With that caveat, on to review proper. Jay Ward is something of a legend in the world of animation: it is in his honor that Homer, Bart, and Abe Simpson all bear the middle initial "J." Mr. Ward's creations include such cartoon classics as Bullwinkle and Rocky, Boris and Natasha, and Peabody and Sherman. I'm not as familiar with the original television George of the Jungle as with his other cartoons (I do my Bullwinkle impersonation at the drop of a hat), but I do know that it featured the three hallmarks of other Jay Ward shows: great writing, great voices, and limited animation. In that respect, it was one up on The Flintstones, which like the Jay Ward cartoons had great voices, limited animation, but poor writing.
Ever since the 1994 Flintstones movie which raked in nine figures despite dismal reviews, there have been other cartoons that Hollywood producers have considered giving a live-action treatment to (I can just see some Hollywood hack trying to sell The Jetsons starring Kevin Kline, or The Simpsons with George Wendt). Compared to some other possible cartoon projectes, adapting George of the Jungle was a good choice from both a financial and artistic angle. It was a quality source to begin with, the theme song is well-known, even if the cartoon itself is less famous, and it was easy enough to steal a decent plot for it: Crocodile Dundee Redux!
The film exceeded all financial projections, earning $125 million domestically. This may have been because it was seen as the best "family movie" of the summer. Though I don't know about calling it a family movie, still it certainly was superior to Disney's other summer release, Hercules.
After an animated theme-song/prologue (curiously, not in the Jay Ward style), we plunge into Africa, where Ursula (Leslie Mann) is on safari. However, her boorish fiance Lyle (Thomas Haden Church) bumbles into camp and patronizes everybody. Anyway, in short order, Ursula is in danger of being a lion. However, she is saved and carried away by the mysterious "white ape": George himself (Brendan Fraser). Through a number of silly plot wrinkles, we (and George) go back to San Francisco, then back to Africa: the plots of both Crocodile Dundee movies for the price of one.
The plot in and of itself is not important, and provides little of the humor of the film. George in the Bay area does make for some laughs, but not so many as Mick Dundee in New York. In addition to tired plot recycling, there are also structural problems. Like many recent films, this one also suffers from what I call the "post-ending ending" syndrome. The film could have ended at one point, but drags on in a coda for another ten minutes until the "real" ending occurs. I appreciate how having a multi-layered climax can help some movies, but they don't all need it. There is also a bit too much scatological humor for a "family" movie, as well? The occasional fart or coconut in the cojones certainly does not add to the film's hilarity.
The real laughs come from the original source: the unctuous narrator (Keith Scott), for instance, who at one point gets into a fight with one of the characters is one of the film's highlights. The narrator was a staple of the Jay Ward cartoons, and was always very funny, just as it is here. Ape and Shep are splendidly realized, the former as an audio-animatronic creation voiced by John Cleese (!), the latter a brilliant CGI creation. Again, both are very funny. The humans pale a bit against the rest, though Thomas Haden Church can be quite amusing in his aggresively offensive mode. Brendan Fraser is perhaps a bit too buff and oily to be George. I don't know: perhaps there is no perfect actor to convey George onscreen. Leslie Mann is the gem of the movie as George's object of desire. With such a high, squeaky voice, you can tell the character has a head filled with helium. Of all the various performers here, she is the one who comes closest to actually portraying a living, breathing cartoon character. If they ever do a live-action Dudley Do-Right, she is a natural to play Nell.
One the whole, mixed but positive. Director Weisman and the screenwriters prove that Jay Ward's mildly anarchic humor can work on the big screen. It is only unfortunate that they gave in to 90's film convention so often with recycled jokes and mild potty humor. Now I'm curious to see how the rumored upcoming Rocky & Bullwinkle movie will turn out. "Nothin' up my sleeve...."
Three stars
Copyright 1998 by Dale G. Abersold
