Yogi Bear

Yogi Bear is not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but it is not wholly deserving of the hate I have seen it get. When I first saw it advertised, in all honesty Yogi Bear looked like an abomination. I thought that a memorable Hanna-Barbera character in a movie in 3D would not work, the plot line seemed uninteresting and then when I saw that Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake as the cartoon characters that put the final nail in the coffin.

But despite the many reservations I had of Yogi Bear, I still went to see it. And I kind of enjoyed it. That said, it does have a lot of problems, and I'd say some of these problems are quite bad. I am very fond of the Yogi Bear cartoon, and I do think the movie did a serviceable enough job to maintain its spirit. The movie though does have a very predictable and sometimes generic plot line, but in some ways the original cartoon had its predictable spots as did almost all the Hanna Barbera cartoons. The script does have its funny and humorous spots, but along the way there is the odd lame joke and cheesy line complete with some very unoriginal slapstick. Yogi Bear is also too short, and has some very uneven pacing feeling rushed one minute and too slow the next. And I wish I could praise some of the live-action actors, but I can't as a vast majority of the actors are very lacking in charisma and warmth.

However, despite what the advertising suggested, Yogi Bear does look quite decent. The scenery and colours are vibrant and colourful, Yogi and Boo Boo are quite well-modelled and the editing is crisp enough. And the 3D while not exceptional and perhaps not always necessary is nowhere near as bad as I feared. When it comes to any memorable scenes or set pieces, the standout is the white-water rafting ride down the river, which was inspired and visually inventive. The soundtrack is rousing and energetic, there are some dialogue and jokes I enjoyed as most of the banter and chemistry between Yogi and Boo Boo are a joy. The voice work is also better than I thought, Aykroyd's voice takes a while to get used to but he does make an effort and it shows, but Timberlake(who I actually was more worried about) nails Boo Boo.

In conclusion, entertaining but too flawed to make a bigger impression. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Another classic cartoon character comes to the big screen, there was Popeye, Scooby Doo, Garfield, and now there is the mischievous picnic basket stealing bear named Yogi.

Now the CGI animation of Yogi and Boo Boo is pretty good, and the voice talents of Dan Ackroyd and Justin Timberlake is also good. But Tom Cavanagh as Ranger Smith is not funny, he comes across trying way to hard, it looked like he was telling the audience "I'm funny, please laugh at me". Anna Faris starts out as a dull character at the beginning, but she gets better as the movie goes on. And T.J. Miller is just wasting his talent here. But it does have good share of adventure at times. But I think the little kids will enjoy more than adults.

First of all if you are going to see this film you probably already know what you are getting yourself into. This is a really really really dumb movie featuring Yogi Bear and Boo Boo voiced by Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake respectively. There is no substance at all what so ever in this movie, therefore, sit back, relax, become a kid again and enjoy the antics of Yogi Bear and Boo Boo. The movie begins with the picnic basket nabbing antics of the renowned cartoon character Yogi Bear and his partner in crime Boo Boo at Jellystone Park. They are constantly messing with Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanagh) who they call Mr. Ranger and scaring campers away. Documentary filmmaker Rachel (Anna Faris) arrives in order to shoot a project by attaching a camera to Boo Boo's bow-tie. All is normal until Mayor Brown (Andrew Daly) decides to sell Jellystone Park to loggers in order to save the town from bankruptcy and help him with his campaign for governor. However, Yogi and Boo Boo have something to say about this and team up with Ranger Smith and Rachel in order to stop Mayor Brown plot and save the park.

The movie itself isn't very good nor is it supposed to be very good and the fact that the creators recognized this while making the film makes the film a lot of fun. Yogi Bear and Boo Boo are the best part of the film and are laugh out loud hilarious. They aim for the ridiculous and do the craziest things that are very entertaining. Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake were perfect choices for the parts of Yogi Bear and Boo Boo. They help the film avoid any sappy emotional drama and just have some childhood fun. The film is also very short and therefore it does not overstay it's welcome. The film just tells the story and makes you laugh without really worrying about anything.

The film isn't worth paying fourteen dollars to see in 3D and is very forgettable because it lacks any originality what so ever. Also, all of the actors really do not add anything to the film except a small cliché romantic relationship between Ranger Smith and Rachel. The bad guys are very annoying as they usually are these kinds of movies. Also there really isn't a plot or at least a plot that you really care about. The writing is terrible, but yet again you aren't seeing the film for that.

This is a great kids movie that isn't scary at all and could probably even be rated G. I actually do recommend seeing the film, but you should probably wait to see it in the cheaper movie theaters or wait for DVD unless you want a really safe movie to take a kid to. (Save your money and do not see it in 3D)

In the new animation Yogi Bear even the voices of Dan Aykroyd as Yogi and Justin Timberlake as Boo Boo aren't able to take a lumbering script and make it less than soporific for adults. But, then, this movie is for youngsters about 5 years old, no older, so it has found an audience that might be mildly amused, as mine was.

In this derivation from the once popular TV series, a documentary filmmaker, Rachel (Anna Farris), falls in love with Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanagh) while she witnesses his struggle with nefarious forces that threaten the future and ecology of Jellystone National Park. Yogi and Boo are not a help even though they'd like to be because Yogi regularly disproves his boast that he's "smarter than the average bear." This comedy, magnified but not improved, by 3-D is not smarter than the average animation.

Yogi Bear is about Jellystone Park about to get closed down because the town is bankrupt. Due to this, Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanagh) throws a party for Jellystone so more visitors come in, more visitors, more money. But Yogi screws it up. So now they must save the park somehow before it gets closed. Yogi (Dan Aykroyd) and Boo Boo (Justin Timberlake) do a good job at voice acting. Tom Cavanagh also does a good job, but everyone else does a bad job. ESPIALLY THE MAYOR (Andrew Daly) HE DOES NOT EVEN TRY. The 3D is pretty good, so if you have a Blu-ray 3D at home, try to rent this movie.

OVERALL: It's funny, great 3D, and pretty good. Go see it, you won't be disappointed.