Completely Boring!!!

Between the 2010 horror film Bear, the creepy 2002 film The Country Bears, and this mess, I don’t think I’ve seen one single decent bear movie in years. The three all have one common problem of being mediocre films, but they both can be excused because at least they don’t use the dreaded CGI effects that this horrendous adaptation of the cartoon classic uses. I think I’d be complaining too if the film took The Country Bears route and used real bear suits, which only means this film couldn’t win no matter which direction it took. Unless it used the classic style of animation the timeless cartoon did. Now that is some wishful thinking.

The voice acting is the thing that redeems the film a little bit. Yogi’s voice isn’t perfect, but I accepted it since it was Dan Akroyd. Boo Boo’s voice wasn’t too bad either surprisingly since JT was the voice. While the voices aren’t that perfect, it’s one of the few high points the film does have. Pretty much everything else is two dimensional, loud. and overly silly. Like all kids movies now.

The story takes place where it should, Jellystone Park. There inhabits some of finest scenery, the freshest of air, and the talking, pic-a-nic basket stealing Yogi Bear. Jellystone Park starts taking a beating when tourists are attracted to amusement parks more than the wilderness. Mayor Brown (Andrew Daly) states that he will close Jellystone and sell the land. Yogi (Akroyd) and Boo Boo (Timberlake) make it their priority to team up with Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanagh) and Rachel (Anna Faris), a documentary filmmaker filming some of her movie at the park, to save Jellystone and it’s lovely scenery.

I just can’t get over the fact that this is LIVE ACTION. If something started out as a cartoon, just leave it has one. I’m sure Hanna-Barbera didn’t think in fifty years their beloved bear would be seen on the big screen complete in CGI and unnecessary 3D. This is the same execution taken during the film Alvin and the Chipmunks and the dreadful Scooby Doo movie. Make everything else live action, and leave the main star(s) for the CGI.

The one film where I can accept the fact it mixed live action with animation is Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Besides being a fun film, it was also new for the time. Nothing like that had been done, and it didn’t go cartooning around with the audience. Plus it wasn’t just kid orientated, it had a lot of crude humor to itself that many adults would find fun. I can say with a straight face that if Who Discovered Roger Rabbit? does get made, this could certainly see a remake too, done with CGI. Lord have some mercy.

It’s also strange that the humans just cope with having a talking bear live in their park. If I was a ranger, and there were two talking bears living in my park that were stealing picnic baskets, and running around doing whatever they please. I think I’d either scream, or send them to a zoo. In the cartoon, the rangers didn’t seem to care if the bear could talk or what. But that was a CARTOON, they were supposed to be used to it. In a cartoon, logic doesn’t apply. There is such a thing as being overly cartoony, but back in the 50′s, 60′s, 70′s, and 80′s it was part of the act. Now shows like Spongebob Squarepants and pretty much every PBS show takes the “cartooning” WAY too far.

While watching this film, I couldn’t help but reflect on when I went to The Yogi Bear Campground many times during my childhood. The place was pretty much a traditional campground, but had various Yogi Bear themes. There was the Ranger Station, which served as the souvenir shop. It had a lake, similar to the one in the film, where people could go alone or with a friend out on the lake in a paddle boat. Plus it showed Friday night movies, and a Yogi cartoon frequently.

Besides having a lot to offer, it was miserable. Plain miserable for me. Me, my parents, and a lot of their friends with kids would get together and spend three days, two nights out there. Usually around Halloween weekend where a lot of events were held. No matter what year we went, it would be rainy and crappy. The campers were mediocre, very compressed, and somewhat unkempt, and being that we wouldn’t stay too long, my parents and I would refrain from taking a shower. So were already dirty, and all the time we spent outside in the rain probably made up for our missed showers. There are a lot of other events I don’t want to get into because I myself hate reflecting on them.

When I read in 2008 a CGI/live action adaptation of Yogi Bear was going to be made, I wasn’t surprised and I wasn’t happy. When the trailer premiered a few months ago I was ranting on it as well. I caved it and saw it to say I did, and came out sorry for my foolish actions. It will most likely keep the kid’s entertained because of it’s color, it’s loud effects, and flat out goofy premise. But with it’s lame jokes, abrupt, protruding CGI, and annoying human characters, Yogi Bear makes for an unnecessary and tedious trip to the theater.