"I'm smarter than the av-a-rage bear!"
— Yogi Bear
Originally a supporting character on The Huckleberry Hound Show, Yogi Bear was one of the most popular early Hanna-Barbera characters.
Yogi and Boo-Boo Bear live in Jellystone National Park. Wise-cracking, gluttonous, and "smarter than the average bear", Yogi would come up with all sorts of schemes to steal the "pic-a-nic baskets" of those visiting the park, and hilarity would ensue every time. Boo-Boo would often warn Yogi that "the ranger isn't going to like this". Indeed, Yogi would invariably be scolded by Jellystone's Ranger Smith, who does his best—but always fails—to keep Yogi in line.
The character’s name was based on New York Yankees baseball player Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra. The character was modeled to an extent after Art Carney in voice and character. He was popular enough to headline his own series in 1961. Supporting segments on The Yogi Bear Show featured Snagglepuss and Yakky Doodle. In 1964, Hanna-Barbera released its first animated feature, Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!, through Columbia Pictures. In The '70s and The '80s, Yogi and his contemporaries appeared in several Crossover series. There were also a few prime-time specials, the best-remembered of which is probably the TV movie Yogi's First Christmas.
Daws Butler served as the voice of Yogi for the first 30 years of the character's existence, while Boo-Boo and Ranger Smith were normally played by Don Messick during that period.
A live-action/CGI Yogi Bear feature film, with Dan Aykroyd as the voice of Yogi and Justin Timberlake as the voice of Boo-Boo, was released in December 2010.
Check the character sheet. Also see the memes page.
Filmography
- The Huckleberry Hound Show (1958-1960 Syndication)- The series in which the Yogi Bear shorts debuted.
- The Yogi Bear Show (1961-1962 Syndication): Yogi's Spin-Off series.
- Hey There, It's Yogi Bear! (1964): A theatrical feature film in which Yogi and Boo Boo go on a road trip to rescue Cindy Bear from a circus.
- Yogi's Gang (1973 ABC): An extremely politically correct crossover series in which Yogi, Boo Boo, and various other Hanna-Barbera stars travel around in a flying ark and do good deeds. Preceded by a television special, Yogi's Ark Lark.
- Laff-A-Lympics (1977-1979 ABC): A massive crossover series with just about every popular Hanna-Barbera character around at the time. Yogi, Scooby-Doo, and Mumbly lead rival teams in a parody of "Battle of the Network Stars."
- Yogi's Space Race (1979 NBC): A cross between Wacky Races and Laff-a-Lympics, Recycled IN SPACE!.
- Galaxy Goof-Ups (1978-1979 NBC): A spin-off of the previous series in which Yogi, Huckleberry Hound, a poor man's Daffy Duck, and an easily frightened
fill-in for Boo Boo act as space rangers and hang out at a disco. - Casper's First Christmas (1979 Syndication): A half-hour Christmas Special crossing Casper the Friendly Ghost with Yogi and his Hanna-Barbera cohorts.
- Yogi's First Christmas (1980 Syndication): A TV movie recycling many of the songs from the previous special.
- Yogi Bear's All Star Comedy Christmas Caper (1982 CBS): A half-hour Christmas Special packed with cameos by other Hanna-Barbera characters.
- Yogi's Treasure Hunt (1985-1988 Syndication): Another crossover series, in which Yogi, Boo Boo, Ranger Smith, and other popular HB stars hunt for treasure. Known for fourth wall breaking Self-Parody.
- Yogi's Great Escape (1987 Syndication): A TV movie in which Yogi and Boo Boo escape Jellystone Park with three adopted bear cubs.
- Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose (1987 Syndication): A TV movie in which Yogi, Boo Boo, and their fellow HB stars go for a ride on the famous Spruce Goose.
- The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound (1988 Syndication): A TV movie featuring cameos by Yogi and Boo Boo.
- Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears (1988 Syndication): A TV movie in which Yogi and Boo Boo get kidnapped by aliens and are replaced by a mob of robot clones. Daws Butler's final performance as Yogi.
- The New Yogi Bear Show (1988 Syndication): A new batch of cartoons, with Greg Burson replacing the deceased Daws Butler as the voice of Yogi.
- Fender Bender 500 (1990-1991 Syndication): A Continuity Reboot of Wacky Races in which Dick Dastardly and Muttley race against several classic Hanna-Barbera characters, including Yogi and Boo Boo. Originally aired as a segment on the live-action series Wake, Rattle, and Rollnote
- Yo Yogi! (1991 NBC): Yogi and his radical Hanna-Barbera buds are now teenagers that hang out at Jellystone Mall and work as junior detectives.
- Yogi the Easter Bear (1994 Syndication): An Easter Special in which Yogi and Boo Boo search for the Easter Bunny.
