My introduction to the world of "Curious George" before seeing the movie adaptation was to read a couple of his books to my nephew a few weeks prior. During, it became pretty clear to me that I wish I'd been so introduced when I was little. I thought it was just so cool that there are still children's books that are highly revered for their ability to inspire kids to be curious and enthusiastic about their surroundings - as opposed to just the ones that inspire action through superstrength or superpowers (or at least to little kids, they're superhuman). Those books are fun too, without a doubt, but they just don't seem to make that great of a lasting impression at the outset.
"Curious George" is the first widely released feature film since 2004's "Home on the Range" that is classically animated by hand instead of by computer. And what an awesome choice this was, because so many dimensions of George's personality could never have been rendered by a soul-less computer program. Nearly every time we see George, he has a gaping, ear-to-ear grin that is hard to mistake for anything other than sheer enthusiasm. We know he's enraptured with anything new he sees because he sees the potential for not only the fun he can have with it, but what it can teach him. Save for a couple noticeable flaws in animation (usually only when a character is moving or walking about), the overall animation and character design is very fluid and pleasing. George is a fun, cuddly, awe-inspiring furry little kid that the more humanesque little kids will (and did) absolutely love to watch.
The timing of George's unleashing to the country's silver screens couldn't be better for a couple reasons. First that there are hardly any so-called family movies that can really be classified as...family movies. Last year's "Chicken Little" is barely qualifiable because of its excessive potty humor, which even the little kids of the audience didn't respond lightly to. "Madagascar" doesn't have much slack to qualify, either. "George" is the first family film in recent memory that is reliant on --get this-- NO POTTY HUMOR! NONE! It takes class these days to entertain through story and characters rather than punchlines and gags (more kinds than just one).
Second, though my initial impressions are that this won't kill the box office competition, I sure hope this stirs up people's memories of seeing magnificent classically animated films past. The Disney Dynasty is an easy victim here, having put out nearly all the animated 90's films that are considered "new classics". Point? I see "George" as capable of stirring the stale pot of cloned cookie cutter family flicks around, and inspiring something creative and new, just like Disney did with their new classics. With the increasing amalgam of 3d-animated copycat "Lion King meets the Great Escape" iterations, I for one would view future efforts of George's caliber as very welcome.
Really, it's about time a family film arrives that makes the oldest family members laugh just as hysterically as the youngest ones. Not only am I more, uh...curious to get familiar with the books, I'm stoked to buy the DVD release. "Curious George" is an absolutely, unabashedly fun animated movie that inspires nearly everybody to take off their blinders every now and again to find out how much of life can be discovered by a fresh, new perspective and, dare I say, a little kid's ever curious perspective.
"Curious George" gets 9 of 10 stars
"Curious George" is the first widely released feature film since 2004's "Home on the Range" that is classically animated by hand instead of by computer. And what an awesome choice this was, because so many dimensions of George's personality could never have been rendered by a soul-less computer program. Nearly every time we see George, he has a gaping, ear-to-ear grin that is hard to mistake for anything other than sheer enthusiasm. We know he's enraptured with anything new he sees because he sees the potential for not only the fun he can have with it, but what it can teach him. Save for a couple noticeable flaws in animation (usually only when a character is moving or walking about), the overall animation and character design is very fluid and pleasing. George is a fun, cuddly, awe-inspiring furry little kid that the more humanesque little kids will (and did) absolutely love to watch.
The timing of George's unleashing to the country's silver screens couldn't be better for a couple reasons. First that there are hardly any so-called family movies that can really be classified as...family movies. Last year's "Chicken Little" is barely qualifiable because of its excessive potty humor, which even the little kids of the audience didn't respond lightly to. "Madagascar" doesn't have much slack to qualify, either. "George" is the first family film in recent memory that is reliant on --get this-- NO POTTY HUMOR! NONE! It takes class these days to entertain through story and characters rather than punchlines and gags (more kinds than just one).
Second, though my initial impressions are that this won't kill the box office competition, I sure hope this stirs up people's memories of seeing magnificent classically animated films past. The Disney Dynasty is an easy victim here, having put out nearly all the animated 90's films that are considered "new classics". Point? I see "George" as capable of stirring the stale pot of cloned cookie cutter family flicks around, and inspiring something creative and new, just like Disney did with their new classics. With the increasing amalgam of 3d-animated copycat "Lion King meets the Great Escape" iterations, I for one would view future efforts of George's caliber as very welcome.
Really, it's about time a family film arrives that makes the oldest family members laugh just as hysterically as the youngest ones. Not only am I more, uh...curious to get familiar with the books, I'm stoked to buy the DVD release. "Curious George" is an absolutely, unabashedly fun animated movie that inspires nearly everybody to take off their blinders every now and again to find out how much of life can be discovered by a fresh, new perspective and, dare I say, a little kid's ever curious perspective.
"Curious George" gets 9 of 10 stars