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88-497: Curious George is a fictional monkey who is the title character of a series of popular children's picture books written and illustrated by Margret and H. A. Rey . Various media, including films and TV shows, have been based upon the original book series. George is described as "a good little monkey, and always very curious". In the first book , George is caught by "The Man in the Yellow Hat" and taken from Africa to America where
176-518: A 172 mm ( 6 + 3 ⁄ 4 in) tail and just over 100 g ( 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 oz) in weight, to the male mandrill , almost 1 m (3 ft 3 in) long and weighing up to 36 kg (79 lb). Some are arboreal (living in trees) while others live on the savanna ; diets differ among the various species but may contain any of the following: fruit, leaves, seeds, nuts, flowers, eggs and small animals (including insects and spiders). Some characteristics are shared among
264-559: A German version of the Reynard the Fox fable, published c. 1580 . In this version of the fable, a character named Moneke is the son of Martin the Ape. In English, no clear distinction was originally made between "ape" and "monkey"; thus the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica entry for "ape" notes that it is either a synonym for "monkey" or is used to mean a tailless humanlike primate. Colloquially,
352-645: A guide dog ). In 2010, the U.S. federal government revised its definition of service animal under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Non-human primates are no longer recognized as service animals under the ADA. The American Veterinary Medical Association does not support the use of non-human primates as assistance animals because of animal welfare concerns, the potential for serious injury to people, and risks that primates may transfer dangerous diseases to humans . Curious George (film) Curious George
440-476: A " grade " on the path to humans and were distinguished from "apes". Scientific classifications are now more often based on monophyletic groups, that is groups consisting of all the descendants of a common ancestor. The New World monkeys and the Old World monkeys are each monophyletic groups, but their combination was not, since it excluded hominoids (apes and humans). Thus, the term "monkey" no longer referred to
528-484: A Bike was produced by Weston Woods Studios in 1958 and later released on DVD. In 1982, animator John Clark Matthews produced a 16 mm stop-motion animated short called Curious George Goes to the Hospital based on the book of the same name . In 1984, they created another short , again based on the book of the same name . Produced by Churchill Films , the films were created with puppet-figures. Matthews would later use
616-496: A character in another children's book written and illustrated by H. A. Rey, Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys (1939). A second series of books, based on the telefilm series, was edited by Margret & H.A. Rey and Alan J. Shalleck . These appeared between 1984 and 1993. They are mostly out of print, though several have been re-released with new cover art as part of the next series, the "New Adventures". A third series of books,
704-505: A considerable amount of licensed Curious George merchandise. It was the last remaining property of Wordsworth Books, a former local general interest bookstore that closed in the beginning of the 2000s. This store was closed in June 2011. A new store, the World's Only Curious George Store, opened in 2012 at the same address and closed permanently in 2021. From 2009 to 2011, a musical stage show based on
792-568: A division of Vicious Cycle Software for Microsoft Windows , Xbox , GameCube , PlayStation 2 , and Game Boy Advance . It is the based on the 2006 animated film. A version for the Nintendo DS was also planned, but was cancelled. A children's bookstore in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts was known as Curious George and Friends (formerly Curious George Goes To Wordsworth) and carried
880-577: A facility in which monkeys and other primates are kept within enclosures for public entertainment. Commonly known as a monkey house ( primatarium ), sometimes styled Monkey House , notable examples include London Zoo's Monkey Valley ; Zoo Basel's Monkey house/exhibit ; the Monkey Tropic House at Krefeld Zoo; Bronx Zoo's Monkey House ; Monkey Jungle , Florida; Lahore Zoo's Monkey House ; Monkey World , Dorset, England; and Edinburgh Zoo's Monkey House . Former cinema, The Scala, Kings Cross spent
