of page | cover page

Pez Haiku #28

If you only have
Two days to live, spend them at
A Pez convention.

Driving Home from Cleveland

Driving home from Cleveland,
Feeling mighty fine,
Thinking of all that sweet Pez
That I can now call mine.

In bags and boxes they are now,
But not for long that way.
For very soon they will be home
And in that proud display.

Driving home from Cleveland,
Wearing one big grin,
Knowing that in just one year,
I'll feel this way again.



Pez Almost-Quote of the Month top of page | cover page

"If Pez is outlawed, only outlaws will have Pez."