Yogi Bear

For many people, Yogi Bear is a character they fondly remember from cartoons.  I have seen the cartoons over the years, though it has been a while since I last saw one of them.  I wasn’t sure what to think when I learned that a big screen movie was being made, but I ultimately decided to go see it.

Instead of being just an animated movie, Yogi Bear uses a combination of live action characters and animated characters, like has been done with some other cartoons turned into movies.  Yogi and Boo Boo look fine and interact with real items fine overall, though somehow I think the movie would have worked better if it was animated instead of the blend. 

The plot for Yogi Bear is fairly simple and very straightforward.  Yogi is obsessed with stealing picnic baskets in Jellystone Park with the help of his friend Boo Boo and Ranger Smith keeps trying to keep him under control.  A nature film maker, Rachel, shows up, wanting to film in the park.  Things get more complicated when Ranger Smith learns that Mayor Brown plans to shut down the park for financial reasons.  Most of what happens is focused on attempts to save the park. 

Most of what happens in Yogi Bear is rather silly.  I’m sure that the movie is too silly for some viewers.  I fully expected the movie to be silly before seeing it, so I wasn’t bothered by the silliness.  The movie could have been better, but it isn’t horrible.  It is just a cute, silly family friendly movie.  Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake do fine with the voices.  Children will probably like the movie more than adults.  If expectations aren’t too high, I think the movie can be enjoyed. 

I did get a longer review posted on Epinions.

Yogi Bear

Airplane!

I like spoof movies when they are done well.  Unfortunately, many of them aren’t that great.  Airplane! is probably the best spoof movie I’ve seen.

Ted Striker is a former pilot who is still trying to get over his experience in the war.  His girlfriend Elaine can’t handle his problems any more and tells him she is leaving him.  She is a flight attendant, and Ted over comes his fear of flying to get a seat on her flight.  She tries to ignore him, but once passengers and members of the crew get sick, Ted has to try to land the plane.

Airplane! is definitely spoofing disaster movies.  I did read that it was basically a remake of the movie Zero Hour!.  I’ve never seen that one, so I have no idea what has been changed for this movie.  The plot of Airplane! is fairly simple, though it makes for an entertaining movie.  The things that happen may be a bit silly or over the top, but they manage to work overall for the movie.  There is a decent reason for why Ted has to take over flying the plane.  There is a hint of believability to what is going on.

There really isn’t any mystery to the plot of Airplane! and most of what happens is predictable.  The plot could have been a little stronger, but it still makes for an entertaining movie.  Most of what happens is silly.  Those silly things add humor to the movie.  Some of the humor is a bit dated now, but the movie is still really funny.  The humor works much better than what is done in most of the newer spoof movies.

The characters aren’t developed a lot, though they still manage to be entertaining.  The cast does well with their parts.  This is one of the few movies that I’ve seen Robert Stack in. 

Airplane! is a bit silly, so it won’t appeal to some people.  The movie is really funny and I do think it is worth watching.

I did get a review posted on Epinions.

Airplane!