Yogi's Great Escape is a 1987 animated made-for-television film produced by Hanna-Barbera and the first of the three Yogi Bear films as part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series.
Plot[]
One spring, Yogi and Boo-Boo awake from hibernation to discover a trio of orphaned bear cubs named Bopper, Buzzy, and Bitsy left at the front door of their cave. Despite their initial reservations, Yogi and Boo-Boo take the bear cubs into their home and take care of them.
Meanwhile, Jellystone Park has gone over budget and the park commissioner orders Ranger Smith to close it down. This means that Yogi, along with the other bears at the park, must be sent to a zoo. Because Yogi can't stand the thought of being cooped up in a zoo for the rest of his life, he hatches an elaborate escape plan. Salvaging car parts from a failed fishing expedition, he constructs a getaway "Supercar," complete with a picnic basket rumble seat for the three orphaned cubs. Together they make their escape from the park to find a new home.
After Ranger Smith initially fails to capture Yogi, he hires a professional trapper named Trapper and his hound Yapper. However, it turns out that Trapper and Yapper are more of a hindrance to Ranger Smith's efforts rather than some help. Yogi and his friends go through several adventures along their journey. Their first stop is at a watermelon patch. After eating their fill of watermelons, the bears retire to a seemingly abandoned tree house. It turns out to be the secret clubhouse of the Bike Brigade, three boys who ride bicycles and operate a shortwave radio. When the boys return, they believe the bears are alien invaders and attack them with their squirt guns. After Yogi surrenders, they recognize him and decide to help him in his escape. Using their radio, the boys call ahead to their cohorts in other clubs around the country to watch for Yogi and help him in his getaway.
Next, they find themselves in a western ghost town. Apparently the only remaining resident is the sheriff, Quick Draw McGraw, who mistakes Yogi and Boo-Boo for bank robbers, Bandit Bear and Li'l Brother Bear and throws them in jail along with the three cubs. The Lone Raiders, another club in league with the Bike Brigade, help spring Yogi from jail and capture the real robbers, who turn out to be close look-alikes to Yogi and Boo-Boo.
Yogi and his friends then find themselves on the bayou. Wally Gator, another zoo fugitive, inhabits a spooky steamboat, complete with ghostly illusions intended to scare away zookeepers. He takes in Yogi and his friends and serves them a fabulous dinner. When Ranger Smith, Trapper, and Yapper show up, Wally and the bears attempt to scare them away. However, the sudden appearance of a real ghost makes everyone run for their lives. While the anonymous ghost pursues the hunters, Yogi and his friends are rescued by another club, the Swamp Foxes.
The Supercar next stops at a carnival where the bears meet up with Yogi's old friend, Snagglepuss. Snagglepuss hides the bears from Ranger Smith by disguising them in his stage show of Egyptian dancers. When Ranger Smith sees through the disguises, the bears escape to a hot air balloon and take off.
As the balloon floats across the country, Ranger Smith and his cohorts follow in hot pursuit. After the Trapper and Yapper attempt to grapple the balloon from the top of Mount Rushmore, they fall and are not seen again. The balloon finally snags on the antenna of the Empire State Building in a dense fog. Ranger Smith approaches the balloon in a helicopter and hands Yogi a telephone; the President of the United States tells Yogi that he is not going to let Jellystone Park close after all, and that Yogi and his friends may return to their home.
Characters[]
Main
- Yogi Bear
- Boo-Boo Bear
- Ranger Smith
- Bopper, Buzzy, and Bitsy (only appearance)
Supporting
Groups
- The Bike Brigade (only appearance)
- The Swamp Foxes (only appearance)
- The Lone Raiders (only appearance)
- The Hawks (only appearance)
Villains
- Trapper (only appearance)
- Yapper (only appearance)
- Bandit Bear (only appearance)
- Li'l Brother Bear (only appearance)
Other
- Mr. Commissioner (mentioned and only one-time heard)
- Reporter (only appearance)
- Reporter 2 (only appearance)
- Hawkee (only appearance)
- Old Mother McGraw (only mentioned)
Locations[]
Jellystone Park
United States
- New York City
- Empire State Building
- The Twin Towers*
- Texas (only mentioned)
- Hoboken (only mentioned)
- Mount Rushmore
Groups' hideouts
- The Bike Brigade's treehouse (only appearance)
- The Swamp Foxes' hideout (only appearance)
- The Lone Raiders' hideout (only appearance)
- The Hawks' clubhouse (only appearance)
Other
- Ghost Gulch (only appearance)
- Mumbo-Jumbo Marsh (only appearance)
Objects[]
- Yogi's hibernation clock
- Fishing poles
- Picnic baskets
- Peanut jars (only appearance)
- Popcorn jars (only appearance)
- Cannonball (only appearance)
- Flare gun (only appearance)
Food
- PB&J Sandwiches (mentioned)
- Potato salad (mentioned)
- Pretzels (mentioned)
- Banana cream pie
- Twinkie Dinkies (mentioned)
- Fried chicken (mentioned)
- Tuna fish sandwiches (mentioned)
- Salami on rye (mentioned)
- Chocolate cake
- Chocolate chip cookies
- Pistachios (mentioned)
- Sunflower seeds (mentioned)
- Macadamias (mentioned)
- Nuts and berries (mentioned)
- Orange
- Bananas
- Apples
- Ham
- Muffin
- Jelly (mentioned)
- Watermelon
- Sagebrush Salad (only appearance)
- Cactus Stew (only appearance)
- French-Fried Rawhide (only appearance)
- Tumbleweed Pie (only appearance)
- Eggs and Bacon
- Possum Pie (only mentioned)
- Cotton Candy (only mentioned)
Animals[]
- Bears
- Squirrels
- Frog (only appearance)
- Dragonfly (only appearance)
- Trout
- Rabbit
- Buffaloes (only appearance)
- Chickens (only appearance)
- Pig (only appearance)
- Catfish (only mentioned, as food)
- Elephant
- Eagle (only appearance)
Vehicles[]
- Campers' vehicles
- Ranger Smith's Jeep
- Bus
- Engine train
- Hot air balloon
- Supercar (only appearance)
- Swamp Foxes' boat (only appearance)
Songs[]
- "My Favorite Dish"
- "Popcorn, Candy, Peanuts"
Cast[]
Daws Butler | Yogi Bear Quick Draw McGraw Snagglepuss Wally Gator |
---|---|
Don Messick | Boo-Boo Bear Ranger Smith |
Susan Blu | Buzzy Swamp Fox Girl Cowgirl |
Edan Gross | Bitsy |
Frank Welker | Bopper Yapper Real Ghost |
Pat Fraley | Swamp Fox Boy Reporter Cowboy Kid 2 |
Tress MacNeille | Mom Cowboy Kid 1 Boy |
William Callaway | Trapper Dad |
Josh Rodine | Skinny Kid |
Dustin Diamond | Chubby Kid |
Scott Menville | Bike Brigade Leader |
Allan Melvin | Bandit Bear |
Hamilton Camp | Li'l Brother Bear |
Computer game[]
- Main article: Yogi's Great Escape (video game)
Notes/Trivia[]
- This is the only animated Yogi Bear film to feature the Twin Towers before the tragedy on September 11, 2001, fourteen years later.
- King Kong and E.T. were mentioned.
Errors[]
- Despite the happy ending, the cubs were inevitably never seen again.