George Of The Jungle (1997)

George of The Jungle is a live action remake of the 60s’ cartoon of the same name and shares the defining characteristics (dorky George, intellectual ape, cheesy narrator). This film was made in 1997 and has been around longer than I have - much longer! And yet, George of The Jungle is such a likeable, timeless family film! All throughout the movie, I kept thinking “This-and-that reminds me of Tarzan”, which it does; vine-swinging jungle-man George is similar to well-known Tarzan, although his IQ and habit of swinging into trees... not so much.

The movie follows the life of George (Brendan Fraser) opening in colourful credits which are a nod to the series it is based on. As a baby, George finds himself stranded in the jungle after a plane crash; he meets Ape (who is Ape by name, ape by species) an intelligent butler-like primate (voiced by John Cleese) and Shep, an elephant who thinks he is a dog (something to do with George’s training, I assume). After years of no human interaction, George saves rich American explorer, Ursula (Leslie Mann) from a lion in a slapstick, play-fight battle. Ursula falls for him, but George doesn’t realise that, a scheming mother despises that, and Fiancé Lyle is going to stop that. But can he?

This film makes fun of itself and I think that is why I enjoyed it so much! At one point, some clueless antagonists actually argue with the narrator! Actors wink and comment straight at the camera, which gives you a feeling that you are right there with them. George of The Jungle gave you a few big laughs, but there seemed to be a lack of plot. But, if you just feel like a bit of nonsense will do you good, turn this film on! We all get those moments when we need something lighthearted and cheesy.

This was a fun movie, but, that being said, it felt like George of The Jungle was tying to be a childish comedy and an adult romance at the same time. Nevertheless, it still worked! My favourite line: the narrator kindly reminds us as someone falls of a bridge “Don’t worry, nobody dies in this film. They just get serious boo-boos.”