Remember kids, the truth is always far, far stranger than fiction. It was a little more than a year ago that we found out the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon series "Yogi Bear" would be getting a big screen treatment. There was no casting announced or anything like that; just that the project was happening with "Surf's Up" director Ash Brannon at the helm and that it would feature a mix of live-action and CG animation.
Well today, the plot thickened. Variety reports that Anna Faris, Justin Timberlake and Dan Aykroyd are all in negotiations to join the cast of the movie, which will now be directed by "Journey to the Center of the Earth" helmer Eric Brevig from a script by Brad Copeland ("Wild Hogs").
I used to catch "Yogi Bear" frequently on the USA Network's Saturday morning animation block, "Cartoon Express." That's where I met all of my Hanna-Barbera friends in fact. For those who don't know, Yogi (the Aykroyd role) and his pal Boo Boo (Timberlake) are residents of Jellystone Park. They are constantly on the hunt for picnic baskets to swipe, which means they frequently butt heads with Ranger Smith (not yet cast). Faris would step into the role of a documentary filmmaker and the story will presumably involve something more complex than a picnic basket heist.
The new script from Copeland replaces an earlier one from Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia. There was no synopsis for that earlier treatment and there's none for this latest one, so there's really no way of knowing how much has changed between the two scripts.
A "Yogi Bear" movie? Are you into it? Have you ever seen the cartoon? Is this casting right?
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