A Real Boo Boo

Purists scoff at the cut-rate animation Joseph Hanna and William Barbera used in their TV cartoons The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, et al. But those shows had a droll appeal that wouldn’t be evident to anyone whose first encounter with Yogi -- the talking, picnic-basket-stealing nuisance of Jellystone Park -- and his sidekick Boo Boo is this 3D live action/CGI hybrid. Dan Aykroyd gives uninspired voice to the animated Yogi; Justin Timberlake is Boo Boo. The blissfully brief plot features beleaguered Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanaugh, TV’s Ed, so recessive he’s almost invisible) fighting to save Jellystone from a greedy and corrupt mayor. Yogi’s antics – waterskiing, piloting a flying basket-nabbing machine – provide perfunctory justification for the 3D. But the movie’s heart and wit reside with its human characters, particularly Andrew Daly’s flippant, show-stealing Mayor Brown, whose gubernatorial campaign commercial — which shows him “fighting crime” by punching out a purse-snatcher — is a delicious bit of political satire. --Pamela Zoslov