Yogi Bear (2010)
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.jpg) This revival is dumber then the av-a-rage revival.
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Yogi Bear is a 2010 American live-action/computer-animated comedy film directed by Eric Brevig and written for the screen by Brad Copeland, Joshua Sternin, and Jeffrey Ventimilia. Based on the 1961 animated television series The Yogi Bear Show and the character of the same name created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. It stars Anna Faris, Tom Cavanagh, T.J. Miller, Nate Corddry, and Andrew Daly, as well as the voices of Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake. Produced by Donald De Line's De Line Pictures and Sunswept Entertainment. The movie premiered at Westwood on December 11, 2010, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 17, 2010 by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the first new installment of the Yogi Bear series since Yo Yogi! and Yogi the Easter Bear 16 years ago.
Plot
Mayor R. Brown realizes that Franklin City is facing bankruptcy due to profligate spending on his part. Brown plots with his Chief of Staff to raise money for the town budget and his upcoming gubernatorial campaign by shutting down Jellystone Park and opening the land to logging. To save the park, park rangers Smith and Jones, with help from documentary filmmaker Rachel Johnson, hold a centennial festival and fireworks show in an attempt to sell season passes. To sabotage the effort, Brown promises Jones the position of head ranger if the funds are not raised. Two brown bears named Yogi and Boo-Boo, who steal picnic baskets from visitors in Jellystone Park while the rangers attempt to hinder them, had promised Smith to stay out of sight during the festival, but Jones convinces them otherwise. The bears try to please the crowd with a water skiing performance, but Yogi inadvertently sets his cape on fire, causing fireworks to be launched into the crowd, who flee in panic. After Jellystone is shut down, Smith is forced to stay in Evergreen Park and scolds Yogi for interfering with the festival. Seeing that their home is in danger of being destroyed, Yogi and Boo-Boo travel to Evergreen Park where they and Smith figure out Brown's plan. They all return to Jellystone with Rachel, where they learn that Boo-Boo's pet turtle is a rare and endangered species known as a "frog-mouthed" turtle, meaning that, according to law, the park cannot be destroyed if the turtle is living there.
The Chief of Staff learns about the turtle and sends Jones to kidnap it. On the day that Brown is planning a press conference to begin the destruction of the park, Smith, Rachel, and the bears rescue the turtle and try to bring it to the media's attention. Jones, learning that he had been deceived by Mayor Brown, has a change of heart and helps the team bring the turtle to the press conference. At the press conference, Rachel reveals that she had installed a hidden camera in Boo-Boo's bow tie which had captured Brown admitting to his plan. Smith hooks up the camera to the jumbotron Brown is using for his press conference and shows the video, causing the crowd to turn against him. After Brown and his staff are arrested for their crimes, Jellystone Park is reopened and becomes a great success with Smith reappointed as head ranger, he and Rachel admit their feelings for each other, and after they kiss, they discover Yogi and Boo-Boo stealing a picnic baskets once again.
Why It's No Pic-A-Nic
- Yogi and Ranger Smith get flanderized in this film and act like nothing like they were in the original cartoon:
- Yogi goes from a funny yet smart and loyal bear into an utter idiot and even gives up easily.
- Ranger Smith goes from a loyal, strict but understanding Park Ranger into a stereotypical park ranger with a generic love-interest.
- Mayor R. Brown is a bland and uninteresting villain and is nothing more than a basic "I want to shut down a place/area just so I could make money and be popular" type of villain that has been seen in previous movies and/or media.
- The movie has some illogical and nonsensical scenes, making its tone super predictable and awkward from top to bottom. Examples include
- A pointless romantic subplot involving Ranger Smith and Rachel Johnson that explains why Cindy Bear was left out and Ranger Smith was promoted to be somewhat the main protagonist instead of Yogi himself.
- The main plot involves Yogi and Boo-Boo having to stop the mayor from closing Jellystone Park, yet Yogi screws everything up for everyone around him.
- Yogi wants to start a picnic in the middle of the forest but then decides to cancel it for no real reason. Why did he cancel it?
- Other scenes of people that are embarrassing to watch, such as the scenes with Mayor Brown.
- Terrible acting, with the exceptions of Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake as Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo (see RQ #6).
- False Advertising: One of the posters shows Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo riding a jeep, while in the actual film, they never ride it.
