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| George of the Jungle | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Sam Weisman |
| Screenplay by | |
| Story by | Dana Olsen[1] |
| Based on | |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Thomas E. Ackerman[1] |
| Edited by | |
| Music by | Marc Shaiman[1] |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 92 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States[1] |
| Language | English[1] |
| Budget | $55 million[2][3] |
| Box office | $174.4 million[3] |
George of the Jungle is a 1997 Americancomedy film directed bySam Weisman. It is based on the 1967American animated television series of the same name created byJay Ward andBill Scott, which parodied the fictional characterTarzan byEdgar Rice Burroughs. The screenplay was written byDana Olsen andAudrey Wells. The film starsBrendan Fraser as the title character, alongsideLeslie Mann,Thomas Haden Church,Holland Taylor,Richard Roundtree, andJohn Cleese. The plot follows a man who was raised by animals in the jungle and later falls in love with a wealthy heiress, leading to conflict with her self-absorbed fiancé.
Produced byWalt Disney Pictures, the film was released theatrically in the United States and Canada on July 16, 1997. It premiered on theDisney Channel in the United States on December 5, 1998. The film received mixed reviews from critics but was a commercial success grossing $174 million worldwide. A direct-to-video sequel,George of the Jungle 2, was released on October 21, 2003.
On a flight to the Bukuvu, a baby named George becomes stranded after a plane crash and is raised by the jungle, becoming the "White Ape".
Twenty-five years later, while touring Burundi with local guide Kwame and a trio of porters, San Francisco heiress Ursula Stanhope encounters her spoiled fiancé Lyle van de Groot, who wishes to take her home and has hired two poachers, Max and Thor, to track her down. Ursula refuses to go home until she sees an ape, so Lyle enters the jungle to find them. The two encounter a lion, and while Lyle knocks himself unconscious while fleeing to get help, Ursula is saved by George.
After taking Ursula to his tree house home and caring for her, George introduces her to his three animal friends: Ape, the sapient talking gorilla who raised him; Shep, his pet African forest elephant that acts like a dog; and Tookie, a toco toucan who gives him news involving the jungle's animals. George is smitten with Ursula and attempts to woo her; Ursula soon reciprocates his attraction, and her time spent with George makes her fonder of him.
Lyle, Max, and Thor soon arrive at the treehouse, but Ursula berates Lyle for trying to abandon her during the lion attack. Max and Thor try to shoot Shep for his ivory, and Ape shouts at Shep to run. Everyone is stunned by the sight of the talking ape, and Max and Thor decide to tranquilize and capture him. George runs to stop them, and is accidentally shot by Lyle, who thought the gun was his novelty lighter that he had planned to scare George with. Lyle is imprisoned after being identified as the shooter by the porters. Max and Thor are deported but resolve to return to the treehouse to capture Ape and make a fortune off of him in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Ursula takes George to San Francisco to get medical help for his gunshot wound and to show him the human world, which he has not seen since infancy.
While Ursula is at work, George explores San Francisco on his own and uses his vine-swinging skills to rescue a man whose paraglider has become caught on the suspension cables of theBay Bridge. Ursula admits what happened in Africa to her parents and intends to break off the wedding, but her overbearing mother, Beatrice, objects. At a party intended to celebrate Ursula's engagement, Beatrice takes George aside. She tells him that Ursula's marriage to Lyle must proceed as planned and threatens to harm George if he interferes. In Burundi, Max and Thor tranquilize Ape; before he falls unconscious and is captured, Ape sends Tookie to find George. Tookie flies to San Francisco and informs George of Ape's capture, forcing George to leave Ursula and return to Burundi. While confused by George's unexplained departure, Ursula realizes she loves George and goes to find him, despite her mother's protests.
Max and Thor, having returned to the treehouse after getting turned around by a phony shortcut trail, are confronted by George. He fights and defeats them with help from Ursula and the animals. Lyle then appears, revealed to have escaped from prison and become a legally ordained minister able to perform marriage ceremonies. Lyle has George subdued by a group of mercenaries and forcibly takes Ursula to a boat waiting on the Ape River to perform their marriage rites. However, the ceremony is interrupted by a series of harsh rapids that put them both in danger. George is rescued from the mercenaries with help from Shep and the gorillas, and swings in to reach Ursula and Lyle, but crashes painfully into a massive tree. As the tree falls over the river, George manages to pull Ursula to safety while the rapids lead Lyle into a dark cave. Lyle, thinking Ursula is still in the boat, proclaims their wedding vows, but to his horror and chagrin, he discovers that he has just married himself to a gorilla, who kisses him.
