Yogi Bear – movie review

Yogi Bear is based on a TV show under the same name from the late 50′s. The Warner Brother film adaption stays true to the original series, with Yogi being the leader and BooBoo being his more down to earth sidekick. The story is set in Jellystone Park, and they, of course, are “smarter than the average bear.” They think up of new schemes that in the long run hurt Jellystone. Now with their home being in danger of being replaced, they have to try to help save it. The question is, can they save the park? They try to work their smarts to help save their home and Ranger Smith’s job.

The trailer for the movie does not really do it justice; despite the fact that they marketed it to kids, it is something many adults will enjoy. They tie in a lone love story and of course plenty of adventure, yet they do add in enough humor for adults to laugh along with the kids. They did a great job to keep the whole family entertained by the Yogi Bear; in my theater I heard many other adults have laughs, especially at some of the grown-up jokes like the city’s mayor getting filmed admitting his real goals.

I loved all of the characters, but BooBoo and Yogi are my favorites. While Yogi is vain and sometimes comes up with bad ideas, he always means well. BooBoo is the voice of reason, and he is just a really sweet bear. How can anyone not like BooBoo? I did not mind any of the humans; if I had to choose my favorite humans it would be Ranger Smith and Rachel. However, all of the characters were great in the movie–even the bad ones.

I loved the plot; it was cute, funny, and an example of a true family film. The writers did an amazing job on it, and I hope that they will make a sequel just because it is such a cute movie. It was easy to follow and understand, which makes it great for really young kids to watch. They kept it without any violence, which includes anything that you might see in a cartoon show like Looney Tunes. The actors and voice actors did a great job at really giving each character personality in this movie.

The CGI graphics that they used were amazing, and while they were not perfect, they did look real most of the time. Most of it was live action, so I am sure that helped with some of the real-looking CGI graphics. Most mixed live action and CGI films do not come out looking as good as this one did, so this is a bonus point for Yogi Bear. They also filmed the live action part in a beautiful area and used great sets for the indoor scenes. I will also point out that some of the stunts that Yogi did and how they placed him in the stunts was well above what is typical in CGI live action movies.

I will also say that this is a rare movie that all age groups can really enjoy, and even toddlers can watch. It is a simple and fun film to watch as a family or as part of a slumber/birthday party; it will be a great option for any reason. That is a tough thing to find these days, and I am happy that I was able to find such a movie like this. All in all, this movie was cute and is one you will remember later down the road. While it is not Oscar or Gold Globe worthy, it still has its place and is something I would not mind seeing again. It really hit the spot that they were aiming for, and I think they went well above their goals with this film. As I stated earlier in this article, I hope they will make a sequel, since my only issue is that I feel like the story could go on longer. They left a lot untold, I think, and I hope that they will keep the story going for a little longer. Other than that, it was a solid movie and I enjoyed it a lot. For my rating 1 out of 10, I give this an 8 ½. Very good, but as I said it could have told us more. If you want a family movie to see this holiday season and have young kids, this is the one. Even if you are older and want to see a lighthearted movie, this one would be worth your time to see.