- Scooby-Doo in Arabian Nights (1994 TBS): Yogi and Boo Boo play a couple of genies in a Gender Flip retelling of Aladdin. Don Messick's last performance as Boo Boo.
- John K.'s Yogi Bear Shorts (1999-2002 Cartoon Networknote ): A series of 3 Flash-animated shorts created by John Kricfalusi.
- Jellystone! (2021 HBO Max): A series set in the town of Jellystone starring Yogi, Cindy, Boo-Boo, and essentially every other Hanna-Barbera character imaginable. Yogi, Boo-Boo and Cindy are the doctors on call at Jellystone Hospital...and they aren't very good at it.
Let's take a look at what tropes they've got on this web-a-site!
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: Yogi wears a collar, tie, and hat, while Boo-Boo sports a bow tie.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Cindy Bear was blue-furred in the original shorts, though she became light brown in later interpretations. Ranger Smith's uniform also changes color throughout the early series while Yogi's original design had light colored highlights around his eyes.
- Ageless Birthday Episode: Two of them occur in the original series, both of the Surprise Party variety: one for Ranger Smith ("Slap-Happy Birthday") and one for Yogi ("Yogi's Birthday Party"). The New Yogi Bear Show had another such episode for Yogi.
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: The earliest versions of Cindy Bear show her with blue fur. No real-life ursine has a pelt that shade.
- Animation Bump:
- The visuals of The New Yogi Bear Show are rendered a bit more fluidly than those of the original 1960s episodes.
- This was also the first Hanna-Barbera show in which characters had a distinct walk cycle.
- Beary Funny: Yogi Bear's bad behavior is invariably Played for Laughs.
- Big Eater: Yogi, of course. In the episode "Gleesome Threesome," he sits down at a hotel restaurant and says, "I'm not too hungry tonight, garçon, so uh, just bring me everything on the menu — twice!"
- Big Guy, Little Guy: Both bears walk around on their hind legs, and Yogi is as tall or taller than the humans, while Boo Boo is the size of a child.
- Bragging Theme Tune:
- The original theme song for the series touts Yogi's supposed ability to come out on top of any situation.Who is always on the spot? Who is? Yogi Bear!
Who keeps cool when things are hot? Who does? Yogi Bear!
Who believes the world's a dream and falls for some fantastic scheme
But always winds up on the beam? Yogi Bear!! - ... and The Yogi Bear Show has one that's equal this and Expository Theme Tune. Again, Yogi is presented as being unusually clever and smart.Yogi Bear is smarter than the average bear,
Yogi Bear is always in the ranger's hair.
At a picnic table you will find him there,
Stuffing down more goodies than the average bear.
He will sleep till noon, but before it's dark,
He'll have every picnic basket that's in Jellystone Park.
Yogi has it better than a millionaire,
Just because he's smarter than the average bear.note
- The original theme song for the series touts Yogi's supposed ability to come out on top of any situation.
- Call of the Wild Blue Yonder: The episode "High Fly Guy" depicts Yogi helping a baby eagle who can't fly. After many attempts, the young eagle finally succeeds when he saves Yogi.
- Can't Live with Them, Can't Live Without Them: The majority of times Yogi or Ranger Smith leave Jellystone Park, the other ends up pining for him. It's a key plot point of "Home Sweet Jellystone".
- Character Catchphrase:
- Yogi frequently characterizes himself as being "Smarter than the average bear!" He often says "Hey, Hey, Hey!" and frequently addresses Ranger Smith obsequiously as "Mr. Ranger, sir!"
- Boo-Boo frequently warns his pal not to cause trouble by saying "Mr. Ranger isn't gonna like this, Yogi!"
- Civilized Animal: Yogi and Boo-Boo contain animal and human traits. They are both an Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal, walk bipedally, share a bed, and can converse with humans in English. However, they live in a cave located in a National Park, are not gainfully employed, and (at least in theory) are supposed to be foraging for nuts and berries instead of stealing food from tourists. Later spinoffs have them as Funny Animals instead.
- Crossover Cameo: Yogi Bear appears briefly in the Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy episode "Pop's Nature Pup". He's seen driving their car at the end of the short.
- Deadpan Snarker: Boo-Boo is depicted as whimsically sarcastic in the 2010 movie update, a departure from his usual low-key conscience role.
- Depending on the Artist:
- In the original series, Ranger Smith's design changed frequently between episodes; they eventually decided upon his permanent design in Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!.
- As if that weren't enough, The Ranger's appearance on Yogi's Gang shows him with blond hair. Perhaps he dyed it?
- Yogi's muzzle fur originally expanded around his eyes.
