George of the Jungle (film)
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| George of the Jungle | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover for George of the Jungle |
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| Directed by | Sam Weisman |
| Produced by | Walt Disney Pictures |
| Written by | Dana Olsen (script/story) Audrey Wells (script) |
| Starring | Brendan Fraser, Leslie Mann, Thomas Hayden Church, Holland Taylor, John Cleese |
| Music by | Sheldon Allman, Marc Shaiman |
| Cinematography | Thomas Ackerman |
| Editing by | Kent Beyda, Roger Bondelli, Stuart Pappé |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures |
| Release date(s) | July 16, 1997 |
| Running time | 92 min |
| Language | English |
| Followed by | George of the Jungle 2 |
| IMDb profile | |
George of the Jungle is a live-action film based on the original cartoon of the same name. This film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures, and originally released to movie theatres in 1997. It starred Brendan Fraser as the eponymous main character.
The film was followed by George of the Jungle 2, in which George and Ursula have a son.
[edit] Plot
Ursula Stanhope is a beautiful, blonde American heiress, reluctantly engaged to Lyle Van De Groot, who seems more attached to his fiancee's money than her. On an expedition to Africa, joined by Lyle and two men he hired named Max and Thor, Ursula is rescued from a lion attack by George, a young man who apparently survived a plane crash as a child, to be raised in the jungle by a talking ape named Ape who is voiced by John Cleese.
She is charmed by George and they become friends. George begins to fall in love with her. Lyle and the rest of the expedition begin to look for her, and it is revealed that the men Lyle hired are actually there to poach wildlife. He finds George's tree house, and tries to get Ursula to come with him. Ursula yells for George, and Lyle tries to stop George by bluffing his way out. He threatens George with a gun-shaped cigarette lighter, it turns out to be a real handgun (the original lighter was still in possession of the guide who had cleaned it and got the two mixed up), and he shoots George. He survives, and Lyle is sent to prison. At the same time, Max and Thor try to capture Ape. They are also arrested and sent to jail, but they are released on a technicality. Ursula returns to her home in San Francisco, and she brings George with her to get him "the best medical treatment available".
Back in San Francisco, Ursula's parents throw a party for Ursula, at which Ursula's mother Beatrice Stanhope realizes George's affection for Ursula might spoil her plans to marry her daughter to Lyle. Mrs. Stanhope lectures George on the unsuitability of any relationship he might have with Ursula, and discouraged, George returns to Ursula's flat. There he finds his friend Tookie Bird, who has urgent news from the jungle: Max and Thor have ape-napped Ape to sell him on the black market. Meanwhile, Ursula has realized that what she feels for George is love, and that she can't marry Lyle.
George returns to Africa to save Ape, who fortunately has managed to get Max and Thor lost on their way to the port. Ursula arrives, but Lyle has escaped from jail, hired some mercenaries and gained a priesthood which allows him to perform marriages. He kidnaps the young woman so he can marry her against her will. George finds Ape, and defeats the henchmen in a hilarious fistfight. He then heads out to rescue Ursula, who is now in a raft with Lyle, floating down river rapids. He rescues Ursula and Lyle ends up in the raft with a flirtatious lady ape. After admitting they love each other, the two get married in a lavish jungle celebration on the next full moon and eventually have a son, also named George, who would feature on George of the Jungle 2. Ape does eventually go to the Las Vegas shows, but now as a performer in charge of Max and Thor and not vice versa.
[edit] Trivia
- The plot of the movie shown on the back of the DVD said that George was the only survivor of the plane crash. However, the narrator said that nobody died in the movie, only that they would get really big boo-boos.
- When Lyle and Ursula are travelling down the rapids, a shadow of the cameraman is visible.
- George nearly always refers to himself in the third person. The lone time he slips up and mentions himself in the first person is his catchphrase "George just lucky, I guess."
- Brendan Fraser does not reprise his role as George in the sequel. However, he is continually referenced by means of several jokes at his expense.
- In one of the last scenes of the movie, Ursula's mother (Holland Taylor) tells her husband : "Arthur, I wish you would do something about all these monkeys. I feel like Jane Goodall.". The talking Ape replies: "Madam, I knew Jane Goodall and you are no Jane Goodall." This is a reference to the famous phrase "Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy".
- In the final scene as George raises his young son towards the animals, he is standing on Pride Rock in a salute to The Lion King.
- The theme song to this film was a cover of the original, performed by The Presidents of the United States of America.
