by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Every Friday night, my oldest daughter gets to pick what we watch for family movie night. We’ve been doing this since 2020, so we’ve exhausted many of the standard options that people would think of, like Disney Princess movies, Pixar, most of DreamWorks, Illumination, and even some dabbling with the live action movies on Disney+. But there’s one movie my wife and I have been begging my daughter to pick, and after about three months, she finally came around to the 1997 Disney version of George of the Jungle.
Famous animation-to-live-action movies don’t historically perform well, nor are they well received. I was pretty surprised at how many critics and fans didn’t like this movie. Letterboxd has this at a 2.7 rating, and its critics score on Rotten Tomatoes is 55%. Both say similar things about how Geroge of the Jungle can’t sustain a movie with much depth, nor can it translate the charm of the cartoon into film. Although I do concede that the plot doesn’t reinvent the wheel, George of the Jungle is oozing with charm, specifically from the lead, Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser.
‘90s Fraser is on full display in George of the Jungle. He’s a goofy and lovable character whose ear-to-ear smile endears us to him immediately. What makes George such a fun character, though, is that he has an amazing heart. Living in the jungle for nearly his entire life, George sees the best in everyone and rarely gets angry. Fraser just embodies charisma, and this will go down as one of my favorite performances of his long career. He’s a kid at heart, and although he sometimes can come off as immature, he’s also the king of the jungle for a reason. There are some genuine moments of George helping animals around the jungle, and when he finally encounters Ursula (Leslie Mann), he does everything he can to help her.
Fraser’s chemistry with Mann is on full display. They play off of one another really well. Their stories are interconnected, because they both play fish-out-of-water in their own comfortable settings. What’s striking about their chemistry, though, is that they get the best out of one another. George tells Ursula to relax and enjoy life, and Ursula shows him what’s out in the world beyond the jungle. Their relationship feels organic, and it’s an amazing ride, watching them flourish together. The highlight of their courtship is when they are dancing around a fire in the jungle after spending a day together. Between the music (I adore the song they play during this part, “Dela” by Johnny Clegg and Savuka) and the playful way that Fraser encourages her to let go, this is the highlight of the movie for me.
Fraser isn’t the only one who chews up the scenery, as Ursula’s fiancé Lyle (Thomas Haden Church) is the main villain of the movie. Lyle is a cartoon villain through and through; the only thing missing is a literal mustache to twirl. He constantly schemes to get his way, and even has two henchmen named Max (George Cruttwell) and Thor (Abraham Benrubi) to do his bidding. I still don’t understand how Lyle and Ursula made it to their engagement, because the only reason they feel together is because Ursula’s parents want them to get married. He treats her extremely badly, gaslighting her constantly, while also attempting to mansplain everything, even if he doesn’t know what’s up. Church is amazing in this role, though. He brings the physical comedy chops, in addition to being an amazing punching bag. I honestly didn’t think Church had this type of performance in him.
George has a lovable band of sidekicks, starting with An Ape Named Ape (John Cleese). Surviving as a father figure to George, Ape provides sage wisdom to George, while also coaching him on his relationship with Ursula. Cleese is given a lot of fart jokes and side comments, but they still make me laugh. Ape also tends to George’s amazing treehouse, along with other gorillas. Tookie the Toucan and Shep the Elephant are endearing enough, even if neither of them has a lot to do. Shep’s special effects are very dated (in fact all of the special effects are), but watching an Elephant act like a dog at least made my daughter laugh.
One of my favorite aspects of George of the Jungle is the use of the narrator (Keith Scott). I typically don’t like someone narrating the story in a film, but Scott does such a fantastic job, and makes it a fun experience. The narrator starts off as a smart Alec voice that offers jokes and insight, and by the end, he fights with the characters and doesn’t take the role too seriously. Scott also has an outstanding voice for narrating. They even bring him back for the sequel, although the back tread of nearly every joke is frustrating.
George of the Jungle is my favorite live action adaptation of a beloved cartoon property. Others that tried like The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and The Smurfs don’t have the charm that George of the Jungle does. Fraser is the difference maker, even though my argument is slightly undercut by the existence of Dudley Do-Right. It’s a fun movie that has over-the-top performances and jokes that even my daughter rolled her eyes at. I get why critics don’t like this movie — there’s not a whole of substance — but I wouldn’t even call it a guilty pleasure of mine. I still have my old VHS copy, so it is a movie near and dear to my heart.
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