Dan Aykroyd is bringing back a wild and crazy guy from his youth, but it’s not one of the “swinging Czech brothers.”

Aykroyd voices the newly digitized Yogi Bear in a 3-D film, set to open Dec. 17, re-creating a childhood influence that nudged the Saturday Night Liveand Ghostbusters star into comedy.

Even when his parents tried to put a limit on his after-school cartoon consumption, “I would sneak and watch them, and my brother would watch. Of course it became ingrained,” he says. “When I heard they were doing this project, I called my agent and said I would love to be a part of this, because it’s a part of me, all those voices.”

Aykroyd co-stars with Justin Timberlake, 29, who voices Yogi’s diminutive, long-suffering sidekick, Boo Boo.

Want to visit Yogi and a real Jellystone Park? There are over 70 locations in the U.S. and Canada!