 |
I was extremely
lucky growing up in that I had parents who
taught me to read at a very young age. Way
before I ever started the 1st grade (somehow
I skipped kindergarten), I was already reading
at about a 4th grade level.
Believe it or not, when I was in the 1st
grade my favorite book was Charles Dickens'
"A Tale of Two Cities." (and I'm
not talking the pop-up version for kids).
I couldn't get enough to read. But of course
I didn’t start there. I cut my teeth
on books like "Where the Wild Things
Are" and "Curious George."
The original "Curious George"
tales were written way back in the 1940's
by H.A. and Margaret Ray, yet the universal
appeal has spanned generations of readers,
including little 3 year old me. I knew all
of the stories by heart and loved every
one of them. Sadly, I no longer have those
books. They've been lost to the ages along
with my General Custer action figure and
Evel Knievel Playset. (sigh….)
|
Now that I have a 3 -year old little girl (whom
I mention incessantly in my reviews), I want to
introduce her to the world of the man in the yellow
hat and the little monkey whose curiosity lands
him in the most unusual scrapes. My first step
is going to be replacing as many of the original
books as I can, but I think I'm going to follow
it up with the new animated film that Universal
is releasing on DVD this month. Originally I wasn't
going to do that because I want to nurture the
reading side of her brain before it becomes too
infused with the imagery of an animated feature.
Secondly, I had my doubts as to the quality of
a feature film made nowadays, especially when
it boasts the voices of Will Ferrell and Drew
Barrymore, two actors whom I would normally NOT
use as any kind of role model for my kids.
However, the other day I actually had the chance
to sit down and watch it and was surprised that
despite some of the updating that was done to
make the story more 'modern', it was actually
quite cute and much funnier than I expected. Ferrell
did some great voiceover work, and only occasionally
did it sound like any of his normal movie characters.
The character of the Man in the Yellow Hat is
also given a name, Ted, and works as a museum
curator. Even Barrymore was very sweet with her
interpretation of Miss Maggie Dunlop, Ted's soon
to be girlfriend.
As the plot goes, Ted finds out that the museum
is going to be closed because attendance is way,
way, way, down. Junior Bloomsberry (David Cross),
the son of the museum's owner (Dick van Dyke),
wants to tear down the museum to put up a parking
lot (sounds like typical corporate America). But
Ted comes up with a plan to find the Lost Shrine
of Zagawa, a huge ancient artifact that is sure
to bring in the crowds. What he didn't plan on
was Mr. Bloomsberry volunteering him to go!! So
as Ted sets forth on his adventure, we learn the
origin of his yellow hat and clothes, he meets
the inquisitive little simian that follows him
home, and discovers that the huge artifact is
only about an inch tall…
Most of the rest of the film finds George getting
into all sorts of mischief, generally causing
Ted no end of trouble. But since this is a movie
for children, we know things have to turn out
all right in the end. And though they do, the
getting there is half the fun.
The DVD for "Curious George" is being
released this month by Universal, and being that
it is a kid's film, is keeping the extra features
light enough for kids to enjoy. There is a short
lesson in how to draw George and several games.
There's also a cute little clip feature that helps
to teach some of the younger kids some vocabulary
words, and short interview feature where you learn
about how they adapted a Volkswagen into an animated
version, and a look how George was animated. Additionally
there is a music video for the song "Upside
Down" with a sing-along feature and a handful
of deleted animatic scenes. Finally, you can access
the DVD-Rom portion of the disc to print out some
pages to color (I took advantage of that one!)
"Curious George" (also known as "Jorge
el Curioso" to our neighbors in Texas), was
a much cuter film than I expected. The humor isn't
written for adults and the updating that was done
did not turn it into some kind of 'hip MTV video.'
It kept a simple theme throughout and I enjoyed
the heck out of watching it with my kids.
Directed by: Mathew O'Callaghan
Starring (the voices of): Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore,
David Cross, Eugene Levy, Dick Van Dyke, Joan
Plowright
Extras: Exclusive Sing-Along Music Video, Deleted
Scenes, Monkey Around with Words, 'Drawn to George',
Monkey in Motion, Games and Activities
Specifications: Widescreen (1.85:1)
Studio: Universal
Release Date: 9/262006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: G
Website
Website
We'll give Curious George an A.
|