968-480: A failed call to the animal control service , Ted and the monkey are forced to sleep outside in a park, where they start to bond. The next morning, Ted follows the monkey into the zoo, where Maggie and her students name the monkey George after a nearby statue of George Washington . George floats away on helium balloons that are popped by bird control spikes , but he is saved by Ted. At the home of Clovis, an inventor, George discovers that an overhead projector makes
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#17328555000121056-598: A feather comes floating down to Forrest's feet and he stores it in this book. At the end of the film, it falls out of the book and rises floating through the air again. Jarrod, the protagonist of the NBC series The Pretender , reads Curious George books in season one and develops a fascination with them. He likens himself to George and Sydney Green to the Man with the Yellow Hat. The books have inspired other derivative works, including Bangkok Bob (written by Sasha Alyson and published by
1144-559: A monophyletic usage of the word "monkey" from the perspective that usage should reflect cladistics. Several science-fiction and fantasy stories have depicted non-human (fantastical or alien) antagonistic characters refer to humans as monkeys, usually in a derogatory manner, as a form of metacommentary . A group of monkeys may be commonly referred to as a tribe or a troop. Two separate groups of primates are referred to as "monkeys": New World monkeys (platyrrhines) from South and Central America and Old World monkeys ( catarrhines in
1232-412: A recognized scientific taxon . The smallest accepted taxon which contains all the monkeys is the infraorder Simiiformes , or simians. However this also contains the hominoids, so that monkeys are, in terms of currently recognized taxa, non-hominoid simians. Colloquially and pop-culturally, the term is ambiguous and sometimes monkey includes non-human hominoids. In addition, frequent arguments are made for
1320-491: A romantic moment, but are interrupted by George, who has activated a rocket ship ; Ted jumps in and they repeatedly circumnavigate the globe. Producers Jon Shapiro and David Kirschner contacted Margret Rey in 1990 about the possibility of producing a film based on the classic children's stories that she wrote with her husband, H. A. Rey. Shapiro recalled that he promised her to make the best version of Curious George as possible. Rey agreed and Imagine Entertainment secured
1408-631: A short time as a primatarium. Some organizations train capuchin monkeys as service animals to assist quadriplegics and other people with severe spinal cord injuries or mobility impairments . After being socialized in a human home as infants, the monkeys undergo extensive training before being placed with disabled people. Around the house, the monkeys assist with daily tasks such as feeding, fetching, manipulating objects, and personal care. Helper monkeys are usually trained in schools by private organizations, taking seven years to train, and are able to serve 25–30 years (two to three times longer than
1496-405: A short time—embraced the use of the character in a series of 2001 adverts for the company, but the character never officially became a corporate mascot. In the 1994 film Forrest Gump , one edition of Curious George is featured as Forrest's favorite book, which his mother reads to him. Forrest later reads it with his son, with a Curious George plush also shown on his shelf. In the opening scene,
1584-441: A similar technique for his Frog and Toad films. An animated film, Curious George , was released on February 10, 2006, featuring Will Ferrell as the voice of the originally unnamed Man with the Yellow Hat. In the film (in which The Man is referred to as "Ted"), Curious George secretly follows The Man onto the ship to the city on his own accord. Frank Welker provided the vocal effects of Curious George. Ron Howard serves as
1672-1230: A single grouping. It is indicated approximately how many million years ago (Mya) the clades diverged into newer clades. It is thought the New World monkeys started as a drifted "Old World monkey" group from the Old World (probably Africa) to the New World (South America). Tarsiiformes Eosimiidae s.s. (†37) Phileosimias (†46) Amphipithecidae (†35) Parapithecoidea (†30) Proteopithecidae (†34) Chilecebus (†20) Tremacebus (†20) Homunculus (†16) Dolichocebus (†20) Crown Platyrrhini (New World Monkeys) Oligopithecidae (†34) Propliopithecoidea (†30) Pliopithecoidea (†6) Micropithecus (†15) Proconsulidae (†18) Equatorius (†16) Morotopithecus (†20) Afropithecus (†16) Nyanzapithecinae (†7) Hominidae Hylobatidae Saadanioidea (†28) Victoriapithecinae (†19) Crown Cercopithecoidea (Old World Monkeys) The many species of monkey have varied relationships with humans. Some are kept as pets , others used as model organisms in laboratories or in space missions. They may be killed in monkey drives (when they threaten agriculture) or used as service animals for
