George of the Jungle (1997)Starring: Brendan Fraser, Leslie Mann, Thomas Haden Church
Directed by: Sam Weisman
It's 2016 and I'm back to doing what I normally do every couple of months: reviewing a string of Disney films. This time, I wanted to do something very different. In the past, I stayed as close to the theatrical animated movies as possible. But I realized I was leaving a lot of Disney's popular live action movies out of the shuffle. To rectify that, I'm going to go through my DVD collection and review some of my favorites this month. With that in mind, let's talk about George of the Jungle. We live in a modern era of film where most movie adaptations of older cartoons are disasters. And on paper, this film may seem that way too. Yet, it's actually a really well-made family film. And I'm not just saying that from a kid who grew up enjoying this film. I've seen the movie twice now in the last year and I can honestly say that a lot of it still holds up really well. I even find new jokes and subtleties that I hadn't noticed in previous viewings. How can a movie with the premise of a Tarzan-like spoof possibly achieve that? That's what we're here to find out.
The first thing that really works about George of the Jungle is its cast. Brendan Fraser is really good as George, Leslie Mann is really good as Ursula, Thomas Haden Church is really good as Lyle. These are three well-known entertainers who know their way around comedy, and they're dedication to the jokes and gimmick of the movie is spot on. They never treat their roles like they're jokes. They are committed to keeping this light-hearted, but sincere with the delivery. And it really works. But my favorite member of the cast is John Cleese voicing the talking ape named Ape. He adds a level of class and civility to a talking animal that is truly memorable and hilarious to watch. And it isn't hammered in just how much of a joke it is. Again, it's handled in a very subtle way. George talks to Ape like he would a brother, so it's never in question. Ursula, for the longest time, believes that Ape talking is a hallucinations, so she goes on with it like it's part of a dream. When other characters discover it, they're surprised, but they don't spend a lot of time harping on it. In fact, many characters end up discussing and arguing with him like he's a regular human being. Wouldn't you probably spend at least an hour going "Holy crap! How does that ape know how to speak perfect English in a British accent?" Yet here, it's almost treated as commonplace in order to keep the narrative flowing, while also being self-aware. That's a bit of cleverness I wouldn't have imagined showing up in a film like this.What also works well for the film is the jokes. For a Disney family film, it is insanely witty with the delivery. Not every joke works, but for the most part, it's miraculous how much of it isn't dependent on toilet humor or a lot of pop culture references. A lot of it is very self-contained and heavily meta in the humor. Heck, we have a narrator that goes out of his way to remind the audience that we are watching a movie, so not everything needs to be taken seriously. The narrator also breaks the wall a number of times to actually interact with the other characters. Again, this could have been handled very poorly for many films, but it works really well in George of the Jungle. I think a lot of it boils down to the actors and filmmakers knowing that they didn't have to take things so seriously, but also knowing how to be smart about it.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
George of the Jungle proved to be a very funny movie with some good comedic performances. Smart on delivery and a fun story for viewers of all ages to enjoy, I can truly recommend the film as a live action gem from Disney that deserves to be watched at least once.
George of the Jungle and movie images are copyrighted by Walt Disney Pictures
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