Yogi Bear
It is the end of the year and the Award Season is upon us. The studios are trotting out there contenders and accomplished artists fill the Cineplex with thought-provoking works. Actors are acting and filmmakers are making films, not that summer fluff that masquerades as entertainment. It is the time of year to witness some cinema. This is why I hated Yogi Bear so much. The movie would have been bad anytime of year but after viewing it between Black Swan and The King’s Speech, it comes across as extra horrible. But I realize that the flick isn’t for me, or any adult for that matter. It is 79 minutes of moving images aimed directly at children. So I took my two little nieces, Madi (age 4) and Georgia (age 6), to help me gauge what Yogi Bear really has to offer those intended to be tickled by the zany exploits of a “smarter than average bear”.
I found the super simple plot to be dumber than your average storyline. Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanagh) is the head ranger at Jelly Stone Park. Yogi (voiced by Dan Aykroyd) is an upright walking bear that speaks English and wears a hat. He steals food from campers enjoying the sights, usually fare found in picnic baskets. A bad guy (Andrew Daly) wants to close the park and Ranger Smith and Yogi join forces to foil the foul plan.
I asked the girls what the movie was about on the way to the car and the responses were: “Yogi Bear was funny. And Boo-Boo. Why did he have three picnic baskets?” I told them I didn’t know why he had three picnic baskets and that seemed to be a reasonable response. The baskets where not brought up again.
I asked if they liked the movie. “Yes,” they screamed in unison. “Do you have any crayons?’ They had been given little Yogi activity books and I’m assuming this was the thought behind the crayon question. That is just an assumption however.
What was the funniest part? Georgia liked it when Yogi got smooshed in the face with a cherry pie. Madi liked it when Yogi shook his booty. To be honest though, she is partial to just about any booty shaking so I didn’t take it as a very strong endorsement.
What was your least favorite part? “I did like it,” said Madi. No middle ground I guess. Georgia didn’t like the turtle kidnapping. The bad guy wants to get his hands on a rare turtle. Really, it doesn’t matter. Kidnapping turtles is a central conflict. Georgia wasn’t amused.
Finally, even though I knew the answer, I asked, “Do you recommend it?” Of course, they screamed, “Yes!!!!!!!!” And what grade do you give Yogi Bear? Georgia, who is in school and understood the question, thought a bit and gave it an “A”. Madi also pondered the question and, taking a que from her sister, gave it an “X”. Then she changed it to an “E” before ending with a “W”. Either way, she liked it. While I didn’t think much of Yogi Bear, I did love going and watching them enjoy it and that is probably the point of it anyway.