1760-548: Is a tour guide living in New York City , who works at the Bloomsberry Museum and gives weekly presentations to schoolteacher Maggie Dunlop, whom Ted is smitten with, and her students. His boss and the museum owner, Mr. Bloomsberry, informs Ted that the museum is losing money and will have to close. Mr. Bloomsberry's son, Junior, wants to tear down the museum and replace it with a commercial parking lot. To save his job and
1848-436: Is a 2006 animated adventure film based on the book series written by H. A. Rey and Margret Rey . It was directed by Matthew O'Callaghan (in his theatrical feature directorial debut ), written by Ken Kaufman and produced by Ron Howard , David Kirschner , and Jon Shapiro. Featuring the voices of Frank Welker , Will Ferrell , Drew Barrymore , David Cross , Eugene Levy , Joan Plowright , and Dick Van Dyke , it tells
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#17328555000121936-525: Is always referred to as "The Man" or fully "The Man with the Yellow Hat" (abbreviated "TMWTYH"), but aside from those two names, he is unnamed in the original series and telefilm books. When people speak to George about the Man, they often refer to him as "Your friend". In H. A. Rey's book See the Circus , published in 1946, "The Man with the Yellow Hat" was referred to as "Ted". Later, in Curious George (2006),
2024-404: Is no idol. Ted has a falling-out with George and orders him to leave, allowing animal control to capture George to be returned to Africa. Ted speaks with Maggie, who helps him understand what is important in life. He sneaks onto the ship and reunites with George in the cargo hold. George notices that the idol reveals a pictogram when turned to the light, and Ted realizes that it is a map leading to
2112-493: Is used as the theme for children's play areas and some of the children's entertainment on the Stena Line ferries. On some peak time sailings, this includes a Curious George costumed character . Curious George merchandise is also provided with children's meals and is available to purchase in the on-board shop. A Curious George -themed water play area, Curious George Goes to Town , opened at Universal Studios Florida in 1998 and
2200-490: 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
2288-552: The Billboard 200 since the Pocahontas soundtrack reigned for one week in July 1995. The PBS Kids animated television series , also called Curious George , was developed concurrent to the feature film. It also stars Frank Welker reprising his voice role of Curious George and with William H. Macy (later Rino Romano ) narrating. A sequel, Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! ,
2376-524: The Curious George manuscript with them. At first, only H. A. Rey was credited for the work in order to distinguish the Reys' books from the large number of children's books written by female authors. The first seven books were illustrated by H.A. Rey. Later, Alan J. Shalleck was credited as an editor and Hans Rey and Margret Rey for the writing and illustrating. The Reys produced many other children's books, but
2464-617: The Curious George series was the most popular. Each book has been in continuous print since it was first published. Margret and H. A. Rey released seven Curious George books during H. A. Rey's lifetime. Recently, more Curious George books have been released by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt including board books with scenes from the original books, books adapted from the 1980s telefilm series, and new adventures. Curious George appeared in 1941. This book begins with George living in Africa and tells
2552-511: The Lao publishing project Big Brother Mouse ). Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes , also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes . Thus monkeys, in that sense, constitute an incomplete paraphyletic grouping; however, in the broader sense based on cladistics , apes (Hominoidea) are also included, making
2640-524: The TV series , Curious George Live! , toured the United States and Canada. In the show, George heads to Rome , Italy to help Chef Pisghetti win a meatball eating contest there. The show was produced by VEE Corporation , the producer of Sesame Street Live! . As of 2024, the show continues to be performed in several community theaters and has been retitled Curious George: The Golden Meatball . Curious George
2728-545: The 18th century. Linnaeus placed this group in 1758 together with the tarsiers, in a single genus " Simia " (sans Homo ), an ensemble now recognised as the Haplorhini. Monkeys, including apes, can be distinguished from other primates by having only two pectoral nipples, a pendulous penis, and a lack of sensory whiskers . According to the Online Etymology Dictionary , the word "monkey" may originate in
