Yogi Bear Review

By: Robert Acosta

Cast:
Dan Aykroyd as Yogi Bear(voice)
Justin Timberlake as Boo Boo(voice)
Tom Canavagh as Ranger Smith
Anna Faris as Rachel

Plot: Yogi Bear and Boo Boo are just two, smarter than your average, bears living in Jellystone Park. While Jellystone park isn't the attraction it used to be, Yogi, Boo Boo and Ranger Smith look to bring back to where it once was and, ultimately, save the park.

Review: There are a couple of things that the Yogi Bear movie taught me. 1. Light Mayonnaise tastes completely different from regular mayonnaise and 2. check your expectations at the door and just have fun with the movie.

I'll tell you what i'm talking about. I went into the Yogi Bear movie with the expectation of it not being so good, falling flat on its face. What happened in the end was, Yogi Bear put me flat on my face.

The movie was one of the better animated movies i've seen all year. It transcended what most cartoon movies usually are. Cartoon movie meaning old cartoons turned into full length movies, just to be clear. Movies like Scooby Doo(both of them), The Flintstones and seemingly, The Smurfs have all been duds. I'm glad to say Yogi Bear does not fall into that category.

One of the things that makes Yogi Bear successful is that it was kept genuine. It stood true to the characters and to the cartoon. Right from the opening credits you feel like it's the cartoon, just a bit updated. Yogi is as witty as ever and Boo Boo makes for a good sidekick, though he's a bit limited in what he does and says. A good animated movie plays to all age groups, young and old. Yogi Bear does an extremely good job of that cause I personally enjoyed the hell out of it.

People worried about Aykroyd and Timberlake voicing Yogi and Boo Boo respectively, but I can happily say that the movie is in great hands(or should I say voices) with them. My only complaint about casting, and this may be big depending on how you look at it, is Tom Canavagh as Ranger Smith. I don't think he was the right choice for the Ranger Smith role. He did a respectable job, but from the get go, he didn't have the feel of Ranger Smith. Canavagh just seems like too much of a happy go lucky kind of guy and I would have wanted someone who conveys anger a little better.

As far as animated movies go, Yogi Bear is one of the better ones this year. It may seem a bit on the short side, especially for the pricing of a 3D movie, but it definitely delivers.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5