Curious George Review
Posted by Chad Webb on 02.13.2006
Please, no “spanking the monkey” jokes.
Featuring the Voices of:
Curious George: Frank Welker
Ted, the Man in the Yellow Hat: Will Ferrell
Maggie Dunlop: Drew Barrymore
Clovis: Eugene Levy
Miss Plushbottom: Joan Plowright
Junior: David Cross
Mr. Bloomsberry: Dick Van Dyke
Directed by Matthew O' Callaghan
Release Date: February 10, 2006
Running Time: 86 minutes
Rated G for all audiences.
Curious George has a history dating back over 60 years, and with over 25 million copies of the books sold (which have been translated into fourteen different languages) it is amazing that a film adaptation hasn't happened until just now. Curious George made his debut in author Hans Augusto Rey's first children's book called Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys. It didn't take long for Rey to realize that this particular monkey was special, so he went to work on a separate book for George. When he and his wife were escaping the Nazi's in Germany during World War II, they managed to scrape a few manuscripts that stayed in their possession, and one was Curious George. The introductory sentences in the first Curious George book read, "This is George. He lived in Africa. He was a good little monkey and always very curious." If the Rey's were alive today to witness their monkey's feature film debut, I have no doubt that they would be very pleased.
Work is not going very well for Ted/The Man in the Yellow Hat (voiced by Will Ferrell) because the museum that employs him is not generating any business. His task is to travel to the dark regions of the African jungle and retrieve an ancient statue that will make for an intriguing, yet money-making new exhibit. As he is exploring the jungle he encounters an inquisitive, yet charming little monkey (voiced by Frank Welker) that can't seem to leave him alone. The statue Ted discovers in the jungle is not exactly what he had planned on taking to his boss, but he sails back to America anyway. Little does he know, but that snooping monkey has snuck his way onto the boat to follow the Man in the Yellow Hat. When Ted finds the monkey causing too much trouble for his own good, they commence an adventurous journey through the city to save the museum anyway they can, before it is turned into a parking lot.
Truth be told, I was of a fan of The Berenstain Bears books more so than Curious George. Perhaps George was an enormous part of your childhood, and maybe he wasn't, but everyone has read one of his stories at some point in their life. As I was flipping through some pages of his escapades, one comparison jumped out right away. The Curious George film is incredibly and wonderfully true to the books. That is not to say the film is perfect, and smidgens of interesting modifications can be observed throughout. Curious George is strictly a kids movie, and while adults will not particularly spend too much time thinking about this film, the monkey will make them smile nonetheless. I have always maintained that the best children's films are those in which all ages can enjoy, but Curious George never once strives for that because the filmmakers have an agenda to light up the eyes of the children, and nothing else. The consistency of this agenda was extremely impressive as the film extended. As an adult, one would most likely not rummage in the closet and read these books for fun, unless they had children themselves. So it should be assumed that mainly children will adore this film.
Will Ferrell provided spasms of humor as the voice of the Man with the Yellow Hat, but since the film was saturated with his comedic sense, it generally felt like Ferrell's comedy hour for children. He is a amusing and almost certainly an adequate choice for Ted's voice, but it was difficult at times to separate Will Ferrell from the Man with the Yellow Hat, and adults will spot this right away. In what has become a trend in animation recently, Drew Barrymore voices a character that is an exact replica of her in real life. I know she uses different hair colors and styles regularly these days, but it's obvious. There is no doubt, that George himself is the chief amusement with his cute voice, giant smile, and unique bond with the Man in the Yellow Hat.
Matthew O' Callaghan is no rookie to allegories for children after directing Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas and the cartoon series Life With Louie. He and the swarm of screenwriters understand this monkey very well, while retaining the simplicity and purity of the books. George is supplied with loads of tomfoolery and "monkey business" as the film opens with a polite, yet enchanting silent approach. Children will absolutely eat up George's adorable mischief as he goes crazy with various colors of paint, floats away with balloons, and causes havoc in the museum. The young ones in the family will instantly connect with Curious George because of the innocence, the uncomplicated story, and the cheerful atmosphere it instills with the enduring slapstick.
In a refreshing change from the creative CGI craze, Curious George employs the classic hand drawn animation technique. This was necessary to invoke a mounting impression of warm authenticity. In the background lies the soft and gentle tones of musician Jack Johnson, who is an astoundingly fantastic pick for the soundtrack. The enriching sing-along melodies such as "Upside Down" and "With My Own Two Hands", featuring Ben Harper, are beautifully mixed with the joyful storyline.
As a critic, my goal is to recommend films combining a blend of my own taste with my estimations of what the masses enjoy. I would not feel good about myself if I gave this a low rating because the substance is never truncated, and the crew is faithful to George's original image. I foresee children forcing their parents to pop this in the DVD player on multiple occasions. One also has to applaud the fact that a basic tale like Curious George made it to theaters instead of straight to video or television like The Berenstain Bears. The incorrigible and delightful monkey named George will not appeal to everyone, but he doesn't need to, because his aim has always been the hearts of children.
The 411: If the book hold a special place in your heart, or you have kids, or if you just like kids movies, then Curious George is worth seeing. Otherwise I would wait for DVD on this. I found myself pleasantly satisfied with Will Ferrell and George. This is definitely not a children’s classic by any stretch, but it is not as unbearable as it could be. Most films that are strictly for kids are just terrible, but this isn’t. This film will probably have a bigger audience on DVD, but hopefully it doesn’t go totally unnoticed in theaters.
