Rated PG for some mild rude humor, 80 minutes
"Yogi Bear" - you're kidding, right?
Well, it's official. Another classic animated cartoon ruined by Hollywood CG, as if that comes as a big surprise regarding the unfortunate new children's movie "Yogi Bear." Dumber than the average children's movie, it recreates it with a mixture live-action and CGI ala "Scooby Doo" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks" not to mention an all-star cast that must have been paid a pretty penny for their take-the-money-and-run performances. "Yogi Bear" is to put it simply, just terrible, and painfully so. With no plot to speak of, there's simply nothing funny about flying picnic baskets.
Jellystone Park is celebrating its 100 anniversary, however it may be for the last time, because attendance is down and Mayor Brown (Andrew Daly) wants to close the park and sell the land. If the park is closed, Yogi Bear (voice of Dan Aykroyd) and Boo Boo (Justin Timberlake) will lose their home. They join forces with Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanaugh) and his girl Rachel (Anna Faris) to save Jellystone from closing forever. Yogi must really prove that he is "smarter than the average bear".
"Yogi Bear" will be remembered, but only for being one of the worst films of 2010. The film is just as bad as the trailers make it look, but that likely won't stop it from being a big hit at the box-office. The film is another bizarre mixture of CG and live-action (any reason no other animals or humans are CG?) with some outdated, painfully unfunny gags that even the littlest of ones could see through. Even more unfortunate is the fact that Aykroyd, one of the sharpest comedians to emerge from the original "Saturday Night Live," voices the big brown bear himself, and while he does a decent imitation, he is wasted with the lack of sharp gags and script.
The only thing of value is it is suitable, silly humor, even if it isn't a bit funny. It's good, clean fun on that level and will provide a good escape for parents who can drop off their kids and get some holiday shopping done, like buying them a copy of a real gem, "Toy Story 3." A forgettable waste of time and should end up on many (including mine) Top 10 Worst lists for this year.
