Justin Timberlake’s new project

Actor Justin Timberlake has done a voiceover for Yogi Bear's friends Boo Boo in the 3D film.


Afp December 16, 2010

LOS ANGELES: Pop star turned actor Justin Timberlake says Boo Boo the bear is “the good angel on Yogi Bear’s shoulder,” and the voice of reason for the cartoon favourite about to hit the big screen.

Timberlake provides the voice of Yogi Bear’s little friend in the 3D film, released this week and based on cartoon characters enjoyed by generations of children on television.

“Back when I was in school, I’d procrastinate doing my homework by watching cartoons, and ‘Yogi Bear’ was one of the staples of after-school television and Saturday mornings,” he said.

“Boo Boo is definitely Yogi’s conscience. He’s the good angel on Yogi’s shoulder, always there to remind him of what’s important. But even as he’s the voice of reason, he does it all while being a cute little bear with a nasal voice,” said Timberlake.

Timberlake’s movie career has included a voice role in the Shrek animated blockbusters as well as The Open Road and Alpha Dog — and more recently he played Napster founder Sean Parker in The Social Network which tells the story about social networking site Facebook’s creators.

Dan Aykroyd, who voices Yogi, says the bear “was the most accessible — the warmest and the happiest” of the cartoon characters he watched while growing up.

“He was also a bit of an outlaw, which I liked. His friendship with Boo Boo was perfect, not a trace of meanness in either of them, and I think that’s why kids of Justin’s generation,  as well as kids today, still embrace them,” he said.

Having celebrities as the voices of characters in cartoons and animated films is a trend that is becoming increasingly popular. In 1997 Meg Ryan and John Cusack voiced the roles of Anastasia and Dimitri respectively in Anastasia which was released by 20th Century Fox. DreamWorks Animation production, Kung Fu Panda (2008), featured the voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Seth Rogen, Lucia Lui and Jackie Chan.

Timberlake joined Mike Meyers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas and Julie Andrews for animated film Shrek while 2010’s Megamind featured the voices of Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, David Cross and Brad Pitt.

With additional information from news desk.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2010.

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