George and Ursula declare their love for each other and marry, with the people of San Francisco, Africa, and the jungle's animals in attendance. Sometime later, the two live in their treehouse and raise a son, George Jr., whom they present to the animals from atop Pride Rock (a parody of another Disney filmThe Lion King).
The beginning of the end credits stops to show that Ape has moved to Las Vegas and has become a famous singer, with a humiliated Max and Thor forced to be part of his performance.
ScreenwriterDana Olsen originally wrote a spec script titledGorilla Boy, a parody ofTarzan told from the perspective of a wealthy American woman similar to the character of Jane. Although Olsen initially believed Disney would not be interested—due to the studio having recently acquired the rights to theGeorge of the Jungle animated series—his agent submitted the script, and Disney acquired it. Olsen was subsequently hired to rewrite the existing screenplay. He later stated that the development process at Disney was collaborative and that he appreciated the studio’s script notes.[7]
Animal scenes in the film were created using a combination of live animals,puppetry, and computer-generated imagery. Scenes involving the lion, elephant, and toucan used a mix of real animals and animatronic or CGI elements, including a puppet lion during the fight sequence andCGI to depict Shep the elephant behaving like a dog. Live animals, including anorangutan,chimpanzee, andcapuchin monkeys, were also used, with minor computer enhancement for certain sequences.[8]
Four adult African lions were used in filming. Joseph and Kaleb were trained by Charlie Sammut of Monterey Zoo inSalinas, California.[9] Sammut also served asBrendan Fraser's stunt double for a lion attack sequence. Additional lions, Bongo and Caesar, were trained by Michael Hackenberger ofBowmanville Zoo.[10] Animatronic puppetry was employed for scenes requiring specific behavior, such as a lion winking at George from behind a bush. Fraser also interacted with a stuffed lion in certain shots.[8]
Thegorilla characters were portrayed by costumed performers fromJim Henson's Creature Shop.[11][8] Their suits were made fromyak hair, and their facial expressions were controlled using remote-operatedanimatronics. Additional visual effects were provided byDream Quest Images.[11][12]
The jungle environment was constructed on asoundstage inPlaya del Rey, Los Angeles. The stage measured approximately 750 feet (230 m) in length, 90 feet (27 m) in width, and 71 feet (22 m) in height at its peak.[11]
George of the Jungle debuted at number two at the North American box office, behindMen in Black, and went on to gross $174.4 million worldwide.[13]
George of the Jungle received mixed reviews from critics.[14] OnRotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 55% based on 53 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "George of the Jungle is faithful to its source material—which, unfortunately, makes it a less-than-compelling feature film."[15] OnMetacritic, it has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 18 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[16] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[17]
Gene Siskel andRoger Ebert both gave the film "two thumbs up" on their television programAt The Movies. Ebert awarded the film three out of four stars, describing it as "good-natured" and praising the comedic performances.[18] Siskel noted that the film was distinguished by a script that "has the good sense to laugh at itself."[19]James Berardinelli described the film’s humor as "frequently audacious and irreverent," while noting it was not particularly sophisticated.[20]
George of the Jungle was nominated forBest Fantasy Film at the24th Saturn Awards.[21]
George of the Jungle was released byWalt Disney Home Video onVHS,DVD, andLaserDisc in the United States and Canada on December 2, 1997.[22]
A sequel,George of the Jungle 2, was releaseddirect-to-video on October 21, 2003. Directed by David Grossman, the film is set five years after the events of the original. Most principal roles were recast with new actors, thoughKeith Scott,Thomas Haden Church,John Cleese, and Kelly Miller reprised their respective roles. The characters Max, Thor, and Arthur Stanhope do not appear in the sequel.
as well as memorable CG characters like Shep (the elephant who thought that he was a dog)
George of the Jungle | |
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