Another day, another unnecessary big screen adaptation. This time it’s a 3D, live-action version of the classic cartoon “Yogi Bear.” Do kids even know who or what Yogi Bear is nowadays? Warner Bros. seems to believe so, as does Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake, who voiced the characters of Yogi Bear and Boo Boo. Aykroyd and Timberlake surely have better things creatively to do with their time than this, but easy paychecks will certainly do crazy things to folks. Warner Bros. released the teaser trailer via Yahoo! Movies yesterday, so we now have an idea of what to expect when Yogi goes Hollywood.
From the plot summary, the recession is hitting Jellystone Park hard, and local Mayor Brown, played by Andrew Daly, is set to shut it down. But have no fear, Ranger Smith, played by Tom Cavanagh, will assumedly save the day with a handful of cartoon, picnic-stealing bears. Anna Faris and T.J. Miller round out the strong cast, and the film will seemingly deal with financial woes and environmental issues, but on a childlike level. While this isn’t The Playlist’s cup of tea, the teaser trailer isn’t half bad if you fall into its target audience. Just not sure that there was really a need to revisit a cartoon that was in the classics category more than 20 years ago. We’ll see if families decide to visit Yogi in Jellystone Park when it hits theaters on December 17th.