This animated television film produced by Hanna-Barbera was intended to raise ecological awareness. It was broadcast on 16 September 1972 as part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie and served as the pilot for the series Yogi’s Gang.
A wide range of Hanna-Barbera characters were united in one story for the first time, setting the tone for future series and specials.
Concerned about the terrible state of the environment, Yogi Bear calls a meeting of animals in Jellystone Park. They decide to leave their homes and search for a place free of pollution, deforestation, and other results of mankind’s despoilment.
Jellystone maintenance man Noah Smitty helps them build a flying ship (which looks like Noah’s Ark with a propeller on top) for their journey. With Yogi at the helm, they travel to places around the world, searching for their “perfect place.”
They try settling in the Sahara Desert but are disturbed by a construction crew developing a new city. They try Antarctica until a similar situation develops there too. Yogi and the crew end up in outer space which they feel could be their new perfect place but it isn’t long before humans on Earth eject their junk (missiles, satellites etc.) into space.
Arriving back on Earth, a typhoon deposits the ark on top of a mountain, and the gang almost believe that they’ve found what they’ve been looking for. Sadly, they are disappointed once more when Yakky Doodle returns with an empty tin can and Yogi and crew notice deforestation occurring.
At this point, the animals decide they should all simply go back home to Jellystone and clean up the messes that they were trying to escape, thus turning their existing home into “the perfect place”.
Yogi Bear
Daws Butler Boo-Boo
Don Messick Huckleberry Hound
Daws Butler Quick Draw McGraw
Daws Butler Snagglepuss
Daws Butler Wally Gator
Daws Butler Peter Potamus
Daws Butler Lippy the Lion
Daws Butler Doggie Daddy
John Stephenson Augie Doggie
Daws Butler Baba Looey
Daws Butler Lambsy
Daws Butler Top Cat
Daws Butler Atom Ant
Don Messick Touché Turtle
Don Messick Pixie
Don Messick Dixie
Daws Butler Paw Rugg
Henry Corden Maw Rugg
Jean Vander Pyl Flo Rugg
Jean Vander Pyl Squiddly Diddly
Walker Edmiston Yakky Doodle
Walker Edmiston Magilla Gorilla
Allan Melvin Hardy Har Har
John Stephenson Cap’n Noah Smitty
Lennie Weinrib
