| Yogi's First Christmas | |
|---|---|
 Cover art | |
| Genre | Family Comedy |
| Written by | Willie Gilbert |
| Directed by | Ray Patterson |
| Voices of | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Producer | Lew Marshall |
| Running time | 98 minutes |
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Syndication |
| Release | November 22, 1980 (1980-11-22) |
Yogi's First Christmas is a 1980 American animatedmusicaltelevision film starringYogi Bear and produced byHanna-Barbera Productions. It first aired insyndication throughOperation Prime Time on November 22, 1980.[1] Throughout the 1980s, it was offered to U.S. television stations split up one episode per day for four days as a one-week strip syndicated program, generally during the week of Christmas. The film was written byWillie Gilbert and directed byRay Patterson.[2]
In keeping with Hanna-Barbera'slimited animation techniques, the special didn't have the full animation of a theatrical feature like 1964'sHey There, It's Yogi Bear, but was regardless more detailed and elaborate than their standard TV work.[3]
Huckleberry Hound,Snagglepuss,Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy come to Jellystone Lodge for the holiday. They are joined by Ranger Smith, hotel manager Mr. Dingwell, Otto the chef, and lodge owner Sophie Throckmorton and her spoiled brat of a nephew, Snively. The gang is obsessed with keeping Mrs. Throckmorton happy to keep her from closing down the lodge, which has become unpopular due to activity caused by Herman the Hermit, a grumpy Christmas-hating hermit who just wants to be left alone.
Yogi Bear and Boo Boo are put to work as employees of the lodge when the music wakes them up and they enter the lodge through the kitchen where Otto works. Yogi is first ordered to operate the snowplow to which he saves Mrs. Throckmorton on the road from an avalanche caused by Herman. Later, Yogi is working as abellhop, where he is tasked by Ranger Smith to stay on Mrs. Throckmorton's good side.
Though Snively tries to embarrass Yogi with his pranks, Yogi comes out on top. In another attempt to degrade Yogi, Snively tricks him into entering a figure skating contest, in which Snively is also a participant. Although Snively earns high marks, Mrs. Throckmorton covertly wishes Snively would lose in order to tame his poor attitude. Yogi, the last contestant, manages to impress the judges well enough to earn the highest marks and win. Snively is a sore loser and enraged that Yogi beat him at his own game, but his aunt Sophie says that Yogi won fair and square and losing is a lesson of life.
Following different situations caused by Herman that Yogi saved her from, Mrs. Throckmorton has Mr. Dingwell promote Yogi to chief of security.Cindy Bear also awakens from herhibernation, to help Yogi out (due to her love and concern for him). Fed up with Snively's antics, Yogi retaliates during anice fishing contest, with Mrs. Throckmorton agreeing that he needed to be taught a lesson. Furious, Snively runs away and meets up with Herman, and the two team up to ruin Christmas. However, Yogi manages to thwart them every time, albeit unknowingly.
Eventually, Herman and Snively are forgiven, invited to the Christmas celebrations and they have a profound change of heart at such generosity of spirit. Then in the midst of the festivities,Santa Claus plummets down the chimney. Santa admits that there were times when Yogi was not very good by way of stealing food from parkgoers, but also sees Yogi did much good. Santa gives Yogi his very own picnic basket full of food. Yogi, however, falls asleep, due to his natural instincts of hibernation. Santa then says that Yogi and Boo Boo can have the basket when they wake up in the spring. With that, the partiers return Yogi, Boo Boo and Cindy to their caves for the rest of their hibernation.[4]
Two songs fromCasper's First Christmas ("Comin' Up Christmas Time" and "Making a Big To-Do") are featured here, in new re-recorded versions. Additionally, "Hope" was previously heard in two previousChristmas specials,A Christmas Story (1972) andA Flintstone Christmas (1977). Four songs were released byKid Rhino Records on the albumHanna-Barbera's Christmas Sing-A-Long[5] in 1991, currently available on various streaming services.
The holiday TV movie was first released onVHS viaWorldvision Home Video in 1983, and later re-released in association with Kids Klassics Home Video in 1986. It was then released onDVD as part of the manufactured-on-demandWarner Archive Collection on November 17, 2009.[1]
A follow-up film,Yogi Bear's All Star Comedy Christmas Caper, aired onCBS on December 21, 1982.
