Justin Timberlake: guilt over explicit music led me to do Boo Boo in ‘Yogi Bear’
Yes, the man who caused such a stir with his raunchy performance alongside Kylie Minogue at the 2003 Brit Awards voices Boo Boo, Yogi Bear’s best friend and fellow pic-a-nic basketnapper of Jellystone Park.
It is, Timberlake concedes, an eccentric choice of role, yet he is unequivocal about his reasons for taking it: ‘Guilt. I’ve had parents come to me and say: “My daughter really loves the song SexyBack.” I say “Oh great. How old is your daughter?” expecting them to say she goes to university. They say: “She’s nine.”
‘So that made me feel really bad as a person. And I felt it was irresponsible of those parents — my music is explicit. So I did this film so that I would feel better about myself.’
It may be the first time an artist has voiced a cartoon bear for penitential reasons, but Timberlake is brilliant. Listening to his Boo Boo, you’d have no idea that the bear and the man who cried us a river are the same person. It’s a talent Timberlake mastered growing up in Memphis, Tennessee.
‘I liked to entertain. I’m an only child and I was obviously really bored, so I would imitate Scooby-Doo and Boo Boo for my parents. Yogi and Boo Boo are iconic characters — a duo like Batman and Robin. I laughed at them as a kid, so I think nostalgia is the biggest reason I did the film.’
Nostalgia, too, is a good reason for older audiences to see the film, as it re-introduces characters that made their debut on TV screens in 1958.
Initially a supporting character on The Huckleberry Hound Show, Yogi Bear was given his own series three years later when his creators Hanna-Barbera noted the popularity of Yogi and Boo Boo.
Their shenanigans took place in the fictional Jellystone Park, with Ranger Smith trying and failing miserably to prevent Yogi’s hamper-stealing exploits, and Yogi’s sometime girlfriend Cindy Bear looking on disapprovingly.
In the new version, which showcases a mix of live action and computer graphics, many of the same elements are in place, but with a modern, environmentally-friendly twist.
Yogi (voiced by Dan Aykroyd) and Boo Boo are ensconced in Jellystone Park, stealing hampers and foiling Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanagh).
Unfortunately, the unscrupulous Mayor Brown (Andrew Daly) notes that Jellystone has been losing business and decides to shut it down. With families unable to experience the great outdoors and the threat of Yogi and Boo Boo being ejected from their home, Yogi has to prove that he really is ‘smarter than the average bear’ and find a way to help Ranger Smith save Jellystone.
The eco-slant to the film was, says Timberlake, another key element to him taking the role. ‘My parents always impressed upon me the importance of nature,’ he says.
‘Also, I love golf and I started asking questions about how golf courses are built, managed and how they use water and other resources. There was a golf course in my town that was going under, so I bought it. I’m proud to say that, with my family, we have the first green golf course in the United States. So the whole message of the film is great for children.’
Setting aside the issue of whether women can find him attractive ever again now his Boo Boo voice is in the public domain, one wonders whether Timberlake has any affinity with his character. ‘Well, I like to wear bow ties, I like the colour blue and I’m furry in places,’ he says.
‘The sense of humour would be something we have in common. And I didn’t hit my growth spurt until late, so I was short for a large portion of my life.’ Certainly, no one could fault Timberlake’s growth spurt now, as he’s popping up all over the place in 2011. He has three films out this year, including Bad Teacher, with ex-girlfriend Cameron Diaz, and Now, with Amanda Seyfried.
Some critics may have given Yogi Bear a mauling, but children have screamed with laughter at it and Timberlake remains unperturbed.
‘The movies I remember from when I was growing up were ones like The Lion King and Beauty And The Beast — movies which never talked down to young minds,’ he says.
‘I was watching one scene in Yogi and had to look away as I was getting really emotional. How can you not want to be involved in a movie like that?’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1353383/Justin-Timberlake-reveals-guilt-exposing-young-fans
Boo Boo, as voiced by JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, in Warner Bros. Pictures' live-action/computer-animated adventure in 3D, "YOGI BEAR," a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
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