Review: 'Curious George' is a special edition DVD in disguise
Posted Wednesday, October 4, 2006 at 10:14 AM Central
by Tim Briscoe
I wish I could say, in a cliché sort of way, that the Curious George movie brought back fond memories of childhood, reading the beloved storybook upon which it is based. You see, I can't -- because I don't recall readying the books as a kid.
I have and still do read the delightful books by H.A. and Margret Rey to my young children. And thanks to that experience I'm happy to say I can impart another cliché -- the movie totally brings the picture books to life.
The movie features traditional (analog?) animation rather than computer-generated animation. It has a soft look which which is true to the sketch book drawing style of H.A. Rey. And just because it's not CGI, don't think the animation is second rate; it's top notch.
Of course the story centers around an inquisitive little chimp who befriends The Man in the Yellow Hat. Except that in the movie, The Man has a name -- Ted. He's voiced by Will Ferrell. The silent George is refreshing after all the talking animals in cartoon movies this summer.
Ted works for a museum in danger of being sold by its kind old owner, Mr. Bloomsberry. Bloomsberry's rotten son wants to turn the museum into a parking garage while Ted shares the elder Bloomsberry's ideals. Ted must travel to Africa to bring back an enormous relic which might be the crowd-drawing attraction which saves the museum. George follows Ted back to America and gets mixed up in all kinds of hijinx.
The movie is incredibly cute with lots of funny moments. Funny moments that can be shared by young and old. Not just the adult-directed jokes that has crept into animated movies like Shrek.
Also perfect for both kids and adults is the music by surf-folk singer Jack Johnson. I know lots of childless adults who listen to the CD soundtrack without matter that it's for a kid's movie.
The DVD itself contains enough bonus content that it could call itself a "special edition," but it doesn't carry that label. Jack Johnson's music video for "Upside Down" (with or without lyrics displayed) is included as are 15 scenes deleted from the movie.
There are also kid-friendly instructions for drawing George on the disc. "Monkey Around with Words" is a educational piece for early readers. The DVD also has four simple games which young children can easily play with a remote control. The DVD-ROM portion also points to more games on the movie's web site. (You can find them via this link.)
The bottom line is that the Curious George movie is one your children will enjoy and you'll get a kick out of too. Plus, the DVD contains enough extra features to make it worth your purchase.
