"YOGI BEAR" — ★ — voices of Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake, with Tom Cavanagh and Anna Faris; PG (rude humor); in general release
"Yogi Bear" follows documentary filmmaker Rachel (Ana Faris) as she arrives at scenic Jellystone Park to film its rare, talking bears.
But Yogi, Boo Boo, and the other forest creatures are in trouble. Even though Jellystone Park is celebrating its 100-year anniversary, it isn't the tourist attraction it used to be, and the hardworking, but overly controlling, Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanagh from TV's "Scrubs") is at a loss as to how he can generate public interest once again.
To make matters worse, the local mayor (Andrew Daly) is going to rezone the park and sell it for agricultural land to help fund his upcoming gubernatorial campaign.
That is, of course, unless Ranger Smith can raise $30,000.
With Rachel's help, Ranger Smith finally learns to accept Yogi Bear for what he is so they can band together and rescue the place they both call home.
As the voice of Yogi, Dan Aykroyd is certainly the highlight of the movie.
Grown-up fans of the 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoon will appreciate Aykroyd's impression of original Yogi Bear voice actor Daws Butler.
Likewise, Justin Timberlake supplies a surprisingly spot-on Boo Boo. Unfortunately, that won't be enough to keep the film's target audience — children who didn't grow up with the talking, hat-and-tie-wearing brown bear and his depressing sidekick — glued to its seats.
Although all the famous catchphrases and "pic-a-nic basket"-stealing hijinks of the old "Yogi Bear" cartoon are present, this CGI/live-action hybrid feels hackneyed and lifeless.
It has none of the charm of the original cartoon characters, and the live cast seems painfully aware of this fact.
The three non-CGI leads — Cavanagh, Faris and T.J. Miller (playing Ranger Smith's naive deputy Ranger Jones) — have all done good comedic work in the past. Of the three, only Miller seems to be having any fun, but even he is unable to inject the script's awkward humor with the energy it so desperately needs.
Like most movies jumping on the 3-D bandwagon, it is hard to see this movie's 3-D effects as anything more than a gimmick designed to capitalize on higher ticket prices.
With the exception of a few distracting shots (Ranger Jones spitting popcorn toward the screen and a turtle flung directly at the audience), it is easy to forget you are even watching a 3-D movie. It is too bad the filmmakers didn't put the 3-D format to better use by at least featuring shots of the supposedly spectacular natural scenery of Jellystone Park. Instead, we are treated to 3-D shots of the inside of the mayor's limousine and Ranger Smith's office.
The biggest shortcoming of "Yogi Bear," however, is its failure to make the title character anything more than tacked-on comedic relief in an otherwise done-to-death David and Goliath story of well-meaning environmentalists versus power-hungry politicians.
The movie spends far too much time with its dull, underdeveloped human characters (including the almost offensively two-dimensional evil mayor and his henchman) and fails to successfully establish Yogi or Boo Boo as endearing or even particularly likable for a new generation of kids.
"Yogi Bear" is, at best, a forgettable movie experience. Its weak gags and lifeless atmosphere make it a poor introduction to Hanna-Barbera's classic animated omnivore. For parents hoping to share "Yogi Bear" with their children, the money would be better spent on DVDs of the original cartoons.
"Yogi Bear" is rated PG for rude humor; running time: 80 minutes.