PBS KIDS Premieres the Curious George Holiday Spectacular

The original Curious George movie premieres on PBS KIDS on November 23.
Image courtesy of PBS KIDS

Curious George, America’s favorite lovable monkey, debuts this year with his own three-part Holiday Spectacular from PBS KIDS. The broadcast premier of the original Curious George movie, featuring the voices of Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, and Dick Van Dyke as well as the music of Jack Johnson, airs Wednesday, November 23.

The kids worked on their art projects courtesy of PBS KIDS.
Photo by Maria Adcock

To celebrate the event, I partnered with PBS KIDS to throw a viewing party of the original Curious George movie. I invited a group of local preschoolers and their parents to my house for a homemade meal and a fun evening. PBS KIDS provided the entertainment: the movie DVD, a bag of microwavable popcorn, and picture frame craft materials and stickers for an art project.

The kids eagerly watched the movie, smiling and laughing at Curious George as he explores his new surroundings. The movie featured a sweet story line and established how the name Curious George came about, as well as how the cute monkey met The Man in the Yellow Hat. The charming script also made some witty modern day references, providing chuckles to the adults who picked up on them.

Watching the Curious George movie provided smiles and
laughs to both the kids and their moms.
Photo by Maria Adcock

The feel-good Curious George movie is on its way to becoming a holiday tradition, Following this film are two more featuring the spunky monkey and The Man With the Yellow Hat: Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey and Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas. These two movies will air on PBS KIDS throughout the Thanksgiving weekend (check local listings).

CURIOUS GEORGE Holiday Spectacular Program Descriptions
(Provided by PBS KIDS)

Curious George
Curious George follows everyone’s favorite spunky monkey as he sets off on a series of (mis)adventures. In the film, after the Man with the Yellow Hat accidentally brings back George from a business trip to Africa, the unlikely twosome embarks on a fun-filled journey through the big city, and ultimately finds their way to a lasting friendship. Featuring gorgeous and old-fashioned two-dimensional animation that echoes the simple colors and shapes of the books by Margret and H. A. Rey, Curious George includes voice talents Will Ferrell (as the Man with the Yellow Hat), Drew Barrymore, and Dick Van Dyke, as well as all-original music from Jack Johnson.

Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey
In Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey, the fun-filled sequel to the hit animated movie, Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat set out on a madcap cross-country adventure to reunite Kayla, a homesick elephant, with her family. This unlikely trio faces all types of comic calamities and colorful characters and in the end learns that with family, friends and determination you can achieve anything. Curious George 2 features the voices of Tim Curry, Matt Lauer, Jamie Kennedy and Jerry Lewis.

Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas
In A Very Monkey Christmas, Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat are having a wonderful time getting ready for Christmas. There’s only one dilemma – neither of them can figure out what to give the other for a present! In the end, both gift-giving predicaments are simply and beautifully resolved, revealing the true spirit of the holiday season.

The viewing party was a hit with the little ones. Thanks, PBS KIDS!
Photo by Maria Adcock

For more info: Visit www.pbskids.org for programming details. Parents can find activities and information on the parenting section of the website: www.pbs.org/parents.

Disclosure: Author did not receive any compensation for this post. Author did receive the Curious George DVD and an activity pack for the viewing party. All opinions expressed are solely those of the author.