Curious George Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)February 8th, 2006
CURIOUS GEORGE
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
Some books are better left as books. They don't need a big screen adaptation, nor do they benefit from one. The "Curious George" children's books are prime examples of printed literature that are best left to the illustrated pages, where their simplistic stories can be told with colorful flourishes.
Director Matthew O'Callaghan, in his feature film debut, tries to make CURIOUS GEORGE work as an animated movie but succeeds only in reminding us of what a bad idea the project was in the first place. The production isn't helped by Will Ferrell, as the famous "Man in the Yellow Hat," since he delivers by far his blandest performance to date. He doesn't just phone it in, he appears to have sent in his performance by carrier pigeon.
With their realistic 3D technology, Pixar and others have so raised the bar that 2D, i.e. traditionally drawn animation, has become almost as dead as the infamous buggy whip. The look of CURIOUS GEORGE is a real throwback. It is so 2D and flat that it sometime feels more like 1.5D. About the only appealing part of its appearance is its vibrant color.
But the biggest problem with CURIOUS GEORGE isn't the look but rather the thinness of the story. It is a 97-minute movie which cries out to be a 5-minute cartoon. The tale involves The Man in the Yellow Hat going to Africa in order to find the eighth wonder of the world so that he can keep a museum from being turned into a multilevel parking garage. (When he buys his safari suit, a couple of New York scammers sell him an unsellable yellow outfit by claiming that "yellow is the new khaki." This is easily the best and only memorable line in the movie.) Along the way, the man finds his famous monkey companion, and they share many pratfalls together.
The movie, which I found curiously stagnant, had our packed audience of little ones fidgeting from beginning to end. If they ever produced any significant laugher, I didn't notice it.
CURIOUS GEORGE runs a long 1:37. It is rated G and would be acceptable for all ages.
My nephew William, age 11, and my niece Liana, age 9, both said that they liked the movie. William's favorite part was when the monkey was made to appear gigantic, and Liana especially liked the part where "the bugs lit up."
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, February 10, 2006. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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