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2816-633: The 2006 remake of The Pink Panther , Firewall and Final Destination 3 , and ranked at #3 with a total opening weekend gross of $ 14.7 million averaging $ 5,730 per theater. The film grossed $ 58.4 million in the United States and $ 11.5 million overseas, totaling $ 70 million worldwide. The film was released in the United Kingdom on May 26, and opened on #5. The film was released on DVD on September 26, 2006 by Universal Studios Home Entertainment in separate widescreen and full-screen versions. It
2904-570: The Cercopithecidae in the Catarrhini, so cladistically they are monkeys as well. However, there has been resistance to directly designate apes (and thus humans) as monkeys, so "Old World monkey" may be taken to mean either the Cercopithecoidea (not including apes) or the Catarrhini (including apes). That apes are monkeys was already realized by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in
2992-466: The Curious George "New Adventures", began to appear in 1998, and continues to the present. These books are "illustrated in the style of H. A. Rey" by a variety of credited and uncredited artists including Mary O'Keefe Young, Martha Weston, Anna Grossnickle Hines, Michael Alan Jensen, and Vipah Interactive. Aside from George himself, the only recurring character in the original adventures is the Man with
3080-413: The Man, who is voiced by Will Ferrell , is also referred to as "Ted" throughout the film; his last name is revealed as being "Shacklefield" in a deleted scene. In the TV series , he is voiced by Jeff Bennett . Curious George has been adapted into a television show, magazine, and video game. A set of animated Curious George television films were produced from 1979 to 1982; they were first shown in
3168-484: The United States in 1984 on Nickelodeon . This series was produced and co-written by Alan Shalleck . The shorts were aired on The Disney Channel as a segment on the program Lunch Box starting in 1989. In 1993, Margret Rey successfully sued Lafferty, Harwood, and Partners, the Canadian company that funded the cartoons, for licensing VHS tapes to third-party companies without the Reys' permission. The Reys eventually won
3256-441: The Yellow Hat and George the monkey, which was "really difficult to capture the innocence of that". Brewster recalled that earlier versions of the script by Brad Bird and William Goldman were darker in tone and more adult. When O'Callaghan signed on to direct, replacing Falkenstein, he and screenwriter Ken Kaufman rewrote the story, saying that they took some elements from the existing story and created new characters, simplified
3344-607: The apes, have forward-facing eyes, the faces of Old World and New World monkeys look very different, though again, each group shares some features such as the types of noses, cheeks and rumps. The following list shows where the various monkey families (bolded) are placed in the classification of living (extant) primates. Below is a cladogram with some extinct monkey families. Generally, extinct non-hominoid simians, including early catarrhines are discussed as monkeys as well as simians or anthropoids, which cladistically means that Hominoidea are monkeys as well, restoring monkeys as
3432-461: The catarrhine monkeys about 25 million years ago. Extinct basal simians such as Aegyptopithecus or Parapithecus (35–32 million years ago) are also considered monkeys by primatologists. Lemurs , lorises , and galagos are not monkeys, but strepsirrhine primates (suborder Strepsirrhini). The simians' sister group , the tarsiers, are also haplorhine primates; however, they are also not monkeys. Apes emerged within monkeys as sister of
3520-516: The disabled. In some areas, some species of monkey are considered agricultural pests , and can cause extensive damage to commercial and subsistence crops. This can have important implications for the conservation of endangered species, which may be subject to persecution. In some instances farmers' perceptions of the damage may exceed the actual damage. Monkeys that have become habituated to human presence in tourist locations may also be considered pests, attacking tourists. Many zoos have maintained
3608-551: The dispute, forcing Lafferty, Harwood, and Partners to pay for all wrongdoing. A new Curious George series debuted on September 4, 2006 on PBS Kids as part of the PBS Kids Preschool Block. Although Curious George ended its original run on April 1, 2015, the series is still airing on PBS Kids in reruns. It was produced by the Boston affiliate WGBH , Imagine Entertainment , and Universal Animation Studios . A revival of
