Yogi's Ark Lark

Infobox Television Film
bgcolour =
name = Yogi’s Ark Lark


caption =
format = Animated TV-movie
runtime = 1 hour
creator =
director = Joseph Barbera
and William Hanna
producer = Joseph Barbera
and William Hanna
writer = Bob Ogle
and Dick Robbins
starring = "(See below)"
music = Hoyt Curtin (musical director)
Paul DeKorte (musical supervision)
country = USA
language = English
network = ABC
released = September 16 1972
first_aired =
last_aired =
num_episodes =
preceded_by = "The Brady Kids on Mysterious Island"
followed_by = "The Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters"
website =
imdb_id = 0198034
tv_com_id =
amg_id =

"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".

ynopsis

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.

Upon sailing on sea, tensions have been rising between the animals. Huckleberry Hound throws water down a pipe which causes Dum Dum to emerge and throw water at him. Quick Draw McGraw insults Snagglepuss slicing of salami. Peter Potamus insults Magilla Gorilla by saying if anybody told him he looked like a gorilla. Lippy the Lion grows tired of Hardy Har Har's complaining. Yogi Bear becomes aware of this as So So spots a typhoon coming. The animals struggle to survive the typhoon. The typhoon lands them on top of a mountain, and the animals almost believe that they’ve found what they’ve been looking for… only to be disappointed again when Yakky Doodle returns with an empty tin can and they animals notice a deforestation occur.

At this point, the younger animals (Augie Doggie, Boo Boo, Baba Looey, Lambsy, Shag Rugg) 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, Wally Gator and Squiddly Diddly are cleaning the rivers, Paw and Shag Rugg are picking up garbage around their house, and Yogi Bear picks up a recently discarded hamburger wrapping.

List of characters

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

* Atom Ant
* Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy
* The Hillbilly Bears
* Hokey Wolf and Ding-a-Ling
* Huckleberry Hound
* Lambsy
* Lippy the Lion & Hardy Har Har
* Magilla Gorilla
* Peter Potamus and So-So
* Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks
* Punkin' Puss & Mushmouse
* Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey
* Ruff and Reddy
* Ricochet Rabbit & Droop-a-Long
* Sawtooth (Rufus Ruffcut's pet beaver on "Wacky Races")
* Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole
* Snagglepuss
* Squiddly Diddly
* Top Cat and his gang (Benny the Ball, Spook, Choo Choo, Fancy Fancy, and the Brain)
* Touché Turtle and Dum Dum
* Wally Gator
* Yakky Doodle & Chopper
* Yogi Bear and Boo Boo
* An unknown dinosaur character

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".

Cast

* Daws Butler - Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, Wally Gator, Peter Potamus, Augie Doggie, Hokey Wolf, Lippy the Lion, Snooper, Blabber, Dixie, Mr. Jinks, Baba Looey, Lambsy, Top Cat
* Henry Corden - Paw Rugg, Truck Driver #1
* Walker Edmiston - Yakky Doodle
* Allan Melvin - Magilla Gorilla, Truck Driver #2
* Don Messick - Boo Boo, Atom Ant, Squiddly Diddly, Touché Turtle, Ricochet Rabbit, Pixie, So So, Shag Rugg, Moby Dick
* Jean Vander Pyl - Flo Rugg, Maw Rugg, Woman
* John Stephenson - Benny the Ball, Doggie Daddy, Hardy Har Har
* Lennie Weinrib - Cap'n Noah Smitty

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

NOTE #2: Hardy Har Har, Squiddly Diddly, Top Cat, and Yakky Doodle are voiced by John Stephenson, Don Messick, Daws Butler, and Walker Edmiston here. It was presumed that Mel Blanc, Paul Frees, Arnold Stang, and Jimmy Weldon weren't available to voice them for this TV movie. Though Arnold Stang continued to voice Top Cat after this, John Stephenson and Don Messick voiced Hardy Har Har and Squiddly Diddly in Yogi's Gang and other appearances.

NOTE #3: Don Messick began voicing Touché Turtle here after the death of Bill Thompson. John Stephenson began voicing Doggie Daddy here due to the fact that Doug Young was caring for his ailing wife at the time.

Availability

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

External links

*
*
*
* [http://www.toonarific.com/episode.php?episode_id=47156&show_id=4029 Toonarific Cartoons: Pictures from "Yogi's Ark Lark"]