"Yogi Bear's Big Break" is the first Yogi Bear short, originally aired as part of The Huckleberry Hound Show. It aired in syndication on September 29, 1958.
Synopsis[]
Sick and tired of being a kiddie tourist attraction, Yogi along with Boo-Boo tries to break out of Jellystone Park. He finally succeeds, only to want back in to avoid bear hunters.
Plot[]
Yogi wants to get as far away from Jellystone Park and its patronizing tourists as he can. He devises a series of elaborate but futile escape plans, several of which are foiled by a sharp-eyed park ranger (an early prototype of Ranger Smith).
- Yogi's first attempt is crawling underneath the ranger's eyes, but unfortunately, a few tourists in a car sees Yogi and says "Look at the bears! Look at the bears!", the ranger than sees Yogi and then the bear crawls back.
- Yogi's second attempt is to ride on the back of a car, but the ranger sees him, and Yogi walks back into the park.
- Yogi then attempts to escape by riding in a trailer disguised as a woman. When the ranger asks if "she" enjoyed the park, Yogi says it's the "craziest". The ranger finally realizes that the woman is actually Yogi, foiling the escape.
- Next, he plays dead on a fender of a departing car, as if the driver had shot him. The ranger tells the driver that bear hunting is not allowed. The confused driver responds: "Bear hunting? Who's bear hunting?" The ranger then realizes the trick and tells the driver that if Yogi has really been shot, he can be taken out of the park. Pretending to verify that the bear is really dead, the ranger sticks a pin into him, exposing the ruse. Yogi runs back into the park yowling in pain.
- Yogi then attempts to escape by pole vaulting over the wall and out of the park. However, he accidentally sticks the pole into a gopher hole where it sinks to its full height. Yogi then comments "That is one big gopher hole."
- Next, he attempts to dig a tunnel under the ranger station and out of the park. Instead, Yogi emerges in the ranger station.
- Yogi's next attempt is to use a pine tree as a catapult and a parachute to float out of the park. However, when the rope is released, Yogi falls flat on the ground.
- Yogi tries a second attempt to catapult out of the park. He finally lets go, but crashes onto another tree.
- Yogi makes one more attempt to catapult out of the park, which is almost successful; however, he floats down into a park maintenance truck that returns to the park.
- Yogi's final attempt to get out of the park is by blasting himself out of a cannon. But before the cannon fires, the ranger comes and asks Boo-Boo where Yogi is. Boo-Boo pretends he hasn't seen Yogi. The ranger then says that it's bear hunting season. The cannon then blasts Yogi out of the park, which leads to Yogi being chased by hunters. As the short closes, he tells the audience "I've only been out two minutes and I'm homesick for the park already".
Characters[]
- Yogi Bear (first appearance)
- Boo-Boo Bear (first appearance)
- Ranger Smith (first appearance)
Other[]
- Gopher (only appearance)
- Hunter (only appearance)
- Family in car (only appearance, silhouettes)
Locations[]
Jellystone Park (first appearance)[]
- Ranger Station (first appearance)
Objects[]
- Parachute
- Blasting powder
- Football helmet
Animals[]
- Bears (first appearance)
- Gopher
Vehicles[]
- Cars
- Trailer
- Park maintenance truck
Cast[]
| Daws Butler | Yogi Bear Ranger Smith Kid in Car #1 |
|---|---|
| Don Messick | Boo-Boo Bear Narrator Kid in Car #2 Hunter Gopher |
Production Music[]
- LAF-21-3 - Recess - Jack Shaindlin & L-1158 Animation - Comedy - Spencer Moore - [Yogi tries to crawl out of the park and attaches himself to the back of a station wagon.]
- LAF-25-3 - Bassoon and Zig-Zag Strings - Jack Shaindlin - [Yogi disguised as a housewife and pretends to be a dead bear.]
- LAF-10-7 - Grotesque No. 2 - Jack Shaindlin - [Yogi tries pole-vaulting over a wall, digs into the Ranger Station, and tries to escape using a tree].
- LAF-4-6 - Pixie Pranks - Jack Shaindlin - [Yogi escapes using a log cannon].
- LAF-2-12 - On the Run - Jack Shaindlin - [Yogi is locked out of the park gate].
Notes/Trivia[]
- The is the first Yogi Bear short to use production music until "Bearface Disguise".
- Yogi's design is different from the one in the title card in the cartoon.
- The clip of Yogi saying "Everyday is the same old thing, look at the bears look at the bears look at the bears." was used for a Boomerang promo.