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3696-558: The divergence between the Cercopithecidae and the apes, the Platyrrhini emerged within "monkeys" by migration to South America from Afro-Arabia (the Old World), likely by ocean. Apes are thus deep in the tree of extant and extinct monkeys, and any of the apes is distinctly closer related to the Cercopithecidae than the Platyrrhini are. Many monkey species are tree-dwelling ( arboreal ), although there are species that live primarily on
3784-694: 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
3872-399: 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
3960-442: 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
4048-421: The film led him to write more. He worked closely with the animation team and described a back-and-forth process in which he would provide a sketch of a song in response to a preliminary drawing of a scene, then followed by more detailed animations and lyrics. Describing the songwriting process, Johnson recalled: "The balance was writing lyrics that didn't match things too perfectly, but would kind of reference what
4136-492: The film rights for Curious George in June 1990, with plans to produce a live action film jointly with Hanna-Barbera Productions . Universal Pictures acquired the merchandising rights to Curious George from publisher Houghton Mifflin in September 1997, after Margret Rey's death the previous year. Larry Guterman signed on to direct in 1998 and worked closely with Imagine Entertainment co-chairman Ron Howard to develop
4224-503: 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
4312-462: The film's producer. A direct-to-video sequel to the film was released on March 2, 2010, titled Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! , which featured Jeff Bennett replacing Ferrell as the voice of the Man. Bennett also provides the Man's voice in the television series. The second direct-to-video sequel, Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle , was released on June 23, 2015. Curious George: Royal Monkey
4400-419: The film's production process, many screenwriters wrote potential scripts for the project, including Joe Stillman , Dan Gerson , Babaloo Mandel , Lowell Ganz , Mike Werb , Brian Levant , David Reynolds , and Audrey Wells . Kirschner said that screenwriter Pat Proft wrote a live action draft of the film that contained a lot of "funny stuff", but was also focusing on the relationship between The Man with
4488-524: The film, featuring songs by Jack Johnson and others. In its first week on Billboard 200 albums chart, the soundtrack made it to the #1 spot, making it Jack Johnson's first number one album ( In Between Dreams peaked at two, On and On peaked at three) and making it the first soundtrack to reach number one since the Bad Boys II soundtrack in August 2003 and the first soundtrack to an animated film to top
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#17328555000124576-494: The film. However, Guterman left the project reportedly after budget concerns about the film's special effects led Universal and Imagine to postpone production. By January 1999, the project continued to be "in active development". Universal and Imagine were in finalizing a deal with Brad Bird to write and direct a Curious George film that combined live action and computer-generated imagery (CGI) in October 1999, but Bird left
4664-445: The first animated film from Imagine Entertainment . The film had languished in development hell at Imagine Entertainment since at least 1992, but it is possible that it was conceived years before. The film employs a notable blend of traditional animation and CGI scenery and objects that make up 20% of its environment. The soundtrack was composed by Heitor Pereira and features several songs by musician Jack Johnson . Curious George
4752-453: The ground, such as baboons . Most species are mainly active during the day ( diurnal ). Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent , especially the Old World monkeys. Within suborder Haplorhini , the simians are a sister group to the tarsiers – the two members diverged some 70 million years ago. New World monkeys and catarrhine monkeys emerged within the simians roughly 35 million years ago. Old World monkeys and apes emerged within
4840-530: The groups; most New World monkeys have long tails, with those in the Atelidae family being prehensile , while Old World monkeys have non-prehensile tails or no visible tail at all. Old World monkeys have trichromatic color vision like that of humans, while New World monkeys may be trichromatic, dichromatic , or—as in the owl monkeys and greater galagos — monochromatic . Although both the New and Old World monkeys, like