- There are very few locations in the film, most of which take place in Jelly Stone Park and/or a forest, while rarely taking place in Franklin City. Thus feeling like the producers ran out of budget.
- To be fair, that's how it was in the original cartoon, but for a film like this, it's unexceptionable as there should be more areas in a film that's 80 minutes long.
- While decent, the plot of this film is incredibly generic, and follows the stereotypical trope of "Main character(s) must make sure to not have a place get shut down by a villain", which has already been done in previous media and have been done much better.
- There is a scene where Yogi and Boo-Boo dance to the song "Baby Got Back", a song that doesn't belong in a film based on a family-friendly show.
- There's a repetitive running gag of Mayor R. Brown's having issues with either opening and/or closing the limo's window, and they repeat this joke two times.
- Much of the movie's humor consists of pointless fart and burp jokes, and even forgettable juvenile humor, making it go way off in many ways.
- Some humor often feels forced, such as Yogi making an out-of-place Wilhelm Scream when a Pine Cone hits his forehead and left eye after being flung into a tree by one of his traps.
- Speaking of toilet humor, there's a scene featuring gross-out humor where Yogi catches a slug and eats it. After he eats it, Yogi blows the slug out of his nose.
- Ranger Jones (Ranger Smith's second-in-command) is an unlikable and idiotic character who easily falls for Mayor R. Brown's lies and tricks Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo into ruining the Jelly Stone Festival.
- Somewhat confusing who the main focus of Yogi Bear is, while most of the film does center around Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo, other times it focuses on Ranger Smith and Rachel.
- Many unnecessary and forced pop-culture references, including a reference to the theme of the original Superman film series when Yogi Bear says "Boo-Boo...get my collar!" and "Nobody....is gonna hurt Jellystone!", and a reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey in the scene where Yogi fantasizes about a donut in space while Also Sprach Zarathustra plays.
- The latter reference is also pretty much just filler because it doesn't serve anything to the story and it was only there so that the directors and writers can force in a random pop culture reference, but even then, the context of the clip makes no sense whatsoever, what's the connection between donuts and space and why would Yogi be floating in space towards a giant one?
- Additionally, not only does this scene in particular feel very out-of-place due to its ecstatic, but it never gets brought up again for the rest of the film.
- The latter reference is also pretty much just filler because it doesn't serve anything to the story and it was only there so that the directors and writers can force in a random pop culture reference, but even then, the context of the clip makes no sense whatsoever, what's the connection between donuts and space and why would Yogi be floating in space towards a giant one?
- Rachel is an incredibly generic female stereotype that falls in love with Ranger Smith, plus she feels a bit out-of-place and feels more like a character from another live-action adaptation of a classic cartoon.
- Bizzare lighting and coloring, such example, in the scene where Ranger Smith and Rachel have dinner at the latter's cabin, the forest looks very blue in terms of color, it's as if the developers made the scene take place inside a building and had blue colored lighting.
- Yogi's antics to steal Picnic Baskets sometimes get way too extreme and are not subtle like in the original series, such as the ending in which he tows nearly EVERY SINGLE table from the park with a truck.
- Plot-Holes:
- How can Mayor R. Brown be allowed to shut down a national park?
- When, where, and how did Boo-Boo get a Frog-Mouth Turtle?
- Why can't Yogi Bear get food from elsewhere instead of Jellystone Park?
- Biggest Plot-Hole: Why doesn't Yogi Bear and/or Boo-Boo just tell Ranger Smith that Ranger Jones was the one who told them to please the crowd with a water skiing performance, basically ruining the festive?
- Why did Ranger Jones, Rachel, Yogi Bear, and Boo-Boo show Mayor R. Brown the Frog-Mouth Turtle when it's obvious that he's not gonna have a change of heart?
- Certain supporting characters from the show don't appear for some reason (besides Boo-Boo). For example, Huckleberry Hound, one of the most popular characters in the Hanna-Barber series and the show that debuted Yogi Bear before the latter got his series, as well as Yogi's love interest, Cindy Bear, doesn't appear nor are they even mentioned in the film, which makes the entire film a rather unmitigated disappointment as they were very popular.
- The idea of putting political themes in a kid's film is very unnecessary and isn't even in the original Yogi Bear series.
- Weak direction skill of Eric Brevig, the same director behind Journey to the Center of the Earth.
