Unlike most actors who work on animated characters, Timberlake and Aykroyd did most of their scenes together in the studio. This allowed them to really make that connection between Yogi and Boo Boo sound authentic, and it gave them the chance to play off of each other and to really find the funniest approach to their shared scenes. Together in LA for a press conference to discuss the film, Aykroyd and Timberlake talked about why they wanted to be a part of Yogi Bear and how they got into their famous characters.
Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake Yogi Bear Press Conference
Did you try to stay close to the characters or did you try to add a little bit of yourself?Dan Aykroyd: "Well, we wanted to get as close as we could, in terms of the characterizations that were there originally, because it is a re-tribute to that great Hanna-Barbera franchise so we want to be true to that. He can’t help who he is and I can’t help who I am, so I think that you will hear in the characterizations that a lot of our own personality comes through in the voices and a lot of our own vocal skill, ability and power. His dryness is incredible; he channels this character. You’ll see that it’s really not just Yogi Bear and Boo Boo, it’s a two-hander with an incredible support of cast of fine actors and actresses."
Justin Timberlake: "Just to second what Dan said, I think an interesting thing about the process of voicing these characters - and so genius of Eric [Brevig] the director, to do - was he had Dan and I come in and record together. We had two or three sessions together because we really did look at this as a Batman and Robin duo. It really made a difference with the rhythm of the banter between Yogi and Boo Boo that could move like that, because there’s a really nice relationship that they have."
"Also, in the specifics of re-voicing such iconic characters for a lot of us, we both were honored to pay tribute to characters that both of us, looking at multi-generational characters and also understanding that these characters are going to be introduced to young minds for the first time, we were encouraged to give them a new spin. Obviously there are some jokes in the film that are a little more modern that will play better with young people. Other than that, I was just excited to wear a bow tie."
What would you say to encourage kids to visit national parks and the outdoors as opposed to sitting in a dark movie theater?
Dan Aykroyd: "I would personally say put up the texting, BlackBerry, laptop, get rid of it for at least a long weekend or four or five days, once or twice a month. We are ruining the attention span of this generation. It’s time to get back to nature and get back out and see that there are other creatures out there, other than our friends that are being texted and sexted."
"This is a very good question. I encourage it. I grew up on the edge of a national park and had to walk to school two miles there and back. That’s when I used to watch Yogi in the afternoon, after walking through this park. Timberwolves, creeks, snow drifts, a bad highway...it’s just like a story from your grandfather or grandmother. [Imitating an elderly person] 'I had to walk six miles through the snow!' Well, I did! The only joy was coming home at 4:30 as the light was fading in Hull, Quebec, Canada, and there was Yogi on TV. It was my joy, so I always had an appreciation for nature. I pass it on to my children, and we really do have to put up the electronic devices and get back to nature. And I think that’s part of what we can say here today."
Justin Timberlake: "Sorry, I was texting someone. I’m just joking! I did a film about literally the birth of social networking and it drove me crazy even playing a part in that movie. It’s way beyond my brain span."
Dan Aykroyd: "By the way, [good job]."
Justin Timberlake: "Oh, that’s very kind. But ironically, I grew up in Tennessee on the edge of a state park, so I spent a lot of time outdoors. And I would just go off of what Dan said, that I think he eloquently put that out there."
Is Boo Boo’s voice something you do around the house?
Justin Timberlake: "At the risk of ruining my social life… Actually, funny enough, I learned how to sing when I was a kid imitating singers on the radio. Al Green, Michael Jackson and Don Henley, those are a few names I can remember off the top of my head. But also I would entertain my – I’m an only child and I was obviously really bored – and I would entertain my parents by imitating Scooby Doo and Boo Boo. I would just imitate all the cartoon voices, so yeah. So you know that about me now..."
The movie has great life lessons about money and how money can’t buy everything...
Justin Timberlake: "And the environment!"
Absolutely. But including the lessons about money, what else can kids learn from this film?
Dan Aykroyd: "I’ve never had any money. It was cash flow. It flows, and you got your fingers in it for a little while, and it flows away. That’s all I know about money. And I don’t know, it flows and it’s a river. But you can never, ever keep it. As an artist, I can’t keep it. But hey, a man who dies with a cent in the bank is a foolish man. So I guess I’m going against the conservators. I’m a spendthrift."
Justin Timberlake: "There’s two great things that offset each other for young people, and like Dan alluded to about how young kids can be caught up with technology right now, we’re living in the age of technology. It’s nice to know that we’re using 3D technology to school, for lack of a better term, kids on the environment and how money is not the most important thing in the world. So congratulations Warner Bros. on – seriously – on taking the opportunity to do that. There’s a great way to reach young minds, and right now it’s with 3D big movies. I just got to screen the movie last night and it made me feel the same way that I felt when I first watched Who Framed Roger Rabbit? which I think is a classic A+ awesome movie and it’s in 3D. To be able to use that as well to school young minds on how money’s not the most important thing in the world - and we need trees to breathe."
Did you feel left out not getting to film in the wilderness?
Dan Aykroyd: "Two years ago I saw they were making Yogi Bear and I said to my agent, 'We gotta track this because first of all, I love the character, and also I used to do some acting, and they’re going to need an actor! I’m just not a voice, really!' So I went in and of course I had a wonderful audition and had the faith of Donald [De Line] the producer and Karen [Rosenfelt] and everybody, and got the part. And my agent calls and says, 'Guess what? They’re shooting in New Zealand, and you’re going to get a first class ticket there and back. Your family can go. You’re going to go for two weeks just to...'"
