Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Yogi Bear

The favorite talking bears of Hanna Barbera return in this 3D incarnation of Yogi Bear and his picnic basket stealing antics. In a hybrid live action/animated format such as this, it seems that the acting process becomes more difficult for those actors who actually exist outside of the computer-generated world. However, Tom Cavanaugh, who plays Ranger Smith, has a valiant effort and is a more than adequate human version of the one and only “Mr. Park Ranger, sir.” That success is possibly more important than Yogi himself as the humans carry the storyline and the bears provide the jokes.

Content wise, the film kept to the true spirit of Yogi bear from the days of the bear’s own cartoon, more contrived and ridiculous than his original shorts on The Huckleberry Hound Show. Though this is necessary to compete with new animation in the "Shrek era" of multi-layered children's entertainment. The bears make a lot of food jokes, supported by interesting bits of humor, like Weird Al's “Lasagna” playing in the background of their cave. The humans on the other hand, have nature jokes coming out the ash (get it, like the tree).

Yogi and Boo Boo are voiced by Dan Akroyd and Justin Timberlake, though except for some strong comedic timing, I can't help but think that some low level voice actors could have done just as well. Seeing that they went with an imitation of the classic voices, I doubt their star power has any pull with audiences.

The shallow story line with a focus on responsibility and dedication is not revolutionary. But I find this kind of fun problem-solving plot much more appropriate and less preachy than the scared-straight tactics of this year’s biggest animated hit Toy Story 3. Yogi is a laid back, average joe type character that is most successful when written into a simple story where he can commit some good ol’ petty larceny. It’s an overall fun film for kids and fans of the cartoon. (7.2 out of 10)

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