Curious George (2006)

Curious George arrives from 2006 with the gentle, uncomplicated bearing of a children's book adaptation that has no interest in the culture wars. The voice cast is led by Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, David Cross, Eugene Levy, Joan Plowright, and Dick Van Dyke. It is an ensemble whose whiteness is not remarked upon because the film never thinks to remark upon anything. A cargo ship crewman and a doorman are voiced by non-white actors, but these are functional roles, not statements. The African jungle is an exotic backdrop for adventure, untouched by any inquiry into race, colonialism, or who exactly owns the shrine. Representation here is a matter of arithmetic, and the arithmetic is modest.

On other fronts the film is equally innocent. There are no LGBTQ characters or themes. Maggie Dunlop is a schoolteacher love interest, and the narrative belongs to Ted and his monkey, so feminist concerns do not arise. Climate anxiety is absent; the natural world exists to be explored and painted. Body positivity and neurodivergence make no appearance. The film is a faithful, soft adaptation of the Reys' books, so revisionist history is not on the menu. The one flicker of social critique comes from Junior, who wants to demolish the museum for a parking lot. That is a parking lot villain, not a systemic indictment. The museum is saved by public enthusiasm and interactive exhibits. Commerce is not challenged. It is merely redecorated.

Lecture energy is nil. The film offers curiosity and friendship in the vague, warm manner of a bedtime story, and it never stops to explain its moral. No sermons, no lessons, no finger wagging. It is the sort of family entertainment that trusts a monkey in a yellow hat to carry the day. The result is harmless, soft, and almost aggressively prelapsarian. The sommelier swirls the glass, finds no challenging vintage, and sets it down beside the juice box.