What an absolute, unexpected delight! And that's even with the stupid full-screen copy I received. Universal has released Curious George, the 2006 big-screen adaptation of the adorably frisky little monkey, in a "Watch on the Go" carrying case edition that for the life of me, I don't understand. Is it easier for a child to carry around this little yellow plastic case? I guess so, but I've never seen my own kids have any trouble flinging around their regular DVDs. Does the case do something fun, that kids might enjoy? No. It's just a yellow case. And nonsensically, the film is only offered in a full-frame version for this "Watch on the Go" edition. So...I'm not sure what Universal was going with here, but the film itself is...sublime.

The story is simplicity itself. In the jungles of Africa, a little monkey (the voice of Frank Welker) plays and frolics with other jungle animals, frequently getting into harmless mischief because he's exceedingly curious about his surroundings. But at the end of the day, he's all alone in his treetop nest. Back in New York City, Ted (the voice of Will Ferrell) is a kind, gentle, but somewhat befuddled guide at old Mr. Bloomsberry's (Dick Van Dyke) science museum - a museum with dwindling funds and very few visitors. Maggie (the voice of Drew Barrymore), a pretty, young schoolteacher, brings her bored charges there every week, but not to see the exhibits; she likes Ted. And Ted is oblivious to her attentions.

None of that will matter, though, when Mr. Bloomsberry closes up the museum. Evidently, the museum's financial situation is so dire, he's considering following his weaselly son Junior's (the voice of David Cross) advice to close the museum and sell it for a prospective parking lot. Ted is heartbroken about this, and tries to think of some way to get the money needed for the museum. He lights on a plan: Mr. Bloomsberry could finish his aborted expedition to Africa for the Lost Shrine of Zargawa, where a huge 40 foot idol stands. Bringing that back would surely get patrons to line up outside the museum. However, Mr. Bloomsberry decides he's too old for the trip (he frequently has to snap various rickety appendages back in place) and nominates a nervous Ted for the job. Ted agrees to go, but Junior sabotages his map, dooming the expedition to fail.

Newly outfitted in his yellow safari outfit ("The Man in the Yellow Hat"), Ted travels to Africa, where he manages to find a smaller version of the idol - as well as our little monkey, who is immediately taken with Ted. They play peek-a-boo together, and the little monkey thinks he's found a friend. But Ted is worried about Mr. Bloomsberry's museum now that he's failed to find the real idol, and returns to New York - only to find that Mr. Bloomsberry somehow thinks Ted found the real idol. Not only that, he discovers that the little monkey, whom he eventually names George, has stowed away on the ship and followed him to New York. Now Ted has to deal with not only Bloomsberry's exaggerated promotional claims that he found the eighth wonder of the world, but also little George, who can't seem to not get into trouble.

I was certainly aware of the release of Curious George back in February of 2006 (you couldn't escape the merchandising out there), but unfortunately, I didn't make it a priority to see it in the theatres (having absolutely loved the original Margaret and H.A. Rey books as a child - who didn't? - I felt for sure they'd somehow ruin the concept). After years of so many loud, obnoxious, in-joke-crammed, too-hip-for-words "kids" movies, filled with inappropriate double-entendres, endless pop culture references, and smart-mouthed adolescent characters, I didn't want to see the same thing happen to a character for which I had such fond (and enduring) memories. So I skipped it. Too bad I did, because Curious George is exactly the opposite of that kind of odious kids movie: it's sweet and warm, and entirely loveable.

Before starting this review, I did something I almost never do - I went back and looked at a couple of mainstream reviews that came out with the film back in 2006. And what surprised me (although it shouldn't have, really), was the tone of condescension, even from the positive reviews, towards a "G"-rated film for kids that was aimed, quite appropriately, at little children (I was glad to see our reviewers here at DVDTalk appreciated the film). It's almost as if the mainstream reviewers begrudgingly allowed the film its due despite the fact that there wasn't anything in the movie, by their jaded standards, for adults. I guess by that, they meant "adult" humor. Humor that supposedly flies over little kids' heads (guess what: it doesn't) and is included in these kids films to keep Mom and Dad from being bored to death at the movies (or perhaps more to the point, it's included to satisfy cynical scriptwriters and clueless, soulless Hollywood execs who think anything "wholesome" is boring and outdated).

Frankly, I've never understood that kind of reasoning, either in the thinking that "adult" humor in a kids movie has to be snide or snotty or smutty, or that an adult can't enjoy simple childlike stories and humor, right alongside their child. Some seventy years later, the Looney Tunes animated shorts, made by adults for children and adults, still brings parents running into the room to laugh along with their kids - as well as adults who don't have children. As for parents supposedly being bored with simple, childlike fare, when has that ever been true, when the project is done with honesty and feeling and beauty? There are too many classic (pre-Eisner, let's be clear) Disney films, both animated and live-action, to mention as examples of this. After all, and it seems silly to write, we were all children once, and those primal, basic emotions of happiness, joy, fear, playfulness, loneliness, and sadness have never left us. If a film can tap into that, it doesn't have to ladle on an endless supply of rim-shots to make it palatable to an adult.

