The name of the first clip is perhaps apropos since Dan Aykroyd was perhaps the smartest choice to voice Yogi Bear. It’s also smart enough to stick with the good old fashioned Yogi, instead of making him younger and sexier, and to use the same style of clever contraptions that the original Yogi used, like this basket-a-pult
This family rafting trip answers two questions: Why do bears stay on land, and why should there be seatbelts on starships from the Federation flagship to the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy?
Seeing the country hasn’t been easier. Simply hop aboard a moving train and roll with it! I hope you’re not asthmatic, or a moderately fat bear…
For many years, I thought the most talented animal on waterskis was some family’s terrier or a squirrel at the I-X Center in Cleveland. It turns out I just hadn’t seen Yogi do it.
Whether or not you call this a win due to its awesomeness, or a fail of its execution, this introduction is still quite bold…in a Jellystone Park kind of way. Picnic basket, meet Yogi Bear. I believe Yogi is already familiar with you.
I love smart humor. I also like self-deprecating humor, because geeks and/or nerds like me have to be able to crack a few jokes at their own expense. In that light, pay close attention to Yogi’s safety manual for his aerial picnic basket stealer.
I will admit, when I saw the Boo Boo Cam, I thought it was going to be an opportunity for Justin Timberlake, who voices him, to basically parody himself and love up the camera. I was disappointed at first to see this not happen. Luckily, Aykroyd takes the joke for his own and rolls with it. Anna Faris as a documentary filmmaker is pretty hot in this scene too.
The idea of Tom Cavanaugh as Ranger Smith was weird to me at first. In fact, I had to remember very hard that he was Ed in the eponymously-titled NBC show. However, this scene between him and Anna Faris as Yogi attempts to steal his lunch proves that maybe he’s got a trick or two left up his sleeve
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