Yogi Bear review

Everyone’s favourite pic-a-nic basket-stealing bear gets his own live action adventure, with Yogi (Aykroyd) and Boo Boo (Timberlake) created with some impressively furry computer animation. Aimed at the littlest of children, the story is simple – the local Mayor (Andrew Daly) wants to sell off Yellowstone Park, and it’s up to Ranger Smith (Cavanagh) to save it. He decides to organise a special celebration to draw campers to the park, but, as usual, Yogi’s well-meaning schemes threaten to ruin everything.

While young viewers will chortle at Yogi’s daft antics, grown-ups won’t be so impressed. It’s not as funny as it should be, and, while Justin Timberlake is surprisingly convincing as Boo Boo, Dan Aykroyd’s voice just doesn’t seem right for Yogi (John Goodman would have been so much better). With a conservation sub-plot that’s heavy-handed and Anna Faris wandering around with nothing to do as a documentary film-maker, this isn’t as good as an average episode of Yogi’s old TV cartoon.