Curious George

Curious George is a 2006 animated adventure comedy film based on the book series written by H.A. Rey and Margret Rey and illustrated by Alan J. Shalleck. It was directed by Matthew O'Callaghan, who replaced Jun Falkenstein. Ken Kaufman wrote the screenplay based on a story by him and Mike Werb. Ron Howard, David Kirschner, and John Shapiro produced. It was released on February 10, 2006 by Universal Pictures. Featuring the voice of Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, David Cross, Eugene Levy, Joan Plowright, and Dick Van Dyke, with Frank Welker voicing the titular character. It was Imagine Entertainment's first fully animated film, as well as Universal Animation Studios' first theatrically released film.
== Plot ==
A happy and curious monkey lives in the African jungle and plays with baby animals. Meanwhile, in the big city, Ted is a museum tour guide who gives weekly presentations to schoolteacher Maggie Dunlop and her students. His boss, Mr. Bloomsberry, informs Ted that the museum is losing money and will have to close down, much to the delight of his son Junior, who wants to replace it with a parking garage. Ted volunteers to find an ancient 40-foot tall African idol, the Lost Shrine of Zagawa, hoping that it will attract more visitors. He is outfitted with a bright yellow suit and hat and boards a cargo ship to the African jungle, where he discovers that the idol is only 3 inches tall. He sends a photograph to the museum, but the image's angle leads Mr. Bloomsberry to believe that the idol was even larger than he thought. Meanwhile, Ted befriends the monkey who secretly follows him back to the city. 
In Ted's apartment building, the monkey makes his way to the penthouse and vandalizes neighbor Miss Plushbottom's walls and bath with paint. Due to the building's strict no pets allowed policy, Ted is evicted by Ivan, the doorman. Ted reveals the idol's actual size to Mr. Bloomsberry and is kicked out of the museum by Junior after the monkey accidentally destroys an Apatosaurus skeleton. After a failed call to the animal control service to try to get rid of the monkey, Ted and the monkey are forced to sleep outside in a park. The next morning, Ted follows the monkey into the zoo, where they meet Maggie and her students, and names the monkey George after a nearby statue of George Washington. George floats away on a bunch of helium balloons into the city, forcing Ted to commandeer a bigger bunch of balloons and a kite. George's balloons are popped by bird control spikes on a tall building, but he is saved by Ted before he falls to his death. 
After a flight around the city, George and Ted make their way to the home of Clovis, an inventor, George discovers that an overhead projector makes the idol appear huge. Ted shows the projector to Mr. Bloomsberry, but a jealous Junior (upset that Bloomsberry loves Ted more than him) pours some of his latte on the projector, causing it to explode, and frames George by giving him the rest. Ted sadly informs the public that the museum will be permanently closed and they don't have the idol. Because of all the stuff George has caused, Ted orders him to leave and the animal control (who he called the night before) arrives and Ted asks them to take George away from him and back to Africa. 
Ted soon realizes that George was like a buddy to him and speaks with Maggie, who helps him to understand what is important in life. He sneaks onto the ship and reunites with George in the cargo hold. George notices that the idol actually reveals a pictogram when exposed to brightness, and Ted realizes that it is a map to the real idol, which they find in the jungle.
The real idol is finally displayed in the museum, which reopens with new interactive exhibits. Although disappointed that he did not get his parking lot, Junior gets a job as a valet and finds joy in his father finally being proud of him. Even Ivan, who has grown fond of George, invites Ted to move back into his apartment. Ted and Maggie share a romantic moment but are interrupted by George, who has started a rocket ship; Ted jumps in with him and they circumnavigate the globe.
== Cast ==
* Frank Welker as George
* Will Ferrell as Ted Shackleford
* Drew Barrymore as Margaret Dunlop
* David Cross as Junior Bloomsberry
* Eugene Levy as Clovis
* Joan Plowright as Mrs. Plushbottom
* Dick Van Dyke as Mr. Bloomsberry
* Ed O' Ross as Ivan
* Michael Chinyamurinal as Edu
*Clint Howard as Balloon Man
* Billy West as The Manger
== Additional Voices ==
*Frank Welker - Animals (uncredited)
== Production ==
The film had been under development at Imagine Entertainment for a long time, dating back at least 1992, but it is possible that it was conceived years before. Although a traditionally animated film, it blends animation with computer generated, 3D scenery and objects that take up 20% of its environment. It features a musical score by Heitor Pereira, with songs produced by the musician Jack Johnson.
The film grossed $69.8 million from a $50 million budget and has a 70% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes, which calls it "a bright, sweet, faithful adaptation". The film received a Satellite Award nomination for the song "Upside Down". Curious George launched the multimedia franchise that spawns television series, children's novel and the 4 direct-to-video sequel. Starting a second theatrical film was in development with continue film as well as the Curious George 2 is titled onscreen. 
== Reception ==
On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Curious George has a 70% approval rating based on 107 reviews and an average rating of 6.10/10. The website's consensus reads: "Curious George is a bright, sweet, faithful adaptation of the beloved children's books". On Metacritic, the film has an average score of 62 out of 100 based on reviews from 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore during opening weekend gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. Reviews frequently praised the film's light-hearted tone and its traditional animation style, though some criticized the plot and modern references.
In The New York Times, Dana Stevens called the film "an unexpected delight", praising its "top-drawer voice talent" and "old-fashioned two-dimensional animation that echoes the simple colors and shapes of the books". The Austin Chronicle's Marrit Ingman wrote positively of the film's "sweet, simple message" that "children see the world differently and have much to teach the people who love them". Christy Lemire of the Associated Press praised George's character design, writing that "with his big eyes and bright smile and perpetually sunny disposition, he's pretty much impossible to resist". Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, noting that it remained "faithful to the spirit and innocence of the books" and writing that the visual style was "uncluttered, charming, and not so realistic that it undermines the fantasies on the screen". Ebert wrote that while he did not particularly enjoy the film himself, he nevertheless gave the film a "thumbs up" on his Ebert & Roeper show because he felt that it would be enjoyable for young children.
Richard Roeper, Ebert's co-host, criticized the film for similar reasons and said that he could not "tell people my age, or someone twenty-five [years old], that they should spend nine or ten bucks to see this movie". Brian Lowry of Variety felt that the plot was too simplistic, writing that the film consisted primarily of "various chases through the city" and was "rudimentary on every level". On the other hand, Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune wrote that the film was "overplotted and misfocused" and that "the script's jokes are tougher to find than the shrine", though he praised the film for staying "relatively faithful to the style of the original and delightful H. A. Rey illustrations". Jan Stuart of Newsday criticized the modern references in the film, including cell phones and lattes, writing that they resulted in "modernization traps that the makers of the very respectable Winnie the Pooh films managed to avoid".[better source needed] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly also negatively noted the anachronisms in the film, such as the use of caller ID.
The song "Upside Down" by Jack Johnson received a Satellite Award nomination for Best Original Song.
Category:2006 films
Category:2006 animated films
Category:Universal Pictures films
Category:Universal Pictures animated films
Category:Universal Animation Studios animated films
Category:Imagine Entertainment films
Category:Films starring Joan Plowright
Category:Films starring Dick Van Dyke
Category:Films starring Will Ferrell
Category:Will Ferrell films
Category:Articles with red links
Category:1:85:1 Aspect Ratio Films
Category:1:33:1 Aspect Ratio Films
Category:Films starring David Cross
Category:Films starring Drew Barrymore
Category:Films starring Frank Welker
Category:Films starring Eugene Levy
Category:Films starring Clint Howard
Category:Films starring Billy West