Highly Overrated But Still Good

Fresh and Exciting

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

Yogi and Boo Boo are awakened from hibernation by the arrival of their Hanna-Barbera friends Huckleberry Hound, Augie Doggie, Doggie Daddy, and Snagglepuss at Jellystone Park in this movie-length TV Christmas special. The plot has the gang, plus Ranger Smith, trying to stop a crazy old hermit who hates Christmas from causing a lodge to be shut down. It's Hanna-Barbera so the animation, while not bad, is nothing to get excited about. Plus the sound effects are loud and the music score canned. There are also some songs recycled from previous TV specials. How much you will like this depends on how much you enjoy Hanna-Barbera in general. I'm not a big HB fan as their cartoons were basically the worst parts of TV sitcoms, only animated. This does nothing to change my opinion. It's a decent Christmas special but not a classic by any means. The extra length also hurts it as there's barely enough material for a half-hour special, let alone triple that.

I'm not as familiar with the Yogi Bear world as other people might be. Whatever else I may have seen of it, I can't remember that well. But this special is something that I enjoy watching and I see no reason as to why you wouldn't enjoy it either. It just one place, we get treated to a variety of different events all rolled into one special. I will admit, it could be a flaw that it seems like a bunch of little stories all rolled into one big story, but that flaw (if you could call it one at all) befalls a lot of great movies and specials. I still see this whenever I can each December because it always seems like a nice way to spend Christmastime. If you can see it, than watch it because it's a good movie to watch.

Yogi's First Christmas, which I saw for first time Christmas time 1980, was an amusing twist on that famous cartoon character and his friends. It was about Yogi's being awakened by the Christmas Party at the Jellystone Lodge, how Yogi joined BooBoo, Cindy, Ranger Smith, Huck, and other friends in Christmas joy. The cartoon was also educational in that it showed that it is not only Grinches like Herman the Hermit would want to spoil Christmas. Snively, nephew of Sophie Throckmorton, proprietress of Jellystone Lodge, was bent on spoiling the party, calling singing Christmas songs corny and showing no interest in any of the activities that made up the Christmas celebration, as if he thought such activities "unmanly", which they are NOT! Near the end he changed his mind but was initially deprived by his Aunt Sophie; after Herman the Hermit tried to feed him wretched food, Aunt Sophie gave in and promised to allow him to take part IF he would eat what was served and made no further complaints. Most likely, Snively was raised the WRONG WAY, to believe too much in the superhuman male-subhuman female dichotomy that has been all too prevalent in this IMMATURE society of ours. THAT is what caused Snively to behave badly; Aunt Sophie was a nice lady who meant well, and wanted Snively to act like a DECENT PERSON and NOT conform to the naughty side of the frontier spirit, and DID NOT make excuses for Snively(the boies-will-be-boies floogie). Snively's actions (until his aunt gave him another chance) are eloquent of just how immature our society is, and how many people believe so strongly in the horse manure that society reinforces (like the superhuman male-subhuman female dichotomy). In that respect, Yogi's First Chritmas was really educational.

How much I loved Yogi Bear cartoons when I was little.This period in the early eighties was the lowest point for the HB 60's characters. After Laff-A-Lympics and Scooby cloning, these holiday episodes of Yogi, Flintstones, Casper and Scooby Doo must stand as how low the characters would sink.From sudden song singing that wakes Yogi up, to Ranger Smith telling Booboo the rich lady will sell the lodge because Yogi carried a tray of food upstairs and hasn't returned.And why was Yogi wearing ice skates in the hotel? Suspense would consist of Ranger Smith suddenly chasing after Yogi and wanting Yogi back in his cave, to Yogi feeling he must jump out of windows to get away from Ranger Smith. Just too forced plot development.Herman Hermit was another attempt at Yosemite Sam. HB would strive to have their own Yosemite Sam, as well as a handful of tries at getting the Tasmanian Devil (the best known one being the Frankenstones' Hardrock).Tho it was convoluted, there was greater plot development (and that really isn't saying much) with Yogi being promoted in the lodge business.And how about Cindy's seductive dance toward Booboo? What was that all about? And Booboo would sing a really meaningless song about hope.The scraped together HB characters here were Huck, Snag, Augie Doggy and Doggy Daddy. None of the others, like Quickdraw or Magilla Gorilla, turned up.And that nauseatingly peppy song turns up in the Casper's first Christmas cartoon too.Ah, my dear friends, where have you gone? Yogi and his gang would be subjected to Yogi's Space Race and Yo Yogi after this, but this period here, when the Saturday morning cartoons were subjected to that infamous cartoon strike and reruns were re-distributed instead, making what was supposed to show up look much much worse, really was an incredible lowpoint for the HB line.