The first big-screen adaptation of the beloved children’s book series “Curious George” should please youngsters and parents.
While the film doesn’t have the crossover appeal of, say, “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles” or the “Shrek” franchise, it’s still fast-paced, sometimes amusing and always charming. The animation – eschewing the digital for the old-fashioned, hand-drawn technique – is refreshingly bright and colorful.
Based on a series of children’s books by H.A. and Margret Rey first published in 1941, the film follows the misadventures of a mischievous and curious little monkey as he wreaks havoc on two continents.
The movie opens with a bouncy song – the mellow singer Jack Johnson has written several original numbers for the film – that introduces us to George as he romps through the jungle, his curiosity getting him in trouble with various hippos, crocodiles and lions.
The film then moves across the Atlantic, where a goofy natural science curator (voiced by Will Ferrell) learns the owner (Dick Van Dyke) of the Manhattan museum he works for is considering closing down because of dwindling attendance.
In a last-ditch attempt to keep the museum open, the curator – how he becomes known as The Man in the Yellow Hat is cleverly handled – agrees to travel to Africa to find a mythic 40-foot idol. The idea is that crowds will flock to see the artifact.
While in Africa, The Man in the Yellow Hat encounters George, who thinks at first that the curator is a big, walking banana. Intrigued by his new playmate, George stows away on the curator’s steamer and heads back to New York City.
There the inquisitive little monkey causes all kinds of trouble in Manhattan. Eventually, all the commotion gets the curator thrown out of his building by a pet-hating doorman.
Along the way, George and The Man in the Yellow Hat meet a cast of colorful characters voiced by Eugene Levy, Joan Plowright and Drew Barrymore. Charming too is Ferrell, who somehow brings his goofy screen presence to the film by using only his voice.
The movie ends with George and The Man in the Yellow Hat poised to go on another adventure – this time in outer space.
If his first big-screen outing is any indication, a sequel to “Curious George” would be good news for all.
*** | “Curious George”
G |1 hour, 27 minutes|ANIMATED FAMILY FILM|Matthew O’Callaghan; with voices by Will Ferrell, Dick Van Dyke and Drew Barrymore|Opens today at area theaters.
