Yogi Bear, voiced by Dan Aykroyd, may have saved Jellystone Park but Boo Boo, voiced by Justin Timberlake, saved the movie “Yogi Bear.”
Yogi Bear, a smarter-than-average bear, has one mission: steal picnic baskets. Turns out that gets boring . . . and fast. After about a half an hour of watching a bear in a collar and hat conjure up ways to steal picnic baskets, you’re just about asleep.
Luckily, Anna Faris steps in. Unfortunately though, she’s changed since staring in “The House Bunny.” She’s not funny anymore. She is quite dull actually, blending in a great deal with her love interest Ranger Smith, played by Tom Cavanagh.
However, Yogi livens things up with a riveting water-skiing routine, but shockingly, a brown bear is not talented, smart, or aware of the fireworks prepared in the middle of the lake.
Boom.
Disaster strikes, causing Ranger Smith to lose his job at Jellystone. But, before Ranger Smith leaves, he makes Yogi feel awful about his ‘accident.’ Yogi realizes that he is not really smarter than the average bear, which I could have told you an hour ago. He roughs his life in the forest for about five minutes.
Boo Boo saves the day as well as the movie, using his wit to snap Yogi back to his unique self and save Jellystone. But obviously two bears cannot save a park, and they recruit Ranger Smith, who was re-stationed to a grassy median in the city.
What an adventure! Not.
Boo Boo and Yogi ride a grocery cart down a hill, almost dying, and speak to Ranger Smith about the saving the park, which is not difficult considering he was raised there.
The movie comes to an end just like all the other movies playing these days. Ranger Smith reunites with Rachel and they realize that they made a huge mistake in giving up on each other.
The bad guys get what they deserve, while Yogi and Boo Boo finally master a picnic basket stealing technique as the park becomes increasingly crowded.
Despite a few funny exceptions supplied only by Boo Boo, “Yogi Bear” is a boring movie complete with an even more mind-numbing plot. Skip it.