A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith

A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith
Genre: Parody Running Time: 20 minutes Country: United States Release Date: September 24, 1999 Network(s): Cartoon Network Created by: John Kricfalusi Distributed by: Cartoon Network Starring: Greg Burson Corey Burton Kevin Kolde John Kricfalusi Mary Ellen Thomas

A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith is a stand-alone animated television special, and a parody of a Hanna-Barbera cartoon series, The Yogi Bear Show, which revolves around Ranger Smith. A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith was made by The Ren & Stimpy Show creator John Kricfalusi and his company Spümcø. A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith originally aired on Cartoon Network on September 24, 1999, along with Boo Boo Runs Wild, a similar Yogi Bear-themed stand alone special.

Plot

Ranger Smith awakes to a depressing morning where he declares his hate of the job. He then walks outside and wakes the sun by kicking on a mountain in the foreground. Then he proceeds to walk through the forest, changing appearances every time he passes a tree. His mood improves as he walks through the forest. He then finds a squirrel holding acorns and demands to see a license for them. When the squirrel doesn't produce one, Ranger Smith confiscates the nuts. The squirrel's children then poke their heads from the door. Ranger Smith notices this and demands to see a marriage license. When the squirrel can't produce one Ranger Smith decides to write a ticket but to "let him off easy" this time. He demands that the squirrel store pickles for the winter and may only keep one child. The scene then changes to Yogi Bear and Boo Boo Bear's cave. The two bears are showering while Ranger Smith watches them, taking notes. The scene suddenly changes to night with Ranger Smith on his hands and knees holding a flashlight to his face. He then says that it is "Owl Feeding Time" and that what he has to do is not for civilian eyes. The screen cuts to black and strange sound effects are played. When the scene cuts back Ranger Smith is now standing; he looks as if he were beaten. He then proceeds to go back to his cabin. He gets back in bed once again complaining about his job and life.

Bad Qualities

1. This cartoon suffers from the same problems from Boo Boo Runs Wild.
2. The pacing is way too slow for another Yogi Bear cartoon.
3. Barely stays true to the original source material.
4. Too much disturbing scenes.
5. Several gross-out jokes and butt jokes.
6. The character designs don’t really fit the child-friendly style and spirit of the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons.
7. Once again, it was never necessary to put John Kricfalusi in charge of Yogi Bear.

Good Qualities

1. The animation is decent, thanks to Rough Draft Studios.
2. The backgrounds are great and fit the classic '50s-'60s Hanna-Barbera backgrounds.
3. At least they advertised right as a "Ranger Smith" cartoon, since Ranger Smith does have a fair amount of screen time.
4. Unlike Boo Boo Runs Wild, no one is really out of character, especially Boo Boo Bear and Yogi Bear himself.

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