Main Cast: Brendan Fraser, Leslie Mann, Thomas Haden Church, Richard Roundtree, John Cleese
Release Year: 1997
Country: US
Run Time: 91 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Jay Ward's fondly-remembered cartoon series about a klutzy king of the jungle gets the big-screen, live-action treatment in this comedy from Walt Disney Pictures. A young boy named George becomes lost in the jungles of the African nation of Bukuvu following a plane crash, where he's rescued and raised to manhood by an articulate ape called Ape (voice of John Cleese). George grows to become a strapping adult (played by Brendan Fraser) who is cheerful and good-hearted but not terribly bright, not to mention his nasty habit of running into trees while swinging on vines from one part of the jungle to another. Ursula Stanhope (Leslie Mann), an heiress from San Francisco, travels to Bukuvu for a safari, both to satisfy her thirst for adventure and because she's trying to get away from the snooty Lyle Van Der Groot (Thomas Haden Church), whom she is engaged to marry even though she doesn't like him very much. Lyle follows Ursula to Bukuvu, hoping to catch up with her and locate the legendary White Ape of the Jungle; when Ursula becomes stranded and is rescued by George, Lyle is determined to rescue her from the savage ape man, even though George is a greater threat to himself than anyone else. George finds himself infatuated with the lovely Ursula, and he hopes to win her heart, even though he's a bit rusty on the particulars of the human courtship ritual (Ape tries to help by lending him a copy of "Coffee, Tea, or Me?"). We also get to meet George's faithful pet Shep, an elephant who seems to have gotten the idea that he's a Cocker Spaniel. Blaxploitation legend Richard Roundtree also appears as Bukuvu dignitary Kwame. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
If the Pauly Shore vehicle Encino Man served a useful purpose, it may have been to demonstrate the perfect pairing of Brendan Fraser and any role requiring primitive grunts and loincloths. And so it was, five years later, that Fraser's enthusiastic ape mannerisms found a more flattering home with George of the Jungle, Disney's live-action adaptation of the Jay Ward cartoon. Buoyed by a satirically over-dramatic narrator who banters with the characters, the film breezes through its running time, making the "watch out for that tree" joke a few too many times, but not to excess. The casting of Fraser might have been so natural as to seem obvious, but the producers picked a fortuitous supporting cast that does as much as the lead to animate this cartoon jungle. Leslie Mann is an ideal compliment in the Jane role, with the voice of a purring kitten and the googly eyes of a silent film star. As Mann's fiancée, sitcom malcontent Thomas Haden Church takes boorishness to similar extremes. Jim Henson's workshop also plays a role in establishing tone, but not as integrally as one might think. They get good mileage from the impractically rambunctious elephant Shep, but George's benefactor, the ape named Ape, receives too much attention from the camera to work as a seamless effect. John Cleese's persona does not synch up well with the character, his readings too effete and detached for this cuddly world. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
David M. Haber - Art Director, Mark Zuelzke - Art Director, Terry Austin - Associate Producer, Paula Endara - Associate Producer, Cathy Sandrich - Casting, Amanda Mackey-Johnson - Casting, Lou Arkoff - Co-producer, Lisa Jensen - Costume Designer, K.C. Colwell - First Assistant Director, Sam Weisman - Director, Steve Boyum - Second Unit Director, Stuart H. Pappe - Editor, Roger Bondelli - Editor, C. Tad Devlin - Executive Producer, Marc Shaiman - Composer (Music Score), Stephen Marsh - Production Designer, Thomas E. Ackerman - Cinematographer, Jon Avnet - Producer, Jordan Kerner - Producer, David Hoberman - Producer, Kathryn Peters - Set Designer, Dream Quest Images - Special Effects, Jim Henson's Creature Shop - Special Effects, David Kelson - Sound Mixer, Seth Arnett - Stunts, Dana Olsen - Screenwriter, Audrey Wells - Screenwriter
Ursula Stanhope (Leslie Mann) is a beautiful, blonde San Francisco heiress, reluctantly engaged to marry Lyle Van De Groot (Thomas Haden Church), who seems more attached to his fiancee's wealth than to her. On an expedition to Central Africa, joined by Lyle, two poachers hired by Lyle named Max and Thor, and a quartet of African men led by Mr. Kwame, Ursula learns of the legend of the "White Ape" from Mr. Kwame. The legend describes the ape as a super strong man who rules the jungles of Africa. The group discover the Ape Mountain where the White Ape lives. Lyle causes trouble for Ursula and her porters, one of them falling off a rope bridge when Lyle shakes it about and he then abandons Ursula when the two are attacked by a lion. Ursula is saved by the White Ape, revealed to be a Tarzan-like man named George (Brendan Fraser). George takes her to his treehouse home where the rest of his family lives - an intelligent talking ape named Ape (John Cleese); Shep, George's pet "dog", really an African elephant; Tookie Bird, a toucan; and Little Monkey, a small monkey. George has a habit of crashing into trees while vine-swinging and is rather childish. He falls in love with Ursula, attempting to impress her like a gorilla but when this fails, he instead dances with her around a campfire.
Lyle, Max, Thor, Kwame and the porters (who spend most of the film speaking in Swahili, but it is revealed they speak English) search for Ursula. Lyle, Max and Thor locate Ursula but when George runs in to defend Ursula, Lyle shoots him with a pistol, believing it was a cigar lighter. George survives (as according to the Narrator, no one dies in the film and he's the hero) and is taken to San Francisco by Ursula where he finds this "jungle" completely different from his own. He is introduced to Ursula's proud parents, Beatrice (Holland Taylor) and Arthur (John Bennett Perry), Beatrice being very distraught when she hears Lyle is in prison. She tells George in a way he will understand that he and Ursula can never become a couple. Tookie Bird appears to George and tells him that Ape was kidnapped by Max and Thor who plan to use him to become rich and famous. George returns to Africa, with Ursula not far behind. George locates Max, Thor and Ape at his treehouse where he, Ursula and George's animal family defeat the two. Lyle appears, having escaped prison and becoming a ceremonial minister. He kidnaps Ursula to forcefully make her marry him. George manages to escape five of Lyle's men and chases the two who end up falling down some river rapids. George performs "the biggest swing in jungle history" to save Ursula while Lyle ends up getting married to a lovestruck kissing female gorilla.
After admitting they love each other, George and Ursula are married in a lavish jungle celebration and eventually have a son named George Jr. George holds Jr. at the top of the pride rock, and all the animals are gathered there to see him, similar to The Lion King, where Rafiki held Simba. At the end, Ape travels to Las Vegas, Nevada where he becomes a performer, and the final scenes show him using Max and Thor as stage props in his program.
In the opening animated sequence, various animals swing on vines with young George, his "dog" Shep fetches a crocodile instead of a log, and a wildebeest falls in love with a bushman wearing a wildebeest mask.
In the live action movie, a whole host of animals are seen. George fights with a lion, accidentally swings on a snake instead of a vine, rides an elephant, talks to a bird, and lives with various monkeys and apes.
The lion, elephant, and bird scenes were all filmed with a mix of real animals, puppetry (especially for the lion fight), and CGI (to show the elephant acting like a dog). The scenes with the orangutan and the capuchin monkeys were filmed with live animals, but some computer work was used in a scene wherein the little monkey imitates George. The large Apes who live with George were all costumed actors or animatronic figures. In the "Pride Rock" scene, when George presents his son to the animals, CGI work is again used. [1]
Soundtrack
Track #2, the Johnny Clegg song "Dela", also features the first few bars of the George of the Jungle theme song.
