Yogi Bear
From Freepedia
Yogi Bear is a cartoon character (an upright bear) created by Hanna-Barbera Productions.
Yogi debuted in 1958 as a supporting character on The Huckleberry Hound Show. He became very popular, and in 1961 was given his own show, which also included the segments Snagglepuss and Yakky Doodle. There was even a musical animated feature film, Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!, in 1964. Over the years he would appear in many other spin-off series as well, including Yogi's Gang (1973), Yogi's Space Race (1978), Galaxy Goof-Ups (1978), Yogi's Treasure Hunt (1985), The New Yogi Bear Show (1988) and Yo Yogi (1991).
Like many Hanna-Barbera characters, Yogi's personality and mannerisms were based on a popular celebrity of the time. Art Carney's character on The Honeymooners was said to be Yogi's inspiration. Yogi's name is a nod to the famed baseball star Yogi Berra.
The plot of most of Yogi's cartoons centered around his antics in the fictional Jellystone Park, a takeoff on the famous Yellowstone National Park. (There had been a 1941 Bugs Bunny cartoon, Wabbit Twouble, that used the more obvious name "Jellostone" Park, a play on both the national park and the popular gelatin dessert. Presumably, Hanna-Barbera wanted to avoid any issues with using a trademarked name, even in a satirical way.) Yogi, accompanied by his reluctant best friend Boo Boo, would often try to steal picnic baskets from campers in the park, much to the chagrin of Park Ranger Smith.
Yogi Bear is well-known for a variety of different catchphrases, including his pet name for picnic baskets ("pic-a-nic baskets") and his favorite self-promotion ("I'm smarter than the average bear!"), although he often overestimated his own cleverness.
Yogi has a Martian rock named after him. Yogi Rock was discovered following the landing of the Mars Pathfinder on the planet in 1997. In the initial photos the rock had the appearance of a little bear facing away.
John Kricfalusi, creator of Ren & Stimpy, created and directed two Spumco-styled "Ranger Smith" cartoons in 1999: A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith and Boo Boo Runs Wild. Both shorts aired that year on the Cartoon Network as part of a Yogi Bear special. Boo Boo Runs Wild features a fight between Yogi and Ranger Smith, which was heavily edited for broadcast for both violence and suggestive situations. Also, Yogi and Boo Boo appeared in an episode of Adult Swim's Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law and made a cameo in an episode of Cartoon Network's The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. In 2003, Spumco created a new Yogi cartoon, Boo-Boo & The Man, which was made with Macromedia Flash and released on Cartoon Network's website.
In addition, Yogi Bear lends his name to a chain of RV parks, "Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts". There is also one remaining restaurant from the chain bearing Yogi's name, "Yogi Bear's Honey Fried Chicken", in Hartsville, SC. In both cases, Hanna-Barbera licensed the name and likenesses to the respective companies.
Yogi Bear is currently aired in the United States (and on the rest of the world, too) by the Cartoon Network's sister channel, Boomerang.
There was also a Hanna-Barbera Personal Favourites video where William Hanna and Joseph Barbera picked their favorite Yogi Bear episodes, including the very first one, "Yogi Bear's Big Break", and Yogi meeting some storybook friends: The Three Little Pigs, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Little Red Riding Hood.
Cast from the Yogi Bear classical period (1958-62)
- Daws Butler as Yogi Bear
- Don Messick as Boo Boo and Ranger Smith
- Julie Bennett as Cindy
Yogi Bear in other languages
- Brazilian Portuguese: Zé Colméia (something like "Honeycomb Joe")
- Finnish: Jogi-karhu
- French: Yogi l'ours
- Galician: O Oso Iogui
- German: Yogi Bär
- Hungarian: Maci Laci ("maci" is a diminutive for "medve", which is "bear"; "Laci" is a diminutive for the common first name "Laszlo", chosen for its rhyme.)
- Italian: L'Orso Yoghi
- Japanese: クマゴロー (Kuma-Goro)
- Polish: Miś Jogi (sometimes also Miś Yogi)
- Spanish: El Oso Yogui