"I have never been to New Zealand in my life. I thought I was going to New Zealand! But I think agents do that sometimes. They tell you things just to – and then say, 'Well, it was the truth at the time.' So no, I never made it to New Zealand, but I’m not bitter about it. I thought that the park looked beautiful, the lake, and of course reminds me of where I grew up in Canada, and just the whole message again about getting out and appreciating nature. This generation’s gotta change the world. We’re seeing this warning out of Washington now about – we’re seeing environmental change that is just disastrous, in terms of the ice at both poles of the planet. It’s not up to us anymore; it’s up to that new generation now to get out and realize what they have and try to get more rural, I guess, and get out into the country and bring that ethos back to the cities. Maybe this movie will help a little bit. Certainly it’s entertaining. That’s the bottom line."
What is the attraction of doing a voiceover film as opposed to live action?
Justin Timberlake: "I can answer the last question too. They shot all this live action in New Zealand and then Dan and I showed up to voice these characters and they were kind of weird, looked like stencil sketches of the characters running through. And then it was our job to find what we thought was funny and arc the characters through the scene and their relationship. I watched and I was like, 'Man, you guys shot this in NEW ZEALAND? I didn’t even know it until I showed up to the first recording session!'"
"I was very jealous. Then I was in the recording studio for about three hours and then I was done with my work for the day. And if you know Warner Bros. Studio, it’s about a mile from Toluca Lake where Lakeside Golf Club is. I went and played 18 holes and I didn’t feel so bad about the fact that I didn’t get to go to New Zealand."
"I grew up with Hanna-Barbera cartoons as well, so I think Donald actually probably blindly gave me the opportunity to do this. I don’t think that he knew that I was going to be in character the whole time as Boo Boo - so maybe think about that in the future, Donald. They’re just iconic characters. They’re awesome. Yogi and Boo Boo, I grew up with them and laughed at them as a kid. I think nostalgia was probably the biggest reason that I did it."
Dan Aykroyd: "It’s not only the voice, though. You’re stepping up here with great performers, and it’s Justin’s chops as an actor and a comedian that pull this off. And as they say, the characterization is sweet and really dry. Boo Boo really is the rational Dr. Watson brains of the [outfit]. Sherlock comes up with the schemes, but it’s Boo Boo who calms him down. He’s like the exercitor in Ancient Rome who rode behind the Emperor, and the Emperor would come into town on a triumph, and he’d be getting the laurels and everything thrown at him, and the exercitor would be behind him saying, 'You’re mortal. You’re nothing. This is all fleeting."
Would you be willing to do the sequel?
Dan Aykroyd: "I don’t know. I’m not sure. [Jokingly] That’s in negotiations. You know what? In a heartbeat, of course. Absolutely."
Justin Timberlake: "Absolutely. We had so much fun. Like I said, it really made a difference that Dan and I got to work together, the same way that Tom [Cavanaugh] and Anna [Faris] got to do their scenes together. They had way harder jobs than we did. Anna was talking about having to remember 8,000 things. Like, that while also not forgetting to act is a feat. I’ve never worked in that way where you’re looking at tennis balls or leaves as reference points."
Dan Aykroyd: "Oh, I have."
Justin Timberlake: "To get to work with Dan on this and to really feel like we were modernizing the characters but also building on their relationship, it really makes a difference, rather than having the actors come in one at a time and just read the parts. I felt like we found so many things that we thought were funny, and essentially Eric would toss out ideas based on that. It was a very cool collaboration and we had a lot of fun doing it."
Dan Aykroyd: "And actors don’t direct themselves."
Justin Timberlake: "Absolutely. Eric had so much to do with the chemistry as well."
What touchstones did you want to make sure you brought to your characters?
Dan Aykroyd: "The characters are long established in American culture from the 1960s, and when I first came in, I remembered walking home from school – my little story there, the joy of watching Yogi at 4:00 in the afternoon. And when Justin did the voice and the character and he had all of it, I thought, 'You weren’t alive in the '60s!' And, of course, I forgot about reruns. He was building his career as a young man. He started, as you know his history, as an entertainer at about nine years old. And the cartoons were on then to relieve the stress of what he was up to at that time. So we both took refuge in the characters. So I think you can multiply that into a generation of baby boomers and the people who came after. So that’s why it’s so iconic, because it penetrated. It was well written and well done, even if it was that kind of flat-panel animation back at the time. The characters were well drawn. They had a lot of heart and a lot of sweetness, and that made them endure. I wanted to try to get the voice, and the spirit of the character and absurdity of Yogi’s thinking."
Justin Timberlake: "[...]Like Dan said, Hanna-Barbera has a knack for having characters that have stood the test of time. The fact that it holds so much weight as a young person with me as it did with Dan, that speaks so loudly to how well these characters were thought out when they were created. Getting the voice of Boo Boo, I had someone on hand with the old '60s and '70s cartoons with the original Boo Boo voice, and I would sit there and listen to it in between takes and before we would start our sessions. It would take me 15-20 minutes to really get into it – this is all really boring and geeky vocal stuff – but get your palate to the right level of the character. I would usually end up after the first 20 minutes of recording, go back and re-record everything I recorded in the first half hour because you just get in the pocket of the tone and inflection. I’m really killing any coolness that I had before I came here."
"I think the touchstones was like Dan said, the bigness and brashness and absurdity of Yogi that he was able to find, and so hilariously portray, I think I wanted to [be] Buster Keaton, if I may, to offset that absurdity, a Laurel and Hardy type thing. If Boo Boo was going to be the constant reminder, I thought it would be funnier if he did it in such a dry way to offset how big and larger than life the character of Yogi is."
