Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Yogi Bear Blu-ray Movie Review

Duller than the average bear...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown March 12, 2011

Alvin and the Chipmunks, Scooby Doo and now Yogi Bear. When did the beloved cartoons of yesteryear devolve into the reviled, critically ridiculed cine-trash of today? With The Smurfs scampering into theaters at the end of the summer, presumably to the same lackluster results, it's a question that begs some consideration. Why aren't these classic cartoon series being resurrected as fully animated feature films? Why are studios quick to settle for modest returns when Pixar and Dreamworks have shown just how viable animation has become? More importantly, why do audiences continue dumping their hard-earned cash into the live-action/animation-hybrid grinder? Director Eric Brevig's Yogi Bear cost Warner Brothers $80 million (how, I'm not exactly sure), disappointed audiences and critics, yet still managed to rake in a whopping $195 million at the worldwide box office. It's enough to give any cinephile a headache, enough to give Warner Bros. 115-million reasons to greenlight a sequel, and enough to give lifelong fans of Hanna-Barbera's "The Yogi Bear Show" pause.

Somewhere out there is a park ranger just waiting to yell at us...

Jellystone Park is under fire. Recent economic hardship and struggling city budgets have left greedy Mayor Brown (Andrew Daly, Eastbound & Down) and his shifty Chief of Staff (Nathan Corddry, The Ugly Truth) scrambling to slash expenses, starting with Jellystone Park. But what the mayor doesn't count on is two talking brown bears, Yogi (voiced by Dan Aykroyd, Ghostbusters) and Boo Boo (Justin Timberlake, The Social Network), a rare species of frog-mouthed turtle, a dutiful park employee named Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanaugh, Ed) and a documentary filmmaker (Anna Farris, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel). While Smith and fellow ranger Jones (T.J. Miller, Cloverfield) try to drum up funds with a Centennial Festival, Yogi tries to appeal to the park's campers, reigning in his picnic-basket thievery and putting on a show. But when things go horribly, horribly wrong, Yogi, Boo Boo, Ranger Smith and their newfound documentarian, Rachel, have to find another way to keep the park's gates open.

Aykroyd and Timberlake are, without a doubt, Yogi's greatest assets. Aykroyd bounds from syllable to syllable with Art-Carney gusto, evoking original voice actor Daws Butler's rotund staccato with every pic-a-nic and av-e-rage that comes his way. Likewise, Timberlake is a dead ringer for Don Messick, sinking into Boo Boo's nasally, Droopy-Dog whimper with uncanny ease. The pair seem to be having a blast in their recording sessions, something that frankly fails to translate on screen. Chalk it up to the CG animated critters, the awkward interactions they have with their live-action castmates, or the dreadfully run-of-the-mill hilarity that ensues, but Yogi Bear simply isn't that much fun. (A sentiment my six-year-old conveyed by way of laughs that eventually evolved into yawns.) Cavanaugh, Farris and Miller overact and under-deliver, phoning in painfully pedestrian performances that wouldn't fly on a made-for-TV Cartoon Network movie. Daly and Corddry are better, but only because their cartoon villainy affords them more leeway. And the CG animals? Their eyes bulge, their jaws drop and their limbs flail on cue, sure. But where's the innate soul and spirit of Hanna-Barbera's Yogi and Boo Boo?

More distressing is the $80 million film's striking resemblance to a low-budget, direct-to-video release. From its opening misadventure to its tacked-on title card, from its first picnic-basket heist to its last, from its barebones setup to its shot-on-a-dime resolution, virtually nothing about Yogi Bear screams "cinematic." With eight minutes of credits, the film itself even clocks in at a measly 72-minutes. Where did all the money go? 3D cameras? Overpriced visual effects? Aykroyd and Timberlake? It's a mystery I can't wrap my head around, but one that underlines Yogi's grating live-action performances, green-screened scene, burst of animation, hemmed-in screenplay, sluggish humor and one-note gags. It's enough to leave any parent searching for an excuse to duck out of the room and enough to make many an older kid wish mom or dad would spend their Red Box-dollar more wisely. If Yogi Bear has any saving grace it's that younger children -- especially those with unwavering attention spans -- will enjoy watching Aykroyd's bumbling bear nab picnic baskets, slap on a pair of water skis and take to the sky in a rickety glider, if only in small doses.

