Jellystone Park is the home of the talking bear Yogi (Dan Aykroyd) and his pal Boo boo (Justin Timberlake). Together they scheme new ways to steal the picnic baskets from unknowing visitors, but their plans always get interrupted by Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanagh). Rachel (Anna Feris) is a filmmaker looking to create a documentary on the brown bear, specifically Yogi, but when the Mayor Brown (Andrew Daly) chooses to close the park for a financial gain, she might be the key to help Yogi and Ranger Smith save their precious park.
This title brings back memories of my youth; seeing that I grew with some of those original Hanna Barbera cartoons. This closely resembles some of the silly situations I watched on TV when I was young. However, let me make this clear, this movie is in no way aimed at an adult audience and its sole purpose is to entertain a younger crowd. There isn’t really anything worth it for adults to relate to and the movie comes off as silly. Keeping in mind that is for kids, the sticky situations and silly things Yogi does will most likely appeal to the young crowd. After finishing watching the movie it just seems as if filmmakers didn’t exactly want to cover more than just one spectrum of viewers.
Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake voice Yogi and Boo boo and I must say they are spot on. Aykroyd delivers every line perfectly giving life and that silly character that Yogi has. Justin Timberlake was an even better cast to voice good ol’ pal Boo boo. He brings that whiny voice and unenthusiastic character that Boo boo is known for. Tom Cavanagh and Anna Feris were silly, but I am not entirely sure I want to blame them for the poor script as it was very unimaginative and bland. The rest are a hit or miss, but the fact that this won’t capture the adult audience is definitely a downer. I don’t really have any more complaints since most of the issues were mentioned above. I do think the film had some premise and could of definitely been much better, but it is what it is.
Yogi Bear arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p MPEG4-AVC framed at 1.85:1. The film may have left a bad taste, but I can’t deny the great job that Warner did on the video because it looks great. Colors are vibrant and vivid all throughout the film. Greens, reds, browns, etc. stand out bringing this picture to life. Detailing is excellent featuing some great level of detail not to mention even the CGI bears offer an impressive view. Black levels are well resolved. Skintones are appear natural and lifelike. The image is prestine and I guess my only complaint about the picture is the way they made Yogi and Boo boo’s fur look too shiny or very glossy. Other than that I didn’t really detect any anomalies or any other issues on the image. Yogi Bear looks great on Blu-ray.
Yogi Bear arrives on Blu-ray with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless track. Not quite as good as the video, but definitely enjoyable. Dialogue is clean and clear throughout. There’s some decent amount of surround work in the mix providing some support. The LFE output is well balanced. Overall the track is very simple in design and it does a good job with the task at hand.
Are You Smarter Than the Average Bear – Interactive card matching game.
Looney Tunes: Rabid Rider – See Wiley Coyote scheme up another plan to capture the Road Runner. Very enjoyable, too bad it is only about 3 minutes long.
Yogi Bear Mash-up – This short grabs various scenes from the movies and puts them together. It’s almost like an extended trailer.
Spending a Day at Jellystone Park – Interactive featurette that allows viewers to visit different areas of the park in order to find picnic baskets that unlock extra video featurettes. In total there are 9 videos and they range in various topics like casting, working with a couple of stunt guys with Yogi/Boo boo masks, etc.
Yogi Bear has a very good premise or at least I thought it did, but the film just didn’t really evolve beyond a kids movie. The movie remained very bland and silly for any adult to even consider watching without a kid around. I have no doubts this is a film that kids will enjoy due to the filly nature of the characters. The Blu-ray looks and sounds great and is packed with a good amount of supplements to keep the kids busy for a while longer. I suggest a rental before a potential purchase.
