Curious George (film)
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| Curious George | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Matthew O'Callaghan |
| Produced by | Ron Howard David Kirschner Bonne Radford Jon Shapiro |
| Written by | Robert L. Baird Dan Gerson Karey Kirkpatrick Michael McCullers Clare Sella Joe Stillman |
| Starring | Will Ferrell Drew Barrymore David Cross Eugene Levy Joan Plowright Dick Van Dyke Ed O'Ross Frank Welker |
| Music by | Heitor Pereira (music) Jack Johnson (songs) Jerry Goldsmith (Universal Animation Studios logo only) |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures Imagine Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | February 10, 2006 |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Australia: | G |
| Canada (Brit.Col): | G |
| Canada (Alberta): | G |
| Canada (Manitoba): | G |
| Canada (Ontario): | G |
| Canada (Maritime): | G |
| Canada (Quebec): | G |
| Canada (Home Vid.): | G |
| Finland: | K-3 |
| Ireland: | G |
| Japan: | U |
| Malaysia: | U |
| Netherlands: | AL |
| Spain: | T |
| Sweden: | Btl |
| United Kingdom: | U |
| United States: | G |
Curious George is a traditionally-animated film version of the children's stories by H.A. and Margret Rey. It was released in the United States on February 10, 2006. Will Ferrell voices Ted, The Man in The Yellow Hat. Matthew O'Callaghan directed (after replacing Jun Falkenstein). This project had been in development hell at Imagine Entertainment for a long time, dating back at least as long ago as 1992 (and possibly many years before this). The screenplay was written by Michael McCullers, Daniel Gerson, Rob Baird, Joe Stillman and Karey Kirkpatrick.
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[edit] Plot
A clumsy, mischievous, and curious chimpanzee named George lives in the jungles of Africa. His behavior affects the other young jungle animals, but it angers their parents. So George is left sad and alone.
Meanwhile, at the Bloomsberry Museum in New York City, Ted (the man in the yellow hat), (Will Ferrell) a museum employee teachest the kids of Maggie's class. The kids are bored, but Ted doesn't realize this. Afterward, he has a talk with Maggie. After they leave, Mr. Bloomsberry, the owner of the museum, tells Ted that he has to close down the museum. Ted finds out that Mr. Bloomsberry's son, junior wants to tear the museum down and build a parking garage. This upsets Ted and so he thinks of ways to save the museum. He then suggests going after the Lost Shrine of Zagawa. Excited, Mr. Bloomsberry tells the story of the the shrine and how he was all ready to start the adventure, but Junior was born. Now that adventure is over, Ted says that he now can go on that exploration. However, the drawback is that Mr. Bloomsberry is too old. Ted quickly volunteers, without thinking. Mr. Bloomsberry accepts the idea and Ted prepares for Africa. He goes to an outfitters store, and purchases a yellow outfit with a hat (initially where "the man in the yellow hat" comes from). He then sets off to Africa, although embarrassed in his uniform.
Ted soon arrives in Africa, and leads a group into a four day hike to the lost shrine. George spots his yellow hat and mistakes it for a banana, so he goes after it. Ted's nervous and clumsy attitude makes him mistaken a rock for a rhino, which slows down the expedition. The team sits down for a lunchbreak. Ted prepares a sandwich to eat, but suddenly, George takes his hat and attempts to eat it. when Ted notices it, he tries to settle a deal with George, which George turns into a game. Ted plays "peek-a-boo" with George, until he decides to continue the expedition. However, when Ted encounters a mystery small idol, he gets worried. He then gets a call from Mr. Bloomsberry and sends a picture via cellphone. However, the angle of the picture taken makes Mr. Bloomsberry believe the idol is bigger than he thought. Ted then goes back to the docks, while George quickly follows. George sneaks onto the cargo ship and rides to New York City while Ted is unaware.
Upon arriving in New York City, Ted gets into a taxi cab and George follows once again. George follows him all the way to his apartment. When Ted notices this, he is flabergasted. Ivan, the doorman of the apartment building, follows the scent of George and races to Ted's apartment, 17-b. Ivan searches the entire room, while George makes a game of "hide and seek." Ivan fails to find him, then leaves. Ted goes to seek after George, but George escaped through the vent, up the building to Ms. Plushbottom's apartment. Ted is worried, so he climbs the fire escape stair outside the building to the top. He finds George inside, with paint everywhere. When Ms. Plushbottom notices, she calls for Ivan, who races to her room. After a lot of commotion, and when Ted escapes, he bans Ted from the building.
