Yogi Bear (segments)


 * This article is about the segments. For other uses, see Yogi Bear.

Yogi Bear is a series of animated segments as part of The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Yogi Bear Show and The New Yogi Bear Show, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. Airing in syndication, it originally, it ran from 1958 to 1961, airing 35 segments before being replaced by the Hokey Wolf shorts for the third season in 1961, then airing 33 segments on The Yogi Bear Show from 1960 to 1961. In 1988, 45 segments were aired for the final incarnation, The New Yogi Bear Show. In total there were 112 segments that spanned five seasons across three decades.

Proclaiming himself to be "smarter than the average bear," Yogi Bear is Jellystone Park's sneaky resident of the woods. He goes out with his friend and constant companion Boo Boo in numerous schemes within the area, namely using his wits in an attempt to steal picnic baskets (or "pic-a-nic baskets," as Yogi calls them). The two bears are usually chased down by Ranger Smith, a stern authority figure strained by Yogi's antics.

Development
Yogi Bear's characterization was a spoof of Art Carney, who was mainly notable for his role as Ed Norton in the 1950s sitcom The Honeymooners. His personality largely came from similar traits to Carney's character, as the two share an identical hat, carefree attitude, and vocal inflection.

Before he was given the title of "Yogi", the bear originally went by the names of "Huckleberry", "Yucca", and "Yo-Yo." The name "Huckleberry" was later given to the character of Huckleberry Hound, after "Yogi" was decided.

Yogi Bear's name also share similarities, although unofficially, to that of Yankees baseball player Yogi Berra. Berra sued Hanna-Barbera for defamation over Yogi's name sounding too similar, but withdrew it when Hanna-Barbera stated that it was a coincidence. According to Joseph Barbera, he claimed that the name did not have a intended reference, but asserted that "the sound of the name was awash in our collective unconscious at a time when Yogi Berra was a very popular figure." Berra, however, addressed the similarities of the name in a 1963 interview, stating "Television is big enough for both me and Yogi Bear. I was going to sue the Yogi Bear program for using my name, until somebody reminded me Yogi isn’t my real name — it’s Lawrence."

Music
The music was composed by Hoyt Curtin.

Cast

 * Daws Butler as Yogi Bear
 * Don Messick as Boo Boo Bear and Ranger Smith
 * Julie Bennett as Cindy Bear

Legacy
Many of the spin-off TV series and movies are based on what was created for The Yogi Bear Show. The success of The Yogi Bear Show propelled Yogi onto the big screen in his only animated theatrical film, Hey There, It's Yogi Bear, released in 1964, becoming the first Hanna-Barbera movie to be distributed by Columbia Pictures.

The popularity of Yogi Bear has also extended to its influence on National Park Service, with the character's appeal boosting visitation in most United States parks. In 1961, at the request of children inquiring about Yogi, authorities in Yellowstone National Park put out signs and flyers of the character in regards to bear safety, including cut-outs of him holding a sign warning visitors to not feed the bears. Despite these efforts, data on annual bear-related injuries in Yellowstone skyrocketed as a indirect result of Yogi's public image; Numbers rose to 69 injuries in 1960, as opposed to a drop from 37 in 1959. As one park service administrator had put it, the humorous roadside signs and flyers, such as those featuring Yogi, had "instill[ed] a sense of levity rather than one of seriousness in the visitor." In response to the criticism, Yellowstone authorities discontinued the use of Yogi Bear in their anti-bear feeding campaign.

The Spümcø tributes
Former Hanna-Barbera animator John Kricfalusi, better known as John K., started up his own animation studio Spümcø in 1989, which created the referred The Ren & Stimpy Show for Nickelodeon in 1991. In 1999, Cartoon Network gave him his chance to show his "love" for old Hanna-Barbera cartoons by creating two shorts called "A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith" and "Boo Boo Runs Wild."

In popular culture

 * In The Ren & Stimpy Show episode "The Big Shot!," Stimpy becomes the co-star of Muddy Mudskipper, where they reenact one of the many chase sequences between Yogi and Ranger Smith, respectively. Muddy tells Stimpy to get his hand out of the picnic basket, while Stimpy just spouts random quotes originally said by George Jetson, Elmer Fudd, and Mr. Jinks.
 * In the Animaniacs segment "Back in Style," the Warner Siblings were loaned off to other cartoon studios, including one run by Phil and Shmoe (parodies of Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera). One of the cartoon characters that the Warners met is a spoof of Yogi Bear, named Who Who Hooey, where they mocked his cartoon's superficial dialogue and flat backgrounds. The Warner siblings interfere in the lunchbox stealing escapades of Calhourn Capybara and his impressionable young sidekick, Lew Lew, parodies of Yogi and Boo Boo. Interestingly, though, it's not one of the cartoons listed as a ratings failure.
 * In the Saturday Night Live episode "Rob Lowe/Eminem," in a skit about a fictional Crime TV program called Pros & Cons, the participants talk about the ethics of Mystery Inc. taking the law into their own hands (which includes Scooby and Shaggy themselves), with the next episode's topic planning to "examine the concept of victims' rights in the theft of pic-a-nic baskets."
 * In the Lucifer episode "Yabba Dabba Do Me," young Jimmy Baines watches the episode "Queen for a Day."