Search - Curious George (Collector's Edition) on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 1/28/2023...

Fun for the whole family! A must watch!

Unusual...But My Son Loves It

Janet Boyer | Pennsylvania | 04/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ever since my son saw Curious George at the theater, he's been into the whole George scene. He has a stuffed George, the PS2 game, several books (one based on the movie and two from H.A. Rey), etc.

When he saw this DVD at the store, he wanted it (of course). It was very affordable, so I bought it for him.

I was VERY surprised to find out that, despite the illustrations on the box, it is NOT an animated film or collection of animated stories. It's not even stills of the Rey books with voice actors reading the story.

No, what this Collector's Edition DVD is made up of is two Curious George stories done in stop motion with puppets. Although it's unusual to see at first, it has TOTALLY entranced my son. He watches it a least once a day...and this has been going on since before Easter.

However, there are only two actual Curious George stories on this DVD: Curious George Comes to America and Curious George Goes to the Hospital. The first story, created circa early 1980's, is about the Man in the Yellow Hat and his initial meeting with George...including his decision to bring George to the city. George's shipboard antics gets him in BIG trouble!

The second story has George going to the hospital when he swallows a puzzle piece. He's rushed to the emergency room (which is a rather odd storyline for young kids), but ends up forgetting his fears...instead cheering up other people.

The rest of the DVD includes four stop animation/claymation stories (NOT featuring George):

*Frog and Toad Together
*Frog and Toad Are Friends
*Mouse Soup
*Morris Has a Cold

There's also a "making of" at the end.

One of the episodes is absolutely hilarious. It features two rocks bemoaning how they don't have eyes and such. They break out in song "We don't have belly buttons..." and as they mention various body parts, the parts magically appear. It's clever and very funny...my husband and I make sure we're in front of the TV every time it's on! (You gotta see it to appreciate it, believe me...)

So if you're looking for 100% Curious George, you may be disappointed. But at this affordable price--and considering the length (almost 2 hours)--I think it's a good buy for something different for the youngsters."

A Great Animator

M. Bell | New Zealand | 08/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John Clark Matthews is a rare talent and his "Curious George" creation is a true masterpiece. The attention to detail is impressive as is his use of music and voices. Take the scene when George is put in jail, for instance. This is truly touching, pure, innocent and beautiful.

These animations, here including the "Frog and Toad" series from the 1980s are a delight to children. Our daughter has watched them over and over and has brought joy to all of us. These make much of what is produced today look like banal rubbish.

Matthews must also be a modest person, it is difficult to find information on him today. The "makings of" on this DVD are also very interesting but be careful about letting the kids see him taking George's face off the puppet (might be a little upsetting!)

I advise any discerning parent to buy this for the mental health of your child... and the community at large! The world needs more of this kind of refined art.

"

Not for My 3 Year-old

Steve Cavallaro | Central Florida | 03/04/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"She loves the one Curious George book we have. I bought it on a whim at the store. She cried the first time we watched it (she did like Frog & Toad). The second time, we couldn't make it past the first Curious George episode. Watching him nearly drown, him turning green on pipe smoke and then worried about the fire trucks. My tender-hearted girl who doesn't watch much TV (we do watch some Veggie Tales together) just couldn't get past that."