CURIOUS GEORGE - DVD review

In 1941, German author H.A. and Margret Ray began a hugely popular series of illustrated children's books about an overly inquisitive, little monkey named George and his friend, the aptly-named Man in the Yellow Hat. My introduction to the Curious George books originally came from the animated shorts that aired on Nickelodeon. Now, George has made the leapt to the big-screen in this feature-length film that eschews the current trend towards computer animation for traditional hand-drawn cels.

Will Ferrell lends his voice to the Man in the Yellow Hat, who is now Ted, a museum curator with a rather dry approach to his lectures. He doesn't exactly wow the school children that come in, but he does draw the fancy of their pretty teacher, Maggie (Drew Barrymore). Of course, Ted is completely oblivious to her flirtations. Plus, the kids aren't the only ones uninterested in the museum as attendance is at an all-time low.

Now that he's broke, the museum owner, Mr. Bloomsberry (Dick Van Dyke), reluctantly decides to shut the place down. The only person happy about this decision is Bloomsberry's son, Junior (David Cross), who hopes to turn the museum into a parking garage. Junior also has a severe case of envy whenever his father dotes on Ted, instead of him.

The museum's only hope lies on the mysterious Lost Shrine of Zagawa, a legendary 40-foot artifact somewhere in the jungles of Africa. Ted is charged with finding the idol and bringing it back to save the museum. Let's just say as an adventurer, Ted won't be filling the shoes of the late-Steve Irwin. During the expedition, he befriends the adorable, brown monkey and engages in a game of peek-a-boo. Enamored with his new friend, George sneaks aboard Ted's ocean liner and embarks on his own journey through the streets of New York City.

George's curiosity leads to all sorts of problems for Ted. He runs amok in Ted's apartment building and gets him kicked out onto the street. George also knocks over a dinosaur skeleton causing Ted to get the book again But, how can anyone stay mad at the little rascal? Soon, George teaches Ted the simple joys of the stars in the sky, fireflies, and flying high above the city via a bunch of balloons tied to the seat of your pants. What, you've never been?

The characters of "Curious George" live in a simple and innocent world filled with bright primary colors. Everybody has a friendly face and all your troubles work out in the end. Again, I give kudos to the filmmakers for picking hand-drawn animation which just fits better with the source material than CGI would have. I'm also glad Image Entertainment didn't try to make a live-action adaptation as they did with Dr. Seuss's "The Grinch Stole Christmas" and "The Cat in the Hat", neither living up to the original books.

The Man in the Yellow Hat actually gets an origin sequence in a funny bit that finds him shopping for an explorer's outfit and being sold his famous yellow suit and hat. Surprisingly, it gets ridiculed a little, but quickly becomes his charming trademark. As Ted, Ferrell restrains his usual manic approach, yet still gets in a few lines that one would come to expect from him. Veteran voice actor Frank Welker, who has done everybody from Megatron to Scooby-Doo (and just about any animal you can think of), provides some squeaks here and there for George. David Cross is also noteworthy as the conniving Junior, who actually looks very much like his real-life counterpart. Other celebrities who lent their voices are Joan Plowright as the snooty opera singer, Mrs. Plushbottom, and Eugene Levy, as Clovis the mechanical whiz.

The film also features a laidback soundtrack by Jack Johnson. The songs are a little innocuous and are reminiscent of a diluted James Taylor.

VIDEO:
The video is presented in anamorphic widescreen with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The transfer is pristine and really captures the colorful world of "Curious George." No noticeable specks or blemishes. A separate fullscreen edition is also available.

AUDIO:
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 with dubbed French and Spanish tracks. The dialogue and sound effects come in crisp and clear. The soundtrack booms, but never overwhelms the action on-screen.

EXTRAS:
For a kid friendly film, there are kid friendly extras.

Drawn to George is a quick how-to tutorial on how to draw Curious George.

Monkey Around with Words uses clips from the film to teach young'uns simple vocabulary like 'hat' and 'car.'

A Very Curious Car features interviews with animators about adapting a modern Volkswagen car into the world of "Curious George."

Monkey in Motion is a very simple explanation about how George was animated.

Also available are Jack Johnson's music video for the song, "Upside-Down", with optional sing-along feature, a collection of deleted scenes in animatic form, and several games including DVD-ROM content that allows you to print out coloring sheets.

FILM VALUE:
"Curious George" is clearly aimed towards young children. There really isn't much here for older viewers other than a "King Kong" reference. Unlike the Pixar films or "Wallace & Gromit", parents probably won't find "Curious George" as captivating as their little ones might. Nonetheless, it's a cute, straightforward film that will surely amuse the tykes.