4928-493: The house of the Man with the Yellow Hat. Although the Man with the Yellow Hat is unnamed in both the original books and telefilm books, he receives his name in the Curious George TV series and is known as "Theodore Shackleford". Sometimes dubbed the "Original Adventures", these original seven titles are completely by the series creators, Margret & H. A. Rey. Before appearing in his own series, Curious George appeared as
5016-399: The idol appear 40 feet tall. Ted shows the projector to Mr. Bloomsberry, who sees it as the only way to save the museum and tells Ted that he is proud of him. Still jealous, Junior pours some of his coffee on the projector and gives the rest to George, blaming him when the projector breaks. With his plan derailed, Ted sadly informs the public that the museum will permanently close and that there
5104-422: The idol with the help of his guide, Edu, but it is only three inches tall. He sends a photograph of it to the museum, but the photograph's angle leads Mr. Bloomsberry to believe that the idol is even larger than he thought. After that, Ted encounters a happy and mischievous but lonely orphaned monkey, who follows him and boards the cargo ship, not wanting to be left alone. Ted returns home and finds advertisements for
5192-469: The look of the cars in the book, which Tsumura describes as bearing the look of the 1940s and 1950s; according to production designer Yarrow Cheney , the filmmakers also partnered with Volkswagen to design Clovis' red car that Ted drives, simplifying the design and rounding the edges. Music is so important to the movie. Our main character doesn't speak. He makes little noises. He squeaks. ... Since George doesn't speak, Jack [Johnson] decided he wanted to be
5280-509: The makers of the very respectable Winnie the Pooh films managed to avoid". 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 . Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George is the soundtrack to
5368-415: The monkey group as sister of the old world monkeys, characteristics that describe monkeys are generally shared by apes as well. Williams et al. outlined evolutionary features, including in stem groupings, contrasted against the other primates such as the tarsiers and the lemuriformes . Monkeys range in size from the pygmy marmoset , which can be as small as 117 mm ( 4 + 5 ⁄ 8 in) with
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#17328555000125456-461: The museum, Ted impulsively volunteers to travel to Africa to bring back an ancient 40-foot-tall idol, the Lost Shrine of Zagawa, hoping that it will attract new visitors. Jealous of Ted's constant praise from Mr. Bloomsberry, Junior burns half the map to sabotage the exhibition. Ted is outfitted with a bright yellow suit and hat and boards a cargo ship to Africa. In the jungle of Africa , Ted finds
5544-514: The outsourcing of the animation to studios around the world, including studios in the United States, Canada, France, Taiwan, and South Korea. The proportions of George and Ted were kept consistent with the books' illustrations, but their character designs were updated to accommodate the big screen, with O'Callaghan noting that they gave them eyes, pupils, teeth, etc. so Ted could enunciate dialog or to create strong expressions with George. CG supervisor Thanh John Nguyen states that they tried to duplicate
5632-495: The project in 2000 when he was hired at Pixar . In July 2001, the newly merged Vivendi Universal acquired Houghton Mifflin, with plans to make Curious George the company's new mascot, coincident with the film's development and release (Houghton Mifflin would be sold the following year due to Vivendi's mounting financial pressures). Bird left the project after the studios decided to shift the film to all-CGI, and in December, Universal
5720-473: The real idol, which they find in the jungle. The real idol is displayed in the museum, which reopens with new interactive exhibits and Ted is praised as a hero for saving the museum. During the celebration of the reopening, Junior, despite his sadness over not getting his parking lot, gets a job as a valet, and finds joy in his father finally being proud of him, and Ivan, who has grown fond of George, invites Ted to move back into his apartment. Ted and Maggie share
5808-452: The rights to Curious George in 1990, a live action feature was planned; by 1999, Brad Bird was in talks to direct the film as a combination of live action and CG. The success of Shrek in 2001 led Imagine co-chairman Brian Grazer to shift the film towards all-CG, saying at the time that George would be easy to convey in CGI animation rather than in live-action mix. Eventually, a final decision
5896-433: The series was released on the streaming service Peacock on July 15, 2020. The 2017 film Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George's Creators documents the lives of Hans and Margret Rey including their flight from France during the 1940 invasion by Germany , their life in the United States, and their creation of the Curious George children's books. A minimal-animation 16 mm film called Curious George Rides
