Yogi Bear (Warner Brothers)
Almost Un-bear-able
I know there are probably some kids out there, somewhere, who will think Yogi Bear is just the best movie ever made. God bless them, I hope they watch it a hundred times. But for poor souls over the age of ten watching the new animated/real life version of Yogi Bear is almost un-bear-able.
Yogi Bear is one of those kids movies that collects a few B-list actors and throws them into the mix with animated animals that talk and sing and do all sorts of wild and whacky things. If it doesnt have a genius script then it just isnt going to work and Yogi Bear doesnt.
In the film Yogi (voiced by Dan Aykroyd) and his sidekick Boo Boo (voiced by Justin Timberlake) live at Jellystone Park where Yogi practices the profession of stealing picnic baskets. This drives Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanaugh) crazy.
Ranger Smith also has problems keeping his assistant, Ranger Jones (T J Miller) out of his hair. Jones has high ambitions and Ranger Smith is in his way. Smith must also contend with Mayor Brown (Andrew Daly) who wants to close Jellystone and cut down all the timber.
Into this mess comes documentary journalist Rachel (Anna Faris) who wants to do a study of Yogi. Of course she also wins Ranger Smiths heart. But their path to true love is cluttered with Jellystone and Yogi problems.
Aykroyd and Timberlake are excellent voices for Yogi and Boo Boo but so what. Any two voice actors could have done just as good a job and wouldnt have cost a fraction of what these two stars were paid. Faris is a bright spot in the film with her kind of off-kilter persona but Cavanaugh is just average as Ranger Smith. He doesnt add much but he doesnt take anything away from the film either.
The film is rated PG for some rude humor.
If the kids enjoy this movie, well more power to them. It is, however, going to be painful for parents to have to sit through it. The humor is lame and the special effects are run of the mill. There is no one aspect of the movie that is outstanding.
Hopefully we have had our fill of Yogi Bear with this one movie and wont have to sit through any sequels. In the case of Yogi and Boo Boo once is definitely enough.
I scored Yogi Bear an un-bear-able 4 out of 10.
