From Page to Screen
Matt O’Callaghan’s Curious George

by Kitty Flynn and Jennifer Brabander

Sweet and gentle, Curious George’s big-screen debut is just right for young kids. A Pixar movie complete with adult appeal and cynical humor this is not . . . but that’s not a bad thing at all. Looking at the movie through the lens of the beloved picture book is like comparing bananas and coconuts, but it’s clear that director Matt O’Callaghan made an effort to invoke the spirit of the Reys’ stories, if not the details. In fact, with characters voiced by big-name stars (Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, Dick Van Dyke) and a screenplay by writers whose credits include the Austin Powers and Shrek movies, the amount of restraint exercised in this adaptation is impressive. Curious George’s refreshingly low-tech two-dimensional animation honors the books’ old-fashioned, uncluttered illustrations. And Jack Johnson provides a groovy, appropriately mellow soundtrack that’s mercifully easy to listen to for eighty-six minutes.

While the movie necessarily diverges from the books, it smoothly incorporates a few familiar episodes that George’s fans will recognize, mainly of the curious one getting into trouble (with paint, balloons, a dinosaur exhibit, etc.) wherever he goes. As the Man with the Yellow Hat (called Ted here) learns from George how to have more fun and be more curious, George only teaches by example: thankfully, like his picture book counterpart, the animated George doesn’t speak. The plot involves mild-mannered museum employee Ted getting roped into saving the financially troubled institution. He sails to Africa (aboard the H. A. Rey), and man and monkey meet in the jungle, where Ted is searching for a famously undiscovered ancient idol. George is drawn to Ted’s banana-yellow hat, and after a game of peek-a-boo (a scene preschoolers and baby-loving grownups will find endearing), Ted says goodbye. In a reasonable bit of updating-cum-whitewashing, George chooses to follow Ted back home — as opposed to the outright abduction in the book, where the Man with the Yellow Hat stuffs the curious monkey in a sack and takes him back as a zoo exhibit (“What a nice place for George to live!”). And neatly modifying a scene from one of the books, the movie ends with George and Ted, having saved the museum, unexpectedly but enthusiastically blasting off into space. The closing credits roll over original illustrations from the picture books — a conclusion that’s a fitting Hollywood homage to the books’ creators and one that will satisfy the books’ fans.

Kitty Flynn is Executive Editor of The Horn Book Guide, Senior Editor of The Horn Book Magazine, and a former children’s book editor. Jennifer M. Brabander is Senior Editor of The Horn Book Magazine and The Horn Book Guide.

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