5984-489: The shrine all over the city. In Ted's apartment building, the monkey makes his way to the penthouse and vandalizes the walls of Ted's neighbor, Miss Plushbottom, with paint. Due to the building's strict no-pet policy, Ted is evicted by Ivan, the Russian doorman. At the museum, Ted reveals the idol's actual size to Mr. Bloomsberry and is kicked out by Junior after the monkey accidentally destroys an Apatosaurus skeleton. After
6072-442: The story elements, and came up with the story of the film. They expanded the role of The Man in the Yellow Hat and gave him a name, making the script more like a buddy film rather than one that was focused primarily on George. The final script contained scenes inspired by many of the earlier books, including Curious George , Curious George Takes a Job , and Curious George Flies a Kite . When Imagine Entertainment obtained
6160-428: The story of his capture by the Man with the Yellow Hat, who takes him on a ship to "the big city" where he will live in a zoo . The second book, Curious George Takes a Job (1947), begins with George living in the zoo, from which he escapes and has several adventures before the Man with the Yellow Hat finds him and takes George to live at his house. The remaining five stories describe George's adventures while living at
6248-470: The story of how the Man with the Yellow Hat, a tour guide at a museum, first befriended a curious monkey named George and started going on adventures with him around the city while attempting to save the museum from closure. It is the first theatrically-released animated film from Universal Pictures since 1995's Balto , the first theatrical animated film from Universal Animation Studios (making this Universal's first in-house theatrical animated film), and
6336-424: The superfamily Cercopithecoidea) from Africa and Asia. Apes (hominoids)—consisting of gibbons , orangutans , gorillas , chimpanzees and bonobos , and humans —are also catarrhines but were classically distinguished from monkeys. Tailless monkeys may be called "apes", incorrectly according to modern usage; thus the tailless Barbary macaque is historically called the "Barbary ape". As apes have emerged in
6424-574: The terms monkeys and simians synonyms in regard to their scope. In 1812, Étienne Geoffroy grouped the apes and the Cercopithecidae group of monkeys together and established the name Catarrhini , "Old World monkeys" (" singes de l'Ancien Monde " in French ). The extant sister of the Catarrhini in the monkey ("singes") group is the Platyrrhini (New World monkeys). Some nine million years before
6512-466: The terms "monkey" and "ape" are widely used interchangeably. Also, a few monkey species have the word "ape" in their common name, such as the Barbary ape . Later in the first half of the 20th century, the idea developed that there were trends in primate evolution and that the living members of the order could be arranged in a series, leading through "monkeys" and "apes" to humans. Monkeys thus constituted
6600-583: The two live together. George and the Man in the Yellow Hat become friends. George's first appearance was as a monkey named "Fifi" in the book Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys , which was first published in France during 1939 in the late years. The popularity of the character led the Reys to feature "George" in his own series. The original series was written by the husband-and-wife team of Hans Augusto (H. A.) Rey and Margret Rey . The Jewish couple fled Paris in June 1940, on bicycles they had made themselves, carrying
6688-587: The voice cast from the original film returned for the sequels. In July 2010, shortly after the release of their first film, Despicable Me , Illumination Entertainment was reportedly developing an animated film based on the book, but the project never materialized. In August 2016, Andrew Adamson was in negotiations to direct, write, and produce a live-action adaptation of Curious George for Universal Pictures, along with Ron Howard , Brian Grazer , David Kirschner , Jon Shapiro, and Erica Huggins serving as executive producers for it. By March 2020, Jim Taylor
6776-469: The voice of George. So his songs provide the narrative. —Kathy Nelson, president of film music at Universal The film's instrumental score was composed by Heitor Pereira , who replaced Klaus Badelt . Hans Zimmer and Kathy Nelson served as the film's executive music producers. Jack Johnson was hired to write and perform the songs in the film. Johnson said that he was originally asked to write two songs for Curious George , but his enthusiasm for
