YogiBear Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Yogi Bear and Boo Boo are bringing sexy back -- and that image should make you ripe for nightmares tonight. If you doubt me, look to Variety, who reports that Dan Aykroyd, Anna Faris, and Justin Timberlake are set to go to Jellystone in Yogi Bear, which Eric Brevig is directing for Warner Bros.

Aykroyd will be voicing Yogi, and he really is the most obvious choice to play the picnic basket thief. He's funny, he sounds gruff, and if it was live-action it would be a very terrifying thing to see. So thank goodness this is being done as a CG / live-action hybrid.

Timberlake will be voicing Boo Boo. Yep. The man who wants to love your mother, put his d*ck in a box, and who will cry you a river will lend his vocal talents to playing Yogi's diminutive sidekick. In this update of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, expect Boo Boo to be a lot more of a smart aleck. (I was going to say "sassy," but I think that would be a far different Boo Boo.)

Though Faris has done voice work before, it sounds as though she might be one of the live action elements to this unholy hybrid. Variety says she's set to play a documentary filmmaker. Presumably she discovers the tourist robbing bears, and makes a film of them. Or she has to help them preserve Jellystone against evil developers. Either way, she'll have to talk to big rubbery CG bears, and it might be kind of weird. What would be even weirder is if one or both bears fell in love with her, so let's hope she falls into the arms of whoever plays Ranger Smith. Shooting is expected to start in New Zealand next month.

They'll all make it to the silver screen eventually: Quick Draw McGraw, Penelope Pitstop, The Jetsons, etc. But given the general reaction to flicks like Garfield (and its sequel), Scooby-Doo (and its sequel) and Alvin and the Chipmunks (and its, ahem, "squeakuel"), I'm wondering ff we shouldn't let classic cartoon characters stay on the small screen. Then again, a Chilly Willy movie would be AWESOME.

Anyway, the latest childhood pal to get a cinematic promotion is good ol' Yogi Bear, he of the picnic basket fetish and the masochistic attitude towards park rangers. (Here's Monika's piece from last year.) The Hollywood Reporter informs us that WB's Yogi Bear will (of course) be half live-action and half CGI (like those other flicks I mentioned), and also that the film will arrive in 3-D. Surely a cartoon bear demands a 3-D movie debut. (OK, so it's not actually his debut.) The newly-hired director is Mr. Eric Brevig, whose debut effort was the summer hit Journey to the Center of the Earth. Given the man's extensive experience with both human beings and digital creations, one would assume he's a perfect fit for the job.

On the writing side ... we have the guys who wrote Survivng Christmas. Apparently the plot will involve Yogi, Boo-Boo, Jellystone Park, and "misadventures." But the key is who they'll get to play Ranger Smith. Already I'm sensing Jim Carrey or Steve Carell. Eh? Am I right?

Someone wake me when they green-light a live-action Hong Kong Phooey flick.

Sometimes I oooh over talk of re-energizing an old franchise; sometimes I cringe and sometimes, like today, my brow is so damned furrowed that I probably have about 20 new wrinkles. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Warner Bros. is going back to Yogi Bear and YellowJellystone Park.

Oh yes, the Hanna-Barbera classic is getting developed into a big-screen feature by the pens of Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia, with Ash Brannon attached to direct. That means a mixture of That 70's Show exec producers and the co-writer and director of Surf's Up. It will be live-action with a CG Yogi and Boo Boo.

Now sure, the chipmunks made a comeback, but at least they have an uber popular Christmas song that keeps them in the memory banks. Something like Speed Racer had the effects going for it. Will kids go wild for a character from the '50s that gets into good-natured fun at a park? And who would voice them? Better yet, simply: WHY? Maybe I'm in the minority, but this doesn't seem like the best idea.

What do you think? Weigh in below ...