Upset, Ted wonders what he is going to do with him. Together, they walk to the Bloomsberry Musem, where crowds of people await to see the idol. He goes to his office, where he attempts to sort out his thoughts. Meanwhile, in his office, Junior is upset about the whole idol, and then looks and sees that Ted is back. He decides to spy on him, and finds out the truth. Filled with excitement, he falls off into the bushes. Clovis, an inventor, knocks at Ted's door and gives Ted a bill, for the exhibit of the Lost Shrine of Zagawa. Ted is shocked to see it and so he tells Mr. Bloomsberry the truth and reveals the 3-inch idol. Junior then brings in the large crowd of people to see the idol. They start asking questions, which makes Ted nervous. Suddenly, he sees George climbing a dinosaur exibit, which starts to fall. He races after George as the dinosaur skeleton crumbles. Junior kicks Ted out afterwards.
That evening, which no where to sleep, Ted follows George to a park, where Ted lays down on a bench and sarcastically tells George how "great" it is. However, George is making a pile of leaves under a large tree. Ted joins him, and Ted feels better. George curiously observes fireflies, then eats them. He spits them out and then forces Ted to eat some, he spits them out too. They have fun showing off their green tougnes, but George falls asleep.
The next morning, Ted awakes in the park to find out that George is gone. After hearing a few screams, he believes that George went into the zoo. He runs in to find George with Maggie and her class. Here, George is given his name, after George Washington. After talking with Maggie, Ted sees that George is floating away with balloons, so he goes after him. They float into the city, where George's balloons are popped, but Ted catches him. Together, they fly around the city. When they are floating over the Bloomsberry museum, Ted holds out the idol and wishes it was that big. This gives him an idea, and he goes to Clovis' workplace.
At Clovis' workplace (where he makes different kinds of machines, preferably machines that imitate animals and even mistakes George as one of his own inventions) George discovers a machine that can magnify the size of anything so that it appears to be 40 Ft. tall (just the right size for the small figurine), however only as a hologram. Ted takes the machine to the Bloomsberry museum, but on the way there George causes trouble by using the machine to reenact scenes from King Kong.
Upon reaching the museum (at which George has caused massive havoc around the city) Ted shows the machine and how it works to Bloomsberry. While Junior tries to convince his father it is not honest, his father won't take it and serves it as the only way to save the museum. Desperate to get his parking lot, Junior pours his coffee into the machine and gives the rest to George as to put the blame on him.
With the machine ruined, Ted is forced to admit the truth to the thousands of people waiting outside, Maggie included. An angry Ted lets George get taken away by Animal Control men (for the havoc raised with his King Kong act) and be shipped back to Africa, saying "it's for the best." However, Ted's conscience gets the better of him, and after a chat with Maggie, he goes to rescue George.
Ted attempts to jump his car onto the ship, but lands in the swimming pool of a yacht nearby. Hopping on to the retracting anchor chain of the boat, he smashes in a porthole and, with a well-placed blow to the cage's lock with a fire extinguisher, frees George. While he tries to explain to George that their friendship is more important than some idol, George notices a pictogram that is projected from the mini-idol when light hits it. Ted realizes that it is a map to the REAL idol, and they take the cargo ship to Africa in order to retrieve it.
The museum is saved. Ted redesigns the museum to have more interactive exhibits (basically turning it into the Betty Brinn Children's Museum). Junior winds up becoming a parking attendant for Mrs. Plushbottom's new parking garage (about five blocks away from the museum) and everything turns out fine... until George sets off a large rocket ship (that Clovis couldn't resists fueling) and, with Ted in tow, goes for a ride around the Earth.
[edit] Difference between the film and original books
- In the books, the Man with the Yellow Hat does not have a first name, nor does he have any kind of love interest. The original books focus solely on George's misadventures, and the Man getting him out of trouble.
- George, in the book, was captured by a bag. In the movie George follows the man in the Yellow Hat.