6864-438: The yellow Hat who is George's best friend and caretaker. The Man often facilitates George's adventures by taking him somewhere, and even more often resolves the tension by intervening just in time to get George out of a tight spot. He is always seen wearing a bright yellow suit and a wide brimmed yellow hat . The Man is never mentioned by name in the original adventures or in any subsequent content over more than six decades. He
6952-563: Was going on in the film. I tried to make metaphors that describe the scene better than trying to exactly match what was going on". Johnson said that many of the film's songs were written for or inspired by his eldest son. The world premiere of Curious George took place on January 28, 2006 at the ArcLight Hollywood in Los Angeles, California. The film was released to 2,566 theaters in the following month on February 10, opened alongside
7040-450: Was in development at Illumination Entertainment in the beginning of the 2010s. In August 2016, Andrew Adamson was in negotiations to direct, co-write, and executive produce a live action film for Universal Pictures, along with Ron Howard , Brian Grazer , David Kirschner , Jon Shapiro and Erica Huggins producing it. A Curious George video game was released on February 2, 2006, published by Namco and developed by Monkey Bar Games ,
7128-436: Was in negotiations with David Silverman to direct the film. By September 2003, Jun Falkenstein signed on to direct the screenplay, but was later fired by the studio and replaced by Matthew O'Callaghan in August 2004. According to Stacey Snider, then-chairman of Universal Pictures, it was challenging to turn the relatively simple Curious George books into a full-length film with substantial character development. During
7216-433: Was made to use traditional 2D animation for the film to recreate the look and feel of the Curious George books. According to executive producer Ken Tsumura, CGI animation was used to create the environments for 20 percent of the film, including the city scenes, in order to allow objects to move in 3D space. A strict production schedule resulted in all animation work having to be completed within 18 months; Tsumura oversaw
7304-483: Was released in the United States by Universal Pictures on February 10, 2006. It was met with generally positive reviews, but only grossed $ 70 million worldwide against a budget of $ 50 million. Curious George made $ 48 million in DVD sales in the home market. It received five sequels, though none of them were released theatrically. A happy and mischievous but lonely orphaned monkey lives in the jungle of Africa . Meanwhile, Ted
7392-408: Was released on DVD on September 10, 2019. A fourth sequel titled Curious George: Go West, Go Wild premiered on September 8, 2020 on Peacock , and was also released on DVD and digital on December 15. A fifth sequel, Curious George: Cape Ahoy , serving as the sixth and final film of the series, was released on Peacock on September 30, 2021. With the exceptions of Frank Welker and Ed O'Ross, none of
7480-448: Was released on March 2, 2010. The plot for the sequel centers around George becoming friends with a young elephant named Kayla. George tries to help Kayla travel across the country to be reunited with her family. A second sequel, Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle was released on June 23, 2015. A third sequel, Curious George: Royal Monkey , serving as the fourth film of the series, which is flash-animated instead of traditionally animated
7568-510: Was released on September 10, 2019, while Curious George: Go West, Go Wild was released on Peacock on September 20, 2020. A sixth and final film, Curious George: Cape Ahoy , was released on Peacock on September 30, 2021. A Christmas film, Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas , was released in 2009 on PBS . "Curious George Swings Into Spring" and "Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest" were released in 2013. On Monday, August 6, it began to re-run on Cartoonito . A live action/animated film
7656-468: Was removed in 2023. The attraction was also featured at Universal Studios Hollywood until its removal in 2013. In February 2006, the Curious George brand partnered with Welch's jelly for a collection of six jars. In the latter part of that decade (when the new film and the new television show were released), licensing deals for the character generally involved less upscale, more kid-focused products. Earlier, Vivendi Universal (now NBCUniversal ) had—for
7744-421: Was then released on Blu-ray on March 3, 2015. Curious George grossed a total of $ 48.3 million in DVD and Blu-ray sales. 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 ,
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