Animated / Children
81 Minutes / 2015
Rating: 7/10

We might wonder why it hadn’t happened sooner. The third film begins with the unflappable man in the yellow hat finally getting tired of the trouble George keeps getting himself in. He wants everyone’s favorite monkey to learn a new word: “caution.”

But when an opportunity comes up for George to head up into space on a rescue mission, caution goes out the window. Off he goes up, up, up into space, and then, when the space capsule has an equipment malfunction, down, down, down he falls, crash-landing in the jungles of Africa. While the man in the yellow hat thinks “jungles are no place for a monkey,” George has a great time meeting all sorts of animals and making friends of them all. Those friendships will serve him well when George and his best friend join forces and have to make their way through the forest’s most treacherous areas.

CAUTIONS

There is a brief scene in the museum where, in the background, we see a display touting the evolution of man. It’s a line-up with a model of a modern man on one side, a large monkey-like creature on the other, and a few caveman-like creatures in between. My children didn’t understand what it was all about, but George does bring it to notice by jumping into the line-up, falling in behind a large monkey creature. The whole thing lasts just a few seconds.

Another more notable caution is a scene in which the man in the yellow hat takes the role of “dumb dad.” This is a pretty common theme in film and on TV, with the kid (or, in this case, monkey) portrayed as wiser than his parents who just don’t get it. But unlike some films, in which this disrespectful (and running right up against the fifth commandment) attitude is a key element in the whole movie, this is just one scene. I brought it to my kids’ attention because this is a mild example of something they’ll see again and again, which made for a good teaching moment.

CONCLUSION

This is quite a good film, but not a great one, striking me as being more like an extended episode of the TV series than a feature film. But if your family loves George then they are sure to love this too. It’s a rollicking, silly, goofy adventure – very much the typical Curious George fare.