I finally got around to watching the first episode of Jellystone!, "Yogi's Tummy Trouble." I thought it was pretty funny, but I did have a major problem with it, in that the only thing that tied the characters to their original presentations was the design itself. (In fact, I wouldn't have thought that was Yogi Bear except for the hat he wore.) There was no attempt to link the way the characters originally behaved with the new situations. I would gather to say that you could have replaced any of the characters in this cartoon with any other and it would have worked just as well. Which makes one question the necessity of setting Jellystone! in Hanna-Barbera Land at all.

I had this same problem watching some of the newer Mickey Mouse cartoons. They first started out as kinda cute little nods to what Mickey Mouse was like. But as the series went on, Mickey's reactions got more and more extreme until the only way to enjoy them was not as a continuation of the original Mickey Mouse cartoons, but as a parody of them. And I fear that that's what is going to be happening with any reboot that comes along (I'm looking at you, Powerpuff Girls.) The tendency, I think, is to make the humor so reliant on the way the characters break away from their original character that it destroys any continuity altogether and they might as well just be making a new and different show.

This is the same problem I had with the old "Fan Fic Party" threads on TTTP. In fact, the Jellystone series reminded me too much of a certain member on the old forum that did some similar extreme things with classic characters on those threads which quickly made me lost interest in them (ironically, he didn't like revivals).

I’ve been watching the show recently as well, and I’ve come out of it with mixed opinions. Now, I don't mind alternate takes on classic characters in principle, as they can be done well (i.e., Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law). This...just didn't do it for me as much as other people. I'm sorry. The humor and writing is very much like a toned-down version of Chowder (which I enjoyed, for the record), except here it’s more hit-or-miss. A few episodes had pacing problems (i.e., one segment had the “food coma” joke that went on for way too long) or didn’t have a satisfying conclusion (the gelatin one).

As for the way the characters are portrayed, I partially agree. Take Augie Doggie. She’d be fine if they had said she was around five years old instead of 11 (like she is in the show). She has a lot of mannerisms that I wouldn’t expect an eleven-year-old to have (like not knowing what death is, Shazzan calling the kids “babies” in one episode), and it feels unnatural as a result. She honestly feels like an expy of Chowder (the character) to a degree.

That being said, I did get some enjoyment out of the show. “Cats Do Dance” was very fitting of the Top Cat gang, and it wouldn’t be a scenario that would be out of place in the original show. It’s a shame, since I was excited to see a new take on these characters. It's why I hate to be harsh on this show - it is a love letter to the Hanna-Barbera universe, and lots of talented people worked on it. It's...just lacking.

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To be fair I've only seen clips, however if you aren't going to try to stay close to the original design or the voices why even somewhat tie to the originals? Do your own thing, create your own world and characters. Leave the originals alone. I was hoping with how HBO Max did a good job with the new Looney Tunes, that Jellystone would be similar.

I laffed at the first episode, but if I'm being honest, I will not find it funny at all within the next 20 years. There is nothing timeless about the show, it's a "enjoy in the moment" show, and that doesn't really work for me. Not interested in watching the rest

The makers of this Geico commercial were much more respectful:



Another great Geico commercial (though not cartoon-related):