Story
Jellystone Park is under threat. Dastardly Mayor Brown (Andrew Daly) is threatening to close down the park and sell it off to developers because the city has run out of money. Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanagh) is doing all he can to keep the park open with the help of conservationist Rachel (Anna Farris), but without success. Yogi (voice of Dan Aykroyd) and Boo Boo (voiced by Justin Timberlake) also try to help, but their best intentions backfire badly. All seems lost until Boo Boo’s pet turtle comes to the rescue.
A Roadrunner cartoon called Rabid Ride is shown before the Yogi Bear movie.
Themes
The destruction of natural habitats and national parks for commercial gain
Violence
This movie and the Roadrunner cartoon that comes before it contain a lot of slapstick violence and accidental harm. For example:
- In the Roadrunner cartoon, Coyote crashes his bike. He’s also run over by a truck, electrocuted and run over by the Roadrunner.
- Yogi crashes into trees, falls off a roof and gets a pie in the face.
- Yogi burns his feet on a soldering iron.
- Yogi bites his arm while trying to free himself.
- Fireworks go off in all directions, scattering people and blowing up a bandstand.
- Ranger Jones falls out of his car.
- Rachel grabs Brown’s offsider by the tie and threatens to strangle him.
Content that may disturb children
Under 5
In addition to the violent scenes mentioned above, this movie contains some scenes that could scare or disturb children under five. For example:
- Yogi goes off to forage in the forest like a normal bear, looking thin and haggard. He eats a bug, which then crawls out of his nose, is sucked back in and then sneezed away.
- The turtle gets thrown around like a ball.
- Yogi and Boo Boo fly in a home-made contraption that falls apart, so they fall into the sea in an inflatable raft. The raft collects Smith and Rachel, and they all go over the rapids. They almost go down a huge waterfall but are saved by a tree limb.
From 5-8
Younger children in this age group might also be disturbed by some of the scenes mentioned above.
From 8-13
Children in this age group are unlikely to be disturbed by anything in this movie.
Over 13
Nothing of concern
Sexual references
None of concern
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
None of concern
Nudity and sexual activity
None of concern
Product placement
None of concern
Coarse language
This movie contains some name-calling.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Yogi Bear is a comedy that might appeal to children aged 5-10 years. Younger children might find some scenes scary, and the story might lack interest for them. The 3D effects don’t add a lot to this movie.
There is a lot of slapstick comedy in this movie that children are likely to enjoy but might also imitate. You might wish to emphasise that in reality, violent actions such as those shown in the movie would hurt you and other people.
Values that you could reinforce with your children include the conservation of wildlife and national parks.