Courtesy: Hanna-Barbera/Warner Brothers Home Video
Yogi Bear and company are back again. Everybody’s smarter than the average bear returned last month thanks to Hanna Barbera and Warner Home Video’s re-issue of the classic Yogi Bear Show on three-disc DVD collection. This latest return for Yogi, Boo-Boo and their friends Snagglepuss and Yakky Doodle is not a bad re-issue, but it is not perfect. On the good side, the series is presented in whole in this three-disc collection. On the bad side, the set’s packaging is problematic. It will be discussed later. It is thankfully the only truly noticeable negative to the set’s new presentation. Its average price point is another positive, and will be discussed later, too. Each element is important to note in its own right to this collection’s presentation. All things considered, this latest Yogi Bear Show re-issue is worth the purchase among classic cartoon (and television) buffs who do not already own the series’ original 2005 release.
Hanna Barbera and Warner Home Video’s recent DVD re-issue of The Yogi Bear Show is a good collection for any of the show’s fans who might not already own the series’ previous 2005 DVD box set. The same can be said for any classic cartoon and television buffs who don’t already own that noted release, too. That is due in part to the episodes presented in this set. Audiences will be happy to know that presented here, is The Yogi Bear Show in its entirety. All 33 episodes that made up the series’ two short seasons are here including the shorts from Yogi’s pals Snagglepuss and Yakky Doodle. Audiences are given the option of playing the episodes straight through or one at a time on each disc. The episode menus are basic to say the very least. The listings are set against a black background along with the set’s box art. There are no bonus materials to go through either. Keeping this in mind, even with the set being a bare bones presentation, the fact that it features the series in whole (with the episodes sounding and looking great) does plenty to make up for those other minor shortcomings. That being the case, the presentation of this classic series in its entirety here is the foundation of the set’s presentation. It is not the set’s only positive either. Before getting to the set’s second positive though, it is imperative to discuss the set’s most noticeable negative—its packaging.
The packaging used for The Yogi Bear Show’s recent re-issue is the set’s only major negative. That is because of the seeming lack of care, concern and thought that was put into this element. The three discs across which the series’ 33 episodes are spread are stacked one on top of the other on a single spindle inside the box. Considering the fact that Hanna Barbera and Warner Home used a much wiser, albeit slightly more bulky (but still wiser) packaging in the series’ previous DVD release (and those of its other series), the clearly lazy packaging used here is disappointing. Having all of the set’s discs on a single spindle is the kind of tactic one would only expect from the likes of Mill Creek Entertainment. Though, Warner Home Video has made its share of mistakes in the past couple of years or so not only in packaging but in other aspects of its home releases. That only makes this error from the company even more disheartening, since it increases the chance of the discs being marred by one another. Thankfully though, it is the set’s only major negative. Keeping that in mind, the next logical step here is to examine the set’s second positive, that being its average price point.
The average price point of Hanna Barbera and Warner Home Video’s recent re-issue of The Yogi Bear Show is important because of the set’s content and its packaging. This critic used Target, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Amazon and WB Shop in order to obtain the set’s average price point. Adding their prices and averaging them, the set’s price point averages to approximately $16.36. Its highest price is interestingly enough at the WB shop while Wal-Mart offers the most reasonable price at $14.96. That is especially being the case that so many Wal-Mart stores nationwide offer the series’ set in stores, meaning not having to worry about the additional price for shipping and handling. Best Buy and Target do not guarantee its availability in stores. That means even Target’s price mark of $13.89 does not include s&h, which, if the set is not offered in stores, would push up that price point even more. Target seems to be carrying in store, Josie & The Pussycats: The Complete Series, The Smurfs: Season One and The Flintstones: Season One. This again makes Wal-Mart’s average price the most cost-effective. Even with that in mind, the set’s overall average price point is still not that bad. Keeping that in mind, it is yet another reason that audiences who don’t already own the series’ 2005 DVD release will want to pick up this set. When it is set alongside the set’s episode presentation and that one problematic issue of the set’s packaging, the whole still proves to be a relatively enjoyable presentation.
Hanna Barbera and Warner Home Video’s recent re-issue of The Yogi Bear Show is an enjoyable new presentation of the classic animated series. That is even with the one glaring negative of its packaging. Audiences get in this set the original Yogi Bear Show in its entirety, and the set at a relatively affordable price point, too. Add in expertly transferred video and audio, and audiences get here a set that any fan will enjoy just as much as any classic cartoon (and television) buff. It is available now in stores and online. More information on this and other titles from Hanna Barbera is available online at:
Website: http://www.wbshop.com/category/wbshop_brands/hanna-barbera+hb.do
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HannaBarbera
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