The animated musical film was produced and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with a story by Hanna, Barbera, and former Warner Bros. Cartoons storyman Warren Foster. When the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio closed in May 1963, several of its animators, including Gerry Chiniquy, Friz Freleng and Ken Harris, joined Hanna-Barbera to work on this film. After its mildly successful 1964 release, Hey There, It's Yogi Bear! found extended life as a popular summer matinee feature. The film stars Hanna-Barbera character Yogi Bear (voice of Daws Butler) and his pal Boo-Boo (voice of Don Messick). Tired of Yogi's "pick-a-nick" basket stealing shenanigans, Jellystone National Park's Ranger Smith (also voiced by Messick) has Yogi shipped off to the San Diego Zoo. Yogi escapes being sent away, unknown to Yogi's girlfriend Cindy, who goes looking for him and is kidnapped by a circus owner. Yogi and Boo-Boo are forced to sneak out of the park and travel across the country to save Cindy and bring her back home.