[edit] Characters
- Ted (The Man in the Yellow Hat) - Ted is a museum employee who is sent to find the Lost Shrine of Zagawa. While buying clothes for the expedition, the store only had a yellow suit available, explaining how he is often known as The Man in the Yellow Hat. He finds George, and at the end of the movie, becomes his owner. In a deleted scene, his last name is established as Shackleford.
- Maggie - Maggie originated in the book series. She is a teacher who brings her students to the Bloomsberry museum every week because she has a crush on Ted.
- Mr. Bloomsberry - The kind old owner of the museum, Mr. Bloomsberry runs into trouble when profits are down his son wants to turn the museum in a parking lot. He sends Ted to Africa so he can find the Lost Shrine of Zagawa hopefully bringing attractions to save the museum. He appears every once in a while in the film.
- Mr. Bloomsberry, Jr. - Junior is Mr. Bloomsberry's rotten son who wants to turn the museum into a parking lot for money, and also serves as the chief villain of the film. He ruins a plan to save the museum, and gives George coffee. Junior appears a few times in the film.
- Clovis - Clovis is a museum employee who is a wacky inventor. He builds robotic animals to help him.
- Ms. Plushbottom - A neighbor of Ted's at his apartment builidng, Ms. Plushbottom is an opera singer about to do a room makeover with paint. However, the paint is so messy George can't resist to play with it. She appears in one big part, and a little at the end.
- Ivan - Ivan is the doorholder at Ted's apartment building who hates pets and doesn't allow them. But when George finds his way to Ted's apartment, Ivan gets curious and tries to sniff him out, but fails. He appears three times in the film, but shorter appearances than Clovis.
- Edu - Edu is Ted's African guide on the expedition to find the Lost Shrine of Zagawa. Ted accidentally shoots him with a tranquilizer gun, but Edu is always ready to lend a hand. He has a large role at the beginning, and a cameo at the end.
- Curious George - George is a monkey (actually a chimpanzee but known as a monkey) living in Africa with his friends. One day he meets Ted and goes back to New York City with him, and causes a lot of problems but fixes some too. He becomes Ted's pet at the end.
[edit] Box office
As of April 28, 2006, the film grossed a better-than-expected $58.3 million in the United States.
[edit] Voices
- Will Ferrell - Ted (The Man in the Yellow Hat)
- Drew Barrymore - Maggie
- David Cross - Mr. Bloomsberry, Jr.
- Eugene Levy - Clovis
- Joan Plowright - Miss Plushbottom
- Dick Van Dyke - Mr. Bloomsberry
- Ed O'Ross - Ivan
- Michael Chinyamurindi - Edu
- Frank Welker - Curious George
[edit] Soundtrack
Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George is the soundtrack to the film, featuring songs by Jack Johnson. On its first week on Billboard 100 Chart, the soundtrack made it to no. 1, making it Jack Johnson's first #1 album (In Between Dreams peaked at #2, On and On peaked at #3) and making it the first soundtrack to make it to #1 since the Bad Boys II soundtrack in August 2003 and the first soundtrack to an animated film to top The Billboard 200 since Pocahontas reigned for one week in July 1995.
[edit] Home video release history
- September 26, 2006 (DVD)
- March 20, 2007 (DVD - 2-Pack with The Land Before Time)
[edit] TV series
- The film has been adapted into a PBS Kids animated television series, also called Curious George.
[edit] Trivia
- Although it is a traditionally-animated film, about twenty percent of it takes place in 3D environments that were created on a computer.
- The boat to Africa is named H.A. Rey, the name of the original artist for the Curious George books.
- When Ted, the Man in the Yellow Hat, accidentally falls into the igloo, where the penguins live in the zoo, The Blue Danube is featured.
- In one of the deleted scenes featured on the DVD, we find out that Ted's last name is Shackleford.
- Dick Van Dyke (Mr. Bloomsberry) also plays another character that works in a museum in Night at the Museum.
- Jeff Bennett, who voiced a salesman in this film, was also the voice of Petrie in all sequels to The Land Before Time, one of the previous animated films by Universal. Jeff Bennett also voices Ted, The Man in The Yellow Hat in the TV series.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official movie site
- Curious George at the Internet Movie Database
- Information on Curious George
- Curious George at Rotten Tomatoes
- Curious George at Box Office Mojo
| Curious George |
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| Media: Film | TV Series | Video Game Creators: H. A. Rey | Margret Rey |
