Most college students already know the story of 'Curious George' from the books they read and loved as children. The recently-released animated film adapting these books is technically well made'the fantasy world the filmmakers have created is beautiful to look at'but the story is made specifically for very young children. In the past few years, films such as 'Finding Nemo,' 'Shrek' and 'Shark Tale' have accustomed audiences to children's movies filled with enough complicated jokes to keep the older people in the family entertained. That is the problem with 'Curious George:' It is not a family film, it is a film only for children.
The story is very simple: The Man in the Yellow Hat, named Ted and played by Will Ferrell, works for a museum and goes on a trek to Africa to find an enormous African idol in an attempt to save the museum he works for. When he's in Africa, a little monkey'we all know his name'becomes very fond of him and follows him all the way back to the city.
The art directors of the film did an effective job in creating a colorful world for Curious George and Ted; there are many colors and so much to look at. There are two scenes during the film dealing with Curious George and paint cans that are very creative. Another scene during the film shows Ted and George flying through the city using balloons and a kite. It was creative, fun to watch and made all the kids in the theater very excited. The goal of this film was to entertain little kids, and in that it succeeded.
The books were about how Curious George would get into mischief, and that is the reason why everyone was interested in him. However, the movie focuses more on the Man in the Yellow Hat than it does on George, which does no one any favors. The movie is too short to develop any other sort of plot, although it tries by throwing in Drew Barrymore as a teacher who goes to Ted's museum every week to see him. The romantic plot between her and Ted never develops, which might be acceptable for the film's target audience, but will bore most everyone else.
Jack Johnson performs most of the songs for the soundtrack, which was the best part of the movie. All his songs are very enjoyable, and they added a lot to a film that was lacking in many areas.
With the high quality of other family films in the past few years, it is hard to say that this film competes with 'A Bug's Life' or 'The Incredibles.' The decline of movie tickets and attendance indicates that movie patrons are looking for more spectacle as well as more substance at the movies. When a movie is beautiful to look at but is as dull as a late-night infomercial, the best it can be is average. If there was ever a definition for what an average film was, this movie would be it.
