Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

'Yogi Bear'

It was a brilliant idea to voice cast superstar Justin Timberlake in the supporting (but pivotal) role of put-upon sidekick Boo Boo, but this poster is a hot mess of something Yogi left in the woods.

It was a brilliant idea to voice cast superstar Justin Timberlake in the supporting (but pivotal) role of put-upon sidekick Boo Boo, but this poster is a hot mess of something Yogi left in the woods.

The real Yogi has human-shaped teeth, not the four nubbins we see here (they couldn't cut the mustard, much less the cheese). The real-life water droplets popping off the animated rapids look like somebody urinated on the negative.

And that dreamy smile on Boo Boo's face makes his two-handed hold on Yogi's arm feel like a homoerotic appreciation of the big bear's bicep. In the cartoons, life is NOT a "pic-a-nic."

Ranger Smith is a cop, and Yogi Bear is a free-spirited animal - an ursine McMurphy - fighting a subversive war against a rule-obsessed (civilized) society. Sure, he can wear a tie; he just can't date your sister.

Camping at National Parks was a popular vacation option in the 1960s, when the cartoons were made - and that may be part of the movie's plot - but the idea seems outdated and kid-friendly 3-D fun isn't the answer. Not every cartoon IP is a movie. At least not this one.

Unless "Yogi Bear" was directed by Werner Herzog.