- Despite this being a Yogi Bear film, it feels somewhat generic when compared to the previous Yogi Bear media. With no other characters from the Yogi Bear series making an appearance or even getting a mention, it is just another run-of-the-mill live-action/computer-animated comedy movie with Yogi Bear skinned onto it for profit. Therefore, it's very possible to replace Yogi and Boo-Boo with different animated characters and the movie would stay the same, considering the lack of Yogi Bear elements.
- No real climax/final battle, all that happens during the Climax is Yogi and Boo-Boo distracting the two guards while Ranger Smith hooks up the camera to the jumbotron Brown is using for his press conference and shows the video of Mayor R. Brown's true motives to the crowd.
- The film in some ways feels rushed, since the movie only lasts a total of 80 minutes, and the pacing is too quick since certain moments either last only a few seconds or the film tends to cut several corners for the film to go a little quicker, and nearly half of the movie feels like an extended episode of the 60's cartoon with the length of a feature film, which makes the film feel way too short overall, resulting in the film feeling cheap, its as if there wasn't enough time to add more things to make the film run just a little bit longer, making it feel like the film wasn't finished and was only made just to modernize the Yogi Bear franchise in general.
Redeeming Qualities
- Unlike previous films that attempt to make a live-action/computer-animated appearance and most Hanna-Barbera films, Yogi Bear surprisingly stays true to its source material.
- The animation for Yogi and Boo-Boo looks fantastic and looks like their original cartoon counterparts.
- There are some funny moments, such as the Train Scene.
- The ending is pretty good and touching.
- It was nice to have Yogi and Boo-Boo to be brought back after sixteen years.
- Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake's voice performances as Yogi and Boo-Boo are great, especially with Justin Timberlake's role as Boo-Boo, as his voice for the character manages to sound exactly like the voice for Boo-Boo in the original Hanna Barbara cartoons.
- The soundtrack is decent, such as "My Best Friend" by Weezer.
- The credits animation looks similar to that of the source material.
- At the very least, it's better than Yo-Yogi!.
Reception
Box office
Yogi Bear debuted at the American box office at #2 behind Tron: Legacy, with an under-performing $16.4 million compared to Tron Legacy's $44 million. The opening weekend was lower than Warner Bros. expected, but executives believed that the film would hold well throughout the holiday season. The film grossed $103.3 million in the United States and a worldwide total of $203.5 million against an $80 million budget.
Critical response
Yogi Bear received extremely negative reviews from critics and audiences alike, with many criticizing the writing and plot while praising the faithfulness to its source material, CGI effects, and Aykroyd and Timberlake's vocal performances. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 13% based on 105 reviews and an average rating of 3.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Yogi Bear's 3D effects and an all-star voice cast are cold comfort for its aggressively mediocre screenplay." On Metacritic the film has a score of 35 out of 100 based on 23 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.
Common Sense Media gave the film one star, saying "Dumber-than-average family comedy won't even impress kids." IGN gave the film 4.0/10 and summed up their review by saying "Of course, Yogi Bear is meant as a kid's movie. And one supposes that it works on that level (the little ones at the press screening I attended seemed mildly amused). But we learned long ago that kids' movies can operate on more than one level, and that's not something that director Eric Brevig (Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D) or his screenwriters are interested in. The result is a movie that's dumber than the average bear. Though at least it has a pee joke in it."
Spill.com appreciated the film for staying true to its source material and not trying to "hip it up", comparing it to Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007), another live-action/CGI hybrid film that was also poorly received.[citation needed]
Possible Sequel
In 2012, it was reported that a sequel was in the works, with Jay Chandrasekhar chosen to direct. But no further updates have ever been given.
Trivia
- T.J. Miller had a near-fatal brain disease during filming and had to require surgery.
- Brendan Fraser, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, and Will Arnett were all considered for the role of Ranger Smith.
- Yogi Bear (in cartoon form) does have a cameo appearance in the trailer of Space Jam: A New Legacy along with other Hanna-Barbera characters.
- This movie was so poorly received that there was no Yogi Bear content made for 11 years, until Jellystone! came to HBO Max in 2021.
- T.J. Miller and Anna Faris would later participate in another project together 7 years later, doing voicework for The Emoji Movie, as Gene and Jailbreak respectively.