Movie Review of "Curious George"
Rated G
By CK Movie Kid Jonathan Lack

Hand drawn, 2-D animation has not been seen in theaters since Disney's sub-par (at best) film "Home on the Range." Lately, Disney has switched to the CGI market, now releasing CGI films in theaters, and only using the 2-D style on their unoriginal and usually awful sequels. CGI is not bad; in fact, it's pretty cool, but I think many of us still prefer the "traditional" 2-D style in theaters. All animation, Disney or not, in theaters today, is CGI.

But "Curious George" is not. After some debating among the filmmakers whether or not to jump on the CGI bandwagon, "Curious George" started production as a traditional, hand drawn film. And it's great! The animation is a result of the decades of 2-D animation the various animation industries have created. And it works.

"Curious George" is the picture book series that kids for years now have grown up with, and it's no different on the big screen. Kids from the age of one to ten will enjoy it for it's slapstick comedy element, and the adults who take their kids to it will find plenty in it too. Not because it's full of crude, obscene, or vulgar humor that plagues many animated movies today; because it's a true family film, something that hasn't been seen for quite a while now.

"Curious George" is, for those who don't know, the story of the man in the yellow hat, who finds a monkey and brings him home. They have plenty of adventures together in the big city. The movie follows the same premise as the books. A simple story that kids will understand, but not cheesy and boring.

Comparing "Curious George" to other recent animated films is interesting. The most recent movie I can think of that was for all ages was "Finding Nemo." It was a simple story, yet lost some audience with audiences under five for it's sometimes intense and dark themes. When I say dark, I mean that the movie starts out with Nemo's mother dying, and the rest of the story has some death elements to it too.

2004-2005's animated line up was just not for families. "The Incredibles" lost pretty much everyone seven and younger with a complex plot and some violent scenes. (Pixar's first time showing blood in a movie.) "Shark Tale" and "Madagascar" had a simple enough plot, yet had some language and crude humor, a trademark of DreamWorks animation films. 2006 isn't looking much better. Eleven animated movies, and the only one that looks like it might attract younger (2-6) audiences is Pixar's "Cars." (February, 2005)