'Yogi Bear' is assassinated by a coward [video]
Fan videos can garner attention for a movie that it never would have gotten otherwise (recall that "Expendables" fan trailer from this past summer, for instance). But you have to wonder how this blowing-up-the-Internet parody of "Yogi Bear" -- in which the plot turns, music and pretty much everything else from the climactic scene from "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" are mimicked -- will enlarge the audience.
It's certainly made people who would never pay attention to "Yogi Bear" (such as cinephiles, or anyone over 12) take notice. But it's hard to imagine Warner Bros. will be hugely thrilled that a movie aimed at kids may become better known for a dark, murderous ending.
If you haven't already seen the spoof, check it out below. It's a testatment to what happens when you combine a mockable trailer and a man with a surplus of talent and time.
[Update, 4:34 p.m.: You'll now notice there's a disclaimer in front of the video. Warner Bros. took quick note of the piece but, because it's a parody and the creations were original (and not from the film), the studio didn't/couldn't have it taken down. So instead executives asked creator Edmund Earle to work with them on a disclaimer.]
--Steven Zeitchik