- Cindy Bear initially looked like a female version of Yogi (with a dress and blue fur) before being redesigned to look more feminine.
- No two versions of the Jellystone Park entrance are ever alike, even in shows (and movies) that were made after the original shorts.
- Digital Destruction: The complete series DVD release only has the main cartoon segments, lacking the opening and closing credits and inserts that were in the half-hours. However, one bonus feature shows the uncut versions of the first three episodes. When an unrestored insert or commercial plays after a restored segment, the first part of the audio is missing.
- Disguised in Drag: In "Disguise and Gals," two bank robbers hide out in Jellystone park dressed as little old ladies.
- Dub Name Change: Yogi was known as Kumagoro in Japan, although Boo Boo and Ranger Smith retained their original names (with Smith usually referred to as "Smith-san," roughly the equivalent of "Mr. Smith").
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- Ironically, the original shorts themselves have several unsettled-upon quirks. The characters' designs varied notably between shorts. From Hey There, it's Yogi Bear and following, the characters were portrayed in a more consistent manner visually.
- On a more plot-driven basis, several older Yogi shorts feature him trying to escape Jellystone Park, or episodes where he and Boo Boo aren't even in the park at all. A few features even omit Boo-Boo altogether (e.g., "Slumber Party Smarty"). There were even a couple spot gag cartoons in the first season, such as "Baffled Bear" and "The Stout Trout." The particulars weren't fully codified until the spinoff movie.
- Expy: Some episodes from the Huckleberry Hound Show era, such as "Rah Rah Bear", feature different rangers in the place of Ranger Smith. In most cases, they're voiced by Yogi's voice actor, Daws Butler.
- Filching Food for Fun: Yogi Bear, a Civilized Animal living in Jellystone National Park, steals picnic baskets as a major defining trait. He's by no means a malicious character, though, and there's no evidence he lacks sufficient bear-appropriate food (though he finds the usual ursine diet of nuts and berries unappetizing). He seems to be doing it mostly for fun.
- Flanderization: By the third season of The Huckleberry Hound Show, Yogi's love of picnic baskets was heavily flanderized, to the point that whole episodes were devoted to Yogi stealing them and Ranger Smith coming up with elaborate schemes to stop him (such as planting a number of booby-trapped baskets around the park in "Booby Trapped Bear", having a doctor convince Yogi that he has a disease called "Picnic-itis" that forbids him from eating food from picnic baskets, etc.).
- Fractured Fairy Tale:
- In "Oinks and Boinks," Yogi and Boo Boo accidentally find their way into the story of the The Three Little Pigs.
- "Hoodwinked Bear" tosses Yogi and Boo-Boo into the world of Little Red Riding Hood.
- The characters from Snow White continually disturb Yogi and Boo-Boo's hibernation in "Snow White Bear."
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Cindy Bear wears a skirt but no top other than a scarf.
- Have a Gay Old Time: In "Booby Trapped Bear," the Head Ranger arrives at Jellystone Park to investigate a ranger who is "molesting a bear." (In the sixties, "molest" usually meant "pester and harass," as opposed to, well...)
- Henpecked Husband: "Be My Guest Pest" revolves around Newton, a man with a bothersome wife who constantly pushes him around. When she gets taken away by the police at the end of the cartoon, he isn't upset at all.
- Hero Antagonist: Depending on your point of view, Ranger Smith can qualify, given that he represents park law-and-order and is a constant thorn in Yogi's side. The Ranger sees Yogi as just an antagonist, though, especially in later productions.note
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Yogi and Boo-Boo qualify, at least in theory — though a few observers consider it, er, significant that they share a bed together.
- Limited Animation: One of the earlier examples made for television. The only reason Yogi was given a collar and tie was so that the animators wouldn't have to draw below the neck for every frame.
- Loophole Abuse: When the Ranger demands Yogi follow the park's rule book, Yogi reads it to find all the ways he can work around them.
- Lovable Rogue: Yogi is a mostly harmless mischief-maker, and plenty likeable despite this.
- Minimalist Cast: Aside from a few campers, tourists, and forest animals, the only characters we see in Jellystone Park are Yogi, Boo-Boo, Cindy, and Ranger Smith, with this last often appearing to be the only ranger working at Jellystone Park. Though both Hey There, It's Yogi Bear! and The New Yogi Bear Show, as well as the episode "Gleesome Threesome," show two other rangers (the last depicting a ranger who appears to be Smith's supervisor). The live-action movie has others as well.
- “Do Or Diet” sees Ranger Smith working with another ranger. While “Ice Box Raider” and “Biker Bear” (the latter from The New Yogi Bear Show) show him with a sidekick named Ranger Jones.
