Growing up, Alladin was one of my most favourite cartoons. More than anything, I was fascinated with his magic carpet, that could fly you to wherever you wanted to go. In the show, it had a personality, could understand human language and had a mind of its own. And this I utterly loved. In that childhood innocence, I wished I had one for myself too. I’m sure we’ve all been there, wished for that. But what if that wish actually came true? Amazingly enough it did for someone, and it had a lot to do with another much loved cartoon from our childhood, The Flinstones!
His Majesty the Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar of Johar, a Malaysian royal and state ruler, has received an exact replica of the iconic car shown in The Flinstones and driven by Fred Flinstone’s character!
Hanna Barbera’s The Flintstones is Tuanku Sultan Ibrahim’s favourite cartoon, and Fred Flintstone is his favourite cartoon character.
In a Facebook post shared on the Sultan’s official page, it was revealed that the car was a belated birthday gift for the Sultan from HRH The Regent of Pahang,(Pemangku Raja Pahang), Tengku Abdullah Ibni Sultan Ahmad Shah, another fellow royal and state official and presented to the Sultan by  Datuk Manjit Abdullah, at Istana Pasir Pelangi in Johor Bahru.
The iconic car was a major highlight of the show and this replica does full justice to the original. Just like the cartoon version, this one comes with a cloth roof with a portion cut-off in the back for a window!
It’s exteriors have a wood finish and the wheels too have been done up to look like they’re made out of stone, staying true to the original model which was made of wood and stone.
But thankfully, this isn’t the Stone Age and we have access to technology, so this one has its own motor. The Sultan won’t have to use his feet to drive this one, like Fred Flinstone and his friend Barney Rubble did in the cartoon!
The Sultan is quite the automobile enthusiast and is, in fact, the founder of an annual motorcycle event in Malaysia as well. This cult favourite vehicle will be another excellent addition to his existing repertoire of fancy wheels!
As for me, I’m still waiting for my magic carpet to be gifted to me! Any takers?