Over about two decades in movies, primarily as an Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor on films such as “Men in Black,” “Total Recall” and “Pearl Harbor,” Eric Brevig has worked with many big names in Hollywood. But his latest film gave him a unique chance to direct a childhood idol: Yogi Bear.
“I have memories as a little kid saving up cereal box tops and sending away for Yogi mugs and all kind of things,” says Brevig, 53, who directed “Journey to the Center of the Earth” in 2008. “To work with that character was like working with a hero.”
Brevig’s new live-action/animated 3-D family comedy “Yogi Bear” is an effort to introduce Hanna-Barbera’s “smarter than the average bear” Yogi, and his diminutive sidekick, Boo Boo, to a generation that has little or no familiarity with the original cartoon.
Yogi and Boo Boo first appeared as supporting players on the Hanna-Barbera TV program “The Huckleberry Hound Show” in 1958. In 1961, they were given their own series, “The Yogi Bear Show,” which lasted two seasons.
Daws Butler provided the voice of Yogi, who was based on Art Carney’s Ed Norton character on “The Honeymooners.” Don Messick supplied the voice for Boo Boo, who was Yogi’s best buddy, as well as the big bear’s conscience. Messick was also the voice of Ranger Smith, Yogi’s nemesis at Jellystone Park.
Full story: La-et-yogi-bear – latimes.com