Which brings us to Curious George. Drawn in a classical 2D cell-animation format, Curious George stays resolutely child-like and simple, never once bending to what must have been inevitable pressure by some execs or marketing creeps to include something "edgy" to hedge the film's bets. It's simply, marvelously old-fashioned, with George delightfully brought to life as an inquisitive, charming child-like monkey who effortlessly connects with the audience in one of the sweetest character animations I've seen in quite some time. As delightful as the simplified, stylized backgrounds are (they have a wonderful, flat look to them, just as they look in the Rey books), and as technically polished as the animated sequences are (for example, there's a rather amazing overhead sequence of George, swinging from light poles and buildings, as he follows Ted on the street below), Curious George wouldn't work if George himself wasn't a loveable, engaging entity.

And here, I think the filmmakers were quite brave in keeping George silent (as in the books, obviously), and resisting the temptation to make him talk or to "mature" him into more adult facial expressions that would be inconsistent with how a little monkey (or perhaps more correctly, a little child) would act. His emotions are primary (much like the absolutely gorgeous color design of this film) and delightfully open and elementary. He's happy, he's sad, he's frightened, he's lonely, he's playful. Even the smallest child could understand exactly what's happening to him (my two-year-old daughter was absolutely fascinated with him - and why not? They're so alike). And equally important, the filmmakers keep him sweet. I know all too well from today's crop of garbage that masquerades as "family entertainment" that "sweet" is a concept akin to "death" for filmmakers who have lost their ability to connect with mainstream audiences.

That's why it was such a continual shock for me to watch Curious George, waiting to see when the filmmakers would relent and coarsen the character...only to find they refused to do so, letting him stay innocent and adorable (and quite funny, too - the film isn't at all soppy or saccharine. It's light and breezy and often comical). There are too many examples in the film to mention, but one in particular - George's and Ted's balloon ride over New York - sums up the film's appeal perfectly. Aside from the fact that it's cleverly scripted with some funny gags (the Yankees baseball bit is quite good), George's balloon ride with Ted allows the character to feel real fear (when he almost falls to his death), relief at being saved (when he buries his head in Ted's shoulder), and genuine delight at finding a friend who loves him (when he looks up in wonder at Ted after realizing Ted risked his life for him). They float further on, delighting in the sights below, while George presses his face against Ted's in an exuberant expression of pure love. It's a surprisingly moving moment in a film filled with many such little surprises.

The DVD:

The Video:
As I wrote above, this "Watch On the Go" edition of Curious George only contains the full-screen version. Why in this day and age, where even little kids are accustomed to letterboxed TV shows, would Universal limit viewers this way - particularly when I understand that the previous standard release of Curious George contained both widescreen and full-frame formats? It makes no sense whatsoever. It's true, though, that young children probably won't mind seeing the film this way, but I mind, particularly after seeing the widescreen clips that litter the extras (they can use those for the extras, but not for the entire film?). That being said, the full-frame, 1.33:1 image for Curious George is super-sharp and clean (if a little bit blown out from the reframing), with bright, vibrant colors. Kids will really be attracted to the bold, primary look of the film.

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital English 5.1 stereo mix is leveled appropriately, with some mild, occasional directional effects. French and Spanish 5.1 are also included, as well as English, French and Spanish subtitles, and a close-caption option.

The Extras:
Several extras are included in the "Watch On the Go" edition of Curious George. First, in the carrying case, there's a little six-page coloring/matching/maze book that looks worthless, but remember, very young kids love anything like that, so it was a small, but welcomed extra. On the disc, there's the music video for Jack Johnson's Upside Down theme (really catchy after watching the film twice with my kids) which can be viewed as a "sing along" or sans lyrics. There are also 15 deleted scenes, running 16:47 in total, that didn't make it into the final cut (none of them seemed particularly important). Drawn to George, running 5:05, has animator Jeff Johnson teaching us how to draw George's head (it worked; I tried it). Monkey Around with Words, running 4:45, is a read-along featuring clips from the film (in widescreen, no less). There's a plug for Volkswagen in A Very Curious Car, running 4:45, where the animators discuss how they adapted a Volkswagen truck into George's story. Monkey in Motion, running a scant 1:47, shows Johnson sketching a rough series of animations of George. Games are included as well, featuring Banana Hunt, Where's George?, Virtual Coloring Book, and Ever Changing Colorful Chameleon. They're very simple - and fun for the little kids. There were DVD-ROM features, as well, but they froze every time I tried to download them (and no, it wasn't just me; I had my 15-year-old computer whiz try it, too - no soap).

Final Thoughts:
When little George makes those cute little gasps of delight, and pulls his little monkey face into a wonder of delight, he had me, pal. The movie is an utter delight, equally touching and funny, a wonderful throwback to traditional 2D cell animation that respects the spirit of the original Rey books, and keeps George safe from the prurient, distasteful, soulless garbage that passes for most of what's called "family entertainment" today. This "Watch On the Run" edition of the film, though, presents real problems. It only includes a full-screen version of the film, and although that looks...okay (you can tell the widescreen compositions were far superior), why not just get the original DVD release with the widescreen? Still, little kids probably won't mind, so I guess it all comes down to price and availability. I don't want to recommend this compromised version, but the film itself is so good, I hate to limit anybody's exposure to it, either. The movie is worthy of our highest rating here, but this particular edition should get a skip. So, I'll split the difference and recommend Curious George.