1987 film
Yogi's Great Escape
is a 1987
animated
made-for-television film
produced by
Hanna-Barbera
as part of the
Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10
series.
[2]
The two-hour film aired in
syndication
.
[3]
Plot
[
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]
One spring,
Yogi
and
Boo-Boo Bear
awake from hibernation to discover three 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 a 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 (since Quick Draw didn't know it was Yogi and Boo Boo after only identifying them by their appearances instead of their voices) 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.
Cast
[
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]
- Daws Butler
as
Yogi Bear
,
Quick Draw McGraw
,
Wally Gator
,
Snagglepuss
- Susan Blu
as Buzzy, Little Cowgirl, Swamp Fox Girl, Girl, Swamp Fox Kid #2
- William Callaway
as Dad, Trapper
- Hamilton Camp
as Li'l Brother Bear
- Dustin Diamond
as Chubby Kid
- Patrick Fraley
as Cowboy Kid #1, Reporter, Swamp Fox Kid
- Edan Gross
as Bitsy
- Allan Melvin
as Bandit Bear
- Tress MacNeille
as Boy, Cowboy Kid #2, Mom, Swamp Fox Boy
- Scott Menville
as Leader Kid
- Don Messick
as
Boo-Boo Bear
,
Ranger Smith
- Josh Rodine as Skinny Kid
- Frank Welker
as Bopper, Real Ghost, Yapper
Computer game
[
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]
A platform video game based on the movie was released in 1990. It consists of six levels where Yogi has to dodge dogs, hunters, and Ranger Smith. It was published by Hi-Tec Software.
Home media
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]
Yogi's Great Escape
was released on
VHS
by
Worldvision Home Video
on November 19, 1987.
On December 7, 2010,
Warner Bros.
released
Yogi's Great Escape
on DVD in NTSC picture format with all region encoding, via their
Warner Archive Collection
. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.
[4]
The film was released on Blu-ray as part of a
Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10
boxset through Warner Archive on February 20, 2024.
[5]
The film was remastered in HD.
Follow-up film
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]
Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose
was released in 1987.
References
[
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]
External links
[
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