Yogi Bear Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Even though Yogi Bear looks more like a direct-to-video flick than an $80 million dollar feature film, Warner's 1.78:1 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer hits the mark. Director of photography Peter James' Jellystone Park is a sunny, vibrant, altogether colorful summer-hotspot teeming with lush greens, vivid blues and warm, healthy browns. Better still, primaries are commanding and energetic, fleshtones and fur-tones are convincing, contrast never falters, and black levels are decent, earthy even (barring a few dusky nighttime shots). Detail isn't as consistent, but it is just as commendable. Decisively defined strands of hair help make Yogi and Boo Boo's Blu-ray debut a revealing one, fine forest textures remain crisp and satisfying throughout, and edges are both sharp and clean (without any serious ringing to be seen). Yes, less attractive shots do tiptoe into the proceedings from time to time, and yes, the film's CG (helmed by Rhythm & Hues Studios) is too flat, glossy and disjointed from the film's live-action footage for its own good. But don't mistake either distraction for a technical issue. There isn't any substantial artifacting, banding, crush or aliasing to worry with, and the errant digital noise that appears on occasion is faint, fleeting and only creeps in when the sun sets. (Which isn't very often.) All things considered, videophiles young and old will be pleased with the results.

Yogi Bear Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Yogi Bear's bouncy, cheerful DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is no slouch either. Yogi's slapstick hijinks are punchy and precise, and his every slip, pratfall, face plant, tumble and clumsy crash is given full reign of the LFE channel and rear speakers. The same eager low-end oomph and soundfield support extends to his friends, enemies and leafy stomping grounds as well, lending an appropriately awkward weight and suitably cartoonish atmosphere to the entire adventure. It isn't exactly what I'd call an immersive illusion -- volume trumps precision at every turn -- but it is engaging enough to entice and excite younger listeners. Similarly, dialogue is bright, lively and perfectly intelligible, but Aykroyd and Timberlake's voiceover work is often slightly disconnected from the live-action soundscape, hovering just above the forest fray rather than nestling itself within the trees. Still, as family film mixes go, this one is decidedly fit and fun, a combination that will no doubt thrill its wide-eyed target audience.

Yogi Bear Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Blu-ray edition of Yogi Bear may serve up a pile of special features fit for the whole family, but that doesn't mean there's enough to go around. With less than an hour of content, even the most thorough junior explorers will quickly run out of things to do. (An in-character commentary with Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake would have been a nice touch.) That being said, most parents will be happy to see a family film earn a behind-the-scenes experience designed specifically for their children.

• Spending a Day at Jellystone Park (HD, 33 minutes): Visit Jellystone Park for a day, click on whatever picnic baskets you find, and treat yourself to a host of content spread across five locations (Redwood Valley, Jelly Jarring Rapids, Jellystone Lake, the Ranger Station and Lookout Mountain). While primarily aimed at the kiddies, you'll find nine light-hearted production featurettes -- "Everyone Wants to Be Yogi," "Building Jellystone Park," "Frog-Mouthed Turtle," "Animated Bears," "The Rapids," "Stand-In Shenanigans," "Ranger Jones' Real Life Audition," "Baskit-Nabber 2000" and "Voicing Yogi & Boo" -- and five mildly amusing in-character shorts -- "Vote for Mayor Brown," "Jellystone Park Jewel: Yogi's Secret Hiding Spot," "Sickness was Love: A Love Song for Rachel," "Jellystone Park Tourism" and "Jellystone Park Jewel: Litterbug."
• Yogi Bear Mash-Up (HD, 4 minutes): Not sure why this studio EPK wasn't a part of the "Spending a Day at Jellystone Park" tour, but here it is, on the main menu, in all its extended preview glory.
• Are You Smarter than the Average Bear? (HD): An interactive memory game for the kids with three difficulty levels. The interface isn't very smooth though; the music cuts in and out, access pauses are a frequent annoyance and the whole game can be exhausted in three minutes. Normally I wouldn't mention it all, but my six-year-old was none-too-happy with the hitchy results.
• Looney Tunes: Rabid Rider (HD, 3 minutes): I haven't kept my love of Warner Brother's recent Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote CG-animated shorts a secret. Fast, funny and, well, fun, each one has been the highlight of whichever release it accompanies. This one is no different. In just three minutes, it leaves Yogi Bear in the dust.

Yogi Bear Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Unfortunately, live-action adaptations of classic cartoons don't seem to be going anywhere. Rather than resurrect animated series like Alvin and the Chipmunks, Scooby Doo, The Smurfs or Yogi Bear by way of fully animated feature films, Hollywood is dead set on subjecting audiences to dull, dim-witted CG/live-action misfires; stilted hybrids that limit the actors, CG, story, humor, adventure, appeal... essentially everything that might transform a classic cartoon reboot into a modern-classic family film. Yogi Bear is just the latest in a growing line of faulty adaptations, one rendered even more unbearable by the fact that it looks and plays like a direct-to-video bargain-bin release when, in fact, it's an $80 million feature film (that grossed more than twice its production budget at the worldwide box office). At least Warner's Blu-ray release has a thing or two to offer, namely an excellent AV presentation and a short but kid-friendly supplemental package. Families with young children will get the most out of Yogi Bear, but even then, I'd recommend a rental.