Curious George (2006)

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The acting in this movie is really good.

After many years, I have truly witnessed something with heart and soul. This animated film will endure the tides of time and will captivate young and old with its simple message of love and innocence.I am reminded of Jesus saying,"You parents--if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? " This truly is the core of the film. A selfish man looks past the promise of personal gain to help someone that loves him for what he is.We all live in a pretentious world. We often make hard choices, sacrificing less for others and more for ourselves. The one who has a child-like at heart, who has retained strong impressions of when he was a youngster playing with his parents, has something quite wonderful to give to society. But this is rarely so in today's environment. We are told brutally to "grow up fast" by our parents and to start making something of ourselves in life and make a lot of money. This pressurization of timid youngsters into setting a big goal often destroys whatever is left of their character. They are often depressed, have an inferiority complex and worse still, think the whole world hates them.Back to the film: Curious George is the main protagonist of a series of popular children's books by the same name, written by Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey. The books feature a curious brown monkey named George, who is brought from his home in Africa by "The Man with The Yellow Hat" to live with him in a big city.The introduction of the movie is a cartoon short where we are introduced to a happy, artistic, and mischievous but lonely little monkey somewhere in the jungle. Ted (Will Ferrell) is an employed guide at the Bloomsberry Museum. We are introduced to teacher Ms. Maggie Dunlop (Drew Barrymore) and her students who come to the museum often but they are the only regular visitors. Mr. Bloomsberry (Dick Van Dyke) heartbreakingly informs Ted that the museum will have to close, because it is no longer making any money. Bloomsberry's son, Junior (David Cross), wants to tear down the museum, and replace it with a parking garage. Ted is convinced to volunteer to go to Africa in place of Mr. Bloomsberry and bring back a mystical, forty-foot-tall idol known as "Lost Shrine of Zagawa" in the hopes that it will attract customers, much to Junior's envy. Ted is outfitted with a hideous yellow suit (which causes people to laugh at him), and boards a cargo ship to Africa despite his embarrassment.With the help of a tour guide and tour group, Ted finds the "Lost Shrine of Zagawa", but discovers it to be only three inches tall, much to his disappointment. Ted also encounters the little monkey on his expedition to Africa, and gives the monkey his yellow hat. The monkey, who quickly grows fond of Ted, follows him and boards the cargo ship, unknown to Ted.Verdict: the whole family can sit down and enjoy this superb animated film. I can thoroughly recommend this one for three year olds and up.

Based on the popular children's books, this was a cartoon I had heard a little about, so I thought I might as well see if it was worth getting interested in. Basically a natural history museum is having a hard time attracting people, so the owner's son Junior (David Cross) wants to turn it into a parking lot, while his father Bloomsberry (Dick Van Dyke) wants to keep it running. So to try and get some more business Bloomsberry sends museum guide Ted, aka Man with the Yellow Hat (Will Ferrell), to go to Africa and find an ancient mysterious idol called the Lost Shrine of Zagawa. He finds what he thinks is the idol, a tiny keyring size gem monkey, and he also finds a mischievous and curious monkey (Frank Welker) that follows him back home. While he tries to find a way to explain the bad news of the statue and the museum's possible closure, he gives the monkey the name George (after President Washington), and tries to keep him under control. George is fascinated with the world around him, and he is never far away from creating a little bit of chaos while he has fun exploring and touching things in his wonder. Thankfully, in the end, Ted finds out the whereabouts of the true statue from the tiny one in the sunlight, the museum is saved, and Ted finally gets love interest Maggie (Drew Barrymore), with George sticking around. Also starring Eugene Levy as Clovis, Joan Plowright as Ms. Plushbottom, Billy West as Manager and Clint Howard as Balloon Man. The animation might not be the most exciting thing ever, but with good voice casting, a good story, songs by Jack Johnson (including "Upside Down" and "Supposed To Be"), and a cute and cuddly lead creature like George, you do get to have some fun. Worth watching!

Boy oh Boy oh Boy ! I gotta say that this is the best Disney's movie I've ever watched! And the best part is that you can let you children watched it times and times again as it doesn't contain vulgarities, adult jokes, crude characters and ruddy dialogues. It is so unlike movies like the wretched Madagascar, which contains elements that is not suitable for kids. With Curious George, parents do not have a reason to be concerned, as this is a movie that teaches good moral values in a subtle way and contains no vulgarities associated with many animation movie in the industry nowadays. Kudos to the production crews!The animation's graphics suits the story. No, it's not as 'realistic' and 'vivid' like the other animation movies (i.e Madagascar, The Wild), but I think it was purposely made in such a way. This movie would certainly lose its charm if it emphasizes on the graphics. Having said that, I don't imply that the characters are made sloppily. Quite the contrary, I think the characters are so adorable, especially George! His facial expressions are amazing, with gleaming eyes and chubby face and waving arms and legs! The other characters are pretty impressive, too.So a score of 10/10 for the overall evaluation of the movie. Would vote for a higher rating if I'm able to do that. =)

In a word...cute. Even if you're older than seven, you can find a giggle or two and have some fun. Ted(Will Ferrell)-The Man in the Yellow Hat-must travel to Africa in hopes of bringing back a rare idol in order to save his job and Mr. Bloomsberry's(Dick Van Dyke)museum. Before coming home, Ted with a little help adopts an inquisitive and spunky chimp given the name George. Ted has an admirer in Maggie(Drew Barrymore); but he has his hands full sharing (mis-)adventures with his new little friend. Predicament after predicament, Curious George accidentally discovers a way to save the museum. The animation is juvenile, but delightful. More than a handful of songs garnish this picture, the best being "People Watching" by Jack Johnson. Other characters are voiced by: Eugene Levy, Joan Plowright, David Cross and Clint Howard. It really feels good to listen to a theater full of pre-schoolers chuckle and giggle in unison.