Curious George Review
by samseescinema (sammeriam AT comcast DOT net)February 14th, 2006
Curious George
reviewed by Sam Osborn of www.samseescinema.com
rating: 3.5 out of 4
Director: Matthew O'Callaghan
Cast: Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, Eugene Levy, Dick van Dyke Screenplay: Ken Kaufman
MPAA Classification: G
There's something stubbornly delightful about Curious George. Something that's unique and inviting, asking us to whisk away the problems and solemnities of our lives and simply enjoy. It doesn't strive to position itself on any soapboxes or endlessly spout a pointy-sharp moral. It simply asks its audience to be curious. And walking out of the theatre, I had never seen so many smiling tiny faces. The film had charmed them into lightheaded giddiness, not demanding anything from them, and instead making them into wide-eyed curious little monkeys, taking the world happily as it comes.
The film is an adaptation of the ever-popular picture book series of the same title, written by H.A. and Margret Rey. It opens on everyone's favorite monkey, now a flighty, unnamed animal of the jungle, leaping about tree branches and causing mischief with the other beasts and their parents. Back in the city, Ted (voice of Will Ferrell) (readers will know him as The Man in the Yellow Hat) lectures on cavemen to a class of students and their Teacher (voice of Drew Barrymore) on the weekly class field trip to the Bloomsberry Museum. But the museum is about to go bankrupt, to be replaced by a parking garage, and Ted must find a way to save it. Incidentally, his boss, Mr. Bloomsberry (voice of Dick van Dyke) had prepared for an expedition to the jungle years earlier, but had scrapped it to care for his only son, Junior (voice of David Cross). Now the expedition, and the idol that could be retrieved, are the museum's last, salvaged hope; and, of course, unassuming, museum lector Ted must be the one to go.
In the jungle, Ted meets an inquisitive little monkey who follows him about playing peek-a-boo with his big yellow hat. The monkey enjoys the game so much, that he follows Ted all the way back to the city. Ted by now has found the ancient idol, but though a miscommunication, let Mr. Bloomsberry think it was forty feet tall when, in reality, the idol stands three inches high. Now Ted must find a way to satisfy the suddenly rabid audiences expecting "the eighth wonder of the world", while he's mercilessly trailed by a rambunctious little ape.
Admittedly, the story falls a bit on the weak side, with the Junior character sometimes lending himself to unnecessarily evil cartoon antics. There's a romance that sparks up occasionally between Ted and the Teacher, but it works mostly as an afterthought; another reason for Ted to save the museum. But story isn't what Curious George is worried about. The fun we have with the film is in watching George and his high-flying curiosity. He finds adventure outside the main story thread, forming his own anecdotal adventures with lighthearted doses of slapstick and situational humor. The animation works playfully with the screenplay in these scenes, sometimes even taking the wheel for a detour of its own. It's vibrant and gorgeous in its coloring, but refuses to become flashy and gaudy with CGI. What CGI there is the animators blend easily with the hand-drawn art. And as the adventures become more and more fantastic, the animation holds steady and true to the artwork of the books: simple and bubbly with colors.
George himself is an adorable power to behold. The film finds most of its legs in the monkey's animations. One of the better scenes finds George alone with eight buckets of paint and an empty white wall. But for all the chaos George sparks, there's a playful innocence that keeps us from incriminating him, making it impossible to hate the beast. Ted also pulls nicely into focus, keeping the film's other sails tight. Ferrell's casting was ideal in that he's managed to find the right balance between his overt Ferrell-isms and a children's story innocence. He'll keep the older audiences anchored to reality, not allowing the film to spin off in its own giddy pastel world. Most importantly, Curious George isn't forced to resort to under-the-table sexuality or underhanded cultural references to keep the adults entertained, as Shrek or Robots has. There's no sneaky humor here. The film is playful and full of heart so as to appeal on a universal level.
All these elements are very fitting for a soundtrack written and sung by Jack Johnson. Johnson's music is typically known for its reluctance to discuss anger and other similarly solemn topics. His songs, barring the rare exceptions, would rather strum out a good melody and tell a bit of a tale. And this is ideal for the Curious George universe. The music goes happily hand in hand with the images, their philosophies striking similar notes. Both the film and the music would simply like to pluck some nice notes and hum out a story. Curious George is simply the picture book expanded into animated form. Anyone who doesn't still have the patience for such a tale needs to find a bit more curiosity and fall into George's delightful, warm world.
-www.samseescinema.com
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