Rating:  

Starring: Dan Aykroyd (Voice), Justin Timberlake (Voice), Anna Faris, Tom Cavanagh, T.J. Miller, Nathan Corddry, Andrew Daly.
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Director: Eric Brevig
Rating: PG
Running Time: 80 Mins.
Release Date: December 17, 2010
Home Video Date: March 22, 2011
Box Office: $100.2 Million
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Sunswept Entertainment, De Line Pictures, Picnic Basket, Rhythm and Hues, and Warner Bros. Pictures.

Written by: Jeffrey Ventimilia, Joshua Sternin, and Brad Copeland.

Yeah, I know.

Ripping on a harmless family film like “Yogi Bear” is something film reviewers love to do, right? I mean I get it. When you have children, family movie viewing selections come from a kid-centric place, as kids are more picky and adults can be more accepting of watching things they may not have much of an interest in. And movies like “Yogi Bear” exist to fill that void. So, again I get it. With that acknowledged, if you are inclined to sit back and watch “Yogi Bear”, go ahead and please tell me something good about it. I’ll give you one to start – Justin Timberlake’s surprisingly engaging vocal work as Boo Boo. Now find me something else, anything else, and I will rethink my opinion.

In a nutshell, “Yogi Bear” is a movie about two anthropomorphic animated bears, Yogi and Boo Boo (Dan Aykroyd and Timberlake), who live in Jellystone Park. Yogi cannot contain his desire to steal food from the campers who visit the scenic park and Boo Boo, while occasionally in on the hijinks himself, stands as Yogi’s consciousness, trying to rein in the overzealous bear.

When a documentarian (Anna Faris) and her film crew arrive to document the 100th anniversary of Jellystone Park and its unique talking bears, word comes down from the Mayor (Andrew Daly) that the park must be closed due to his city’s financial crisis. The standard “You-Have-X-Number-Of-Days” plot kicks in and the Mayor informs park rangers Smith (Tom Cavanagh) and Jones (T.J. MIller) that they must raise funds to keep the park profitable, or the Mayor will zone the Park for logging; in turn, generating revenue to help offset the city’s financial issues.

Yogi Bear is, on the one hand, dialed down to the lowest common denominator and aims for the simplest and most easy humor imaginable. With the target audience for this resting decades behind my age (36 at the time I watched this), I am still amazed that the film panders so much to the littlest of viewers. All I can really recall after seeing the film is how cheap and unimpressive the final product looks, with mid-level CGI at best and essentially one main location for all the happenings.

Hanging perilously on the vocal stylings of an overwrought Dan Aykroyd as Yogi Bear and a rather skillfully executed performance by Justin Timberlake as Yogi’s sidekick, Boo Boo, the film struggles to appeal to well, anyone. The quick and easy bathroom gags make little ones laugh but there is little else to engage the minds of those mildly amused youngsters, much less older kids and adults. The human cast simply have no energy or pulse and the normally spunky and vibrant Anna Faris is soulless in her performance. Tom Cavanagh proves that he lacks the makeup of being a lead character and T.J. Miller’s bumbling, manchild performance as Cavanagh’s assistant Ranger Jones is annoying and nearly unwatchable.

“Yogi Bear” is a short, relatively harmless film content-wise, but subpar in virtually every other way. While kids will want to see it and perhaps even engage in it, I would bet that even they are not going to be clamoring to watch this more than once. For older kids and grown ups, “Yogi Bear” contains a combination of silence-inducing attempts at humor and nails-on-the-chalkboard like moments that may work on an adult’s every last nerve.

And pardon me the soapbox for a moment, but I truly believe that Warner Bros. Pictures and the higher-ups behind the “Yogi Bear” film do not really care one bit whether or not the film is any good or not. Rather, the film embodies the big studio mentality to a T – invest in the viability of the project, then crunch the numbers on the marketability possibilities of the production. If all lines up, greenlight the concept and then work on a script tailored around the commercial expectations of the entire endeavor.

“Yogi Bear” feels like a movie you would get shrinkwrapped behind a toy, or thrown in free with purchase of a larger toy. If you accept that premise then, by all means, dive in and try to find something to enjoy. If you choose to see through the transparency however, this is yet another exhibit in the argument as to why many people seek and desire more challenging cinematic fare. But as you take this in, just remember that while you are spending hard-earned money watching this in 3-D, or renting it, or buying it, the bigwigs are likely laughing at you…all the way to the bank.

SHOULD I SEE IT?

The film is easy to watch and will allow a 75-80 minute diversion for children to be occupied while adults do something else.

Other than childish bathroom humor in a couple of spots, this film is harmless for virtually everyone.

Justin Timberlake does nice work vocalizing Boo Boo.

Nothing happens of any memorable quality here. The film is lifeless, not funny, and seems to be teasing that something better could be happening at any moment. Nothing ever does.

Anna Faris walks around in an acting haze, while the screenplay and choice of Cavanagh and Miller was ill-advised. Miller is way too ridiculous and over-the-top while Cavanagh seems to be struggling the entire time he has to interact with CGI bears.