"Curious George" (2006) Movie Review for Parents

MPAA Rating: G
Genre: Childrens animated/Comedy/Adventure
Runtime: Approx. 87 minutes
Director: Matthew O'Callaghan
Producers: Ron Howard, Jon Shapiro and David Kirschner
Voice Cast: Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, David Cross, Eugene Levy, Joan Plowright, Dick Van Dyke, Hailey Noelle Johnson, Ed O'Ross, Nadia Lewis
Release Date: February 10, 2006

Who is The Man with the Yellow Hat? Well, his name is Ted (Will Ferrell), and he works as a guide at the Bloomsberry museum. Ted displays a love for the material he presents to attendants, but he is oblivious to the affection of a school teacher, Maggie (Drew Barrymore), who makes sure to visit the museum and listen to his lectures every week.

Unfortunately, the museum’s owner Mr. Bloomsberry (Dick Van Dyke) confides to Ted that he will have to close the museum due to the decline in patrons. Mr. Bloomsberry’s greedy son (David Cross) is ecstatic about the gloomy situation, until Ted comes up with a plan to save the day.

Many years before, Mr. Bloomsberry had planned an adventure to seek out the Shrine of the African tribe Zagawa, but he was never able to realize his dream. Ted vows to make the journey and bring back the gigantic idol, creating an amazing display to attract people from all around.

This brings us to the point in the movie where our second question is answered – Why a yellow hat? You’ll have to watch the movie to find out, but Ted eventually makes it to Africa. Due to interference from the conniving Bloomsberry Jr., Ted is unsuccessful in his effort to find the huge idol, but he does find a smaller version.

When he gets home from his travels, Ted is horrified to find that his tiny statue has been publicized as the real thing, and he is about to let everyone down, especially Mr. Bloomsberry. Not only that, he is also surprised to find that a playful little monkey he had met in Africa has somehow ended up in his own apartment.

George the monkey, being the curious sort, gets Ted into a few troublesome situations, and Ted can’t seem to work out a solution for his problems at the museum. Frustrated by the events, he puts George on a boat back to Africa. Things only get worse, though, and Ted realizes he really loves the curious little monkey. Once they reunite, things finally start to turn around for The Man with the Yellow Hat.

The movie is aimed at and appropriate for young children – a rare occurrence! The animation was done to look like the book illustrations, so it is fun and colorful – great for kids, but I think they could have done a little better on the facial expressions and mouth movements of the characters. The movie does not contain as much adult-oriented material as is the current rage in kids’ movies, but even though parents may yawn a little during the film, at least it is kid-friendly and safe.

The following contains some of the most prominent examples of possibly scary or offensive content in the movie:

Violence (Very Low)
-Ted fires a tranquilizer gun at a rock he thinks is an animal, but the dart ricochets and lands in Edu's leg, which renders him unconscious for a while.
-When George projects a gigantic image of himself over the car, several traffic accidents occur as a result.
-Mr. Bloomsberry is shown waving around a machete as he talks about an African adventure.

Sex/Nudity (None)

Profanity (None)

Alcohol/Drugs (None)

Bad/Disrespectful Behavior (Low)
-Junior (Mr. Bloomsberry's son) wants to turn the museum into a money-generating parking lot. He schemes and tries to cause Ted's efforts to fail.
-George does mischievous things such as finger-paint on walls.
-Ted grabs some balloons from various kids as he tries to save George.
-The word "dumb" is used by a boy in Maggie's class.

Scary Scenes (Low)
-George flies through the air holding a bunch of balloons and they hit something and suddenly pop. He starts falling, but Ted is able to save him.

Sad/Distressing Scenes (Medium)
-Animal control captures George and they put him in a cage and on a boat back to Africa.
-Ted and Mr. Bloomsberry are sad that the museum may be shut down.

Talk About the Movie with Your Family

• What are the qualities that make George so loveable?
• What happens if you look at the sun for too long? (Ted does this in the movie and hurts his eyes.)
• What are museums and what value do they provide to us?
• Kids may also wonder about Africa. Where is it? How long would it take to get there? What is it like?