Yogi's Ark Lark

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Yogi’s Ark Lark
Genre Animated TV-movie
Running time 1 hour
Written by Bob Ogle
and Dick Robbins
Directed by Joseph Barbera
and William Hanna
Produced by Joseph Barbera
and William Hanna
Starring (See below)
Music by Hoyt Curtin (musical director)
Paul DeKorte (musical supervision)
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Original channel ABC
Release date(s) September 16, 1972
Preceded by The Brady Kids on Mysterious Island
Followed by The Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters
IMDb profile

Yogi’s Ark Lark is an animated Hanna-Barbera TV-movie, intended to raise ecological awareness; broadcast in 1972, it was part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie and the pilot for Yogi's Gang.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Concerned about the terrible state of the environment, dozens of animals gather for a meeting in Jellystone Park, chaired by Yogi Bear. They decide to leave their homes and search for “the perfect place”; i.e., a place free of pollution, deforestation, and other forms of mankind’s despoilment.

Jellystone handyman Noah Smitty has built a flying ship (which looks like Noah’s Ark with a propeller on top) for them to use, and they decide to name it after him; because “Smitty’s Houseboat” is too long to paint on the bow, they name it “Noah’s Ark.”

With Noah at the helm, they travel to places around the world searching for “the perfect place.” Driving down the highway into the ocean. When they end up in the ocean, they soon end up on the back of a sleeping Moby Dick. Huckleberry Hound is sent down to wake him.

First, they end up in the Sahara Desert which they mistakened for a beach. The desert sun causes Yogi to be like King Tut until Boo Boo and Noah Smitty arrive. Some moments later, So So spots an oasis. As Yogi and crew settle down to make themselves home, Lambsy spots a "dragon" which turns out to be a construction vehicle developing a new city. Yogi and the crew then take their leave of the area.

They soon arrive in arctic territory and settle down there...until it ends up like the oasis.

Finally, they arrive in outer space upon going up too far. It wasn't long before Earth ejects it's garbage into space.

They finally come to a stop on top of a mountain, and almost believe that they’ve found what they’ve been looking for… only to be disappointed again.

At this point, the younger animals (Augie Doggie, Boo Boo, et al) come to a decision of their own: that they should all simply go back home and clean up the messes that they were trying to get away from. This decision is met with unanimous approval, and the animals all head for home so that they can start turning it into “the perfect place” as shown during the credits.

[edit] List of characters

The following Hanna-Barbera characters appeared in this movie (not all of whom appeared on Yogi’s Gang) in alphabetical order:

[edit] Notes

  • This TV-movie is notable, not just for its message, but also for the fact that it’s a milestone in Hanna-Barbera’s history; a wide range of the studio’s characters were united in one story for the first time. This set the tone for future series and specials, such as Laff-A-Lympics and Yogi’s First Christmas.
  • Although this was the pilot for Yogi’s Gang, some changes were made for the series:
    • Noah Smitty was written out; only the animals were on the ark.
    • The vessel’s name was changed from “Noah’s Ark” to “Yogi’s Ark.”
    • Some of the animals, such as Top Cat, were also written out. Thus, giving the ark a smaller crew.
  • This one-hour feature was later turned into two half-hour episodes of Yogi’s Gang.
  • The flying ark would be seen again on Yogi’s Treasure Hunt, this time renamed the SS Jelly Roger (a takeoff of the phrase “Jolly Roger”).
  • The song "The Perfect Place" is sung 6 times throughout Yogi's Ark Lark, and would of course later be remade as the Main Title for Yogi’s Gang.

[edit] Cast

NOTE #1: Choo Choo, Spook, Fancy Fancy, The Brain, Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole, Droop-A-Long Coyote, Ruff and Reddy, Dum Dum, and Sawtooth the Beaver have no dialogue.

NOTE #2: Hardy Har Har and Top Cat are voiced by John Stephenson and Daws Butler here. It was presumed that Mel Blanc and Arnold Stang weren't available to voice them for this TV movie.

[edit] Availability

As of January 2008, Yogi’s Ark Lark has not been released on either videocassette or DVD.

[edit] External links


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Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear characters
Yogi Bear television shows
The Huckleberry Hound Show (1958-1961) • The Yogi Bear Show (1961-1963) • Yogi's Gang (1973-1975) • Yogi's Space Race (1978-1979) • Galaxy Goof-Ups (1978-1979) • Yogi's Treasure Hunt (1985-1986) • The New Yogi Bear Show (1988-1989) • Yo Yogi! (1991-1992)
Yogi Bear television specials
Yogi's First Christmas (1980) • Yogi Bear's All Star Comedy Christmas Caper (1982) • Yogi the Easter Bear (1994)
Yogi Bear television films
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