- Mythology Gag: The two gangsters in the 1958 episode "Big Brave Bear" were first used the season prior on The Ruff & Reddy Show as outlaws Killer and Diller.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Yogi's voice was based on Art Carney's character on The Honeymooners; further, his offbeat philosophy (and name) were allegedly meant to suggest baseball star Yogi Berra's eccentric nature (William Hanna and Joseph Barbera denied it).
- Poor Communication Kills: In "A Bear Pair," Ranger Smith wishes Yogi and Boo-Boo good luck on their trip to Paris by declaring them "good will ambassadors from Jellystone Park." When the flight attendant asks for Yogi and Boo Boo's names, Yogi innocently mangles Ranger Smith's sentiments by declaring him and Boo Boo "the ambassadors from Jellystone Park." Hilarity Ensues.
- Pretentious Pronunciation: In "Pie Pirates", when Yogi tries reading a "Beware of Dog" sign out loud, he pronounces the letter "W" in a unique manner...Yogi: "B-E, adubbALLLOOoo, A... Oh, I don't smoke anyhoo!"
- Product Displacement: The intro to The Yogi Bear Show originally ended with Yogi driving a jeep into a Kellogg's billboard, taking the logo with him, then driving out of a billboard with his own name on it, before holding up the stolen Kellogg's logo. Reruns shorten this sequence down to Yogi and the jeep materializing onto a billboard with the bear's name on the top.
- Protagonist Title: The show is named after the title character.
- Punny Name: Jellystone Park is an obvious pun on Yellowstone National Park
. Yogi's own name is a play on that of baseball great Yogi Berra, though Hanna and Barbera claim that this was unintentional. - Red Riding Hood Replica: The episode "Hoodwinked Bear" played out like the tale.
- Ring Around the Collar: Conspicuously, Yogi wears a shirt collar with his green tie, but no shirt. Boo-Boo wears only a bowtie, but oddly enough, in some cartoons the bow seems to be pinned directly on his neck with no visible strap.
- Sentimental Music Cue: Played surprisingly straight on both The Yogi Bear Show in the early-1960's and The New Yogi Bear Show from 1988, such as in "Slap Happy Birthday," when Yogi and Boo Boo are in their cave talking about Ranger Smith's birthday (for a double whammy, the exact same music is re-used at the end of the episode when Yogi reveals their surprise party to the ranger).
- Sidekick:
- Boo-Boo is Yogi's ubiquitous companion.
- Some of the new Yogi shorts from the late-80's had Ranger Roubideux as one for Ranger Smith.
- Signature Laugh: Yogi Bear has a distinctive "Hey, hey, hey!" laugh.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: There's a surprising amount of cynicism peppered into the early Yogi Bear shorts. The park's tourists are generally portrayed as rich and irresponsible slobs, who litter the park and even neglect their own children. Ranger Smith, at least in the first two seasons, is portrayed as bitter and jaded, not only because of Yogi but also because of the general stress of dealing with the park's tourists. And so on.
- Species Surname: Yogi's and Cindy's last names are also that of their species.
- Spin-Off: Yogi was spun off The Huckleberry Hound Show into his own program.
- Tempting Fate: At the end of "A Bear Pair," Yogi dismisses Boo-Boo's concern that Ranger Smith wouldn't take the havoc Yogi wreaked in Paris very well. Unbeknownst to Yogi, Ranger Smith was keeping up with the corresponding news reports and behind Yogi during the whole conversation. Cue an instant Oh, Crap! reaction from the bear when Smith reveals himself to Yogi armed with a baseball bat.
- Three Shorts: Yogi was traditionally the opener on The Huckleberry Hound Show. Then he became the opener of his own show.
- Tuckerization: In "The Buzzin' Bear", the rangers' names are Bill and Joe (as in Hanna and Barbera).
- Verbal Tic: Yogi's unique pronunciations of "av-a-redge" and "pic-a-nic" qualify. He also says "diff-a-rent" in the movie.
- Worthy Opponent: Yogi admits that he respects his nemesis Ranger Smith in "Home Sweet Jellystone." The bear outright becomes an Antagonist in Mourning after Smith leaves the park, losing his sense of competitive joy in stealing picnic baskets entirely.
- Zany Scheme: Yogi's attempts to steal "pic-a-nic baskets" are often elaborate and eccentric. In "Batty Bear," he uses a flying bat costume to swoop down on unsuspecting tourists and steal their picnic baskets. In another example, Yogi poses as a health inspector in "Booby Trapped Bear" in order to confiscate tourists' supposedly subpar picnic baskets. This loony approach to getting free eats is even referenced in the show's theme song (for some of the early shorts) itself:"Who believes the world's a dream, and falls for some fantastic scheme, but always winds up on the beam? Yogi Bear!"
