Curious George has been loved by generations of readers since Margret and H.A. Rey first put the inquisitive little fellow in print in 1941. Children who listened in rapt attention as their parents read to them, grew up to read Curious George to their children.

Margret Rey once said, "I know what I liked as a child, and I don't do any book that I, as a child, wouldn't have liked." She and her husband understood the child's sense of wonder, and that's why their books are still beloved. There's nothing cynical or jaded about George. He's just a loveable little monkey whose curiosity leads him into lots of good-natured adventures.

Similarly, this is a loveable little movie with its own share of good-natured adventures—and it's one of those rarities that can truly be called a "children's movie." There's no winking Shrek-ish or Madagascar-esque humor (no flatulent mud baths, thank you), no pop-culture references aimed squarely at the parents. This is a completely sweet and innocent film crafted just for the kids—much as the Reys wrote their beloved books.

"George can do what kids can't do," Margret Rey once said. "He can paint a room from the inside. He can hang from a kite in the sky. He can let the animals out of their pens on the farm. He can do all these naughty things that kids would like to do."

The filmmakers, for the most part, do justice to the Reys' whimsical vision—not only thematically, but visually. The original books featured basic four-color printing, and the movie, which is free of computer graphics, replicates the soft watercolor look that is so much a part of the picture books.

The opening sequences are among the film's best, in both visuals and story. We see George swinging from trees and getting ...

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