The television series of “Curious George” is based on the 2006 movie, which in turn is based on the children’s book. The deviation from the source material could have been a bad thing, but the spirit of the curious little monkey is captured very well in this PBS series. Switching back and forth from urban to rural settings George has plenty of different scenarios available to him and allows children to connect with different experiences.
For this latest DVD Curious George Swings Into Spring, we get the “movie” which was broadcast for Earth Day. Here we get an explanation of what the season is, which is nice, but personally, I like the crazy antic George gets into, and this one delivers to be sure. We get George in the city, then he goes to the country and winds up taking Hundly, his dog friend from the city with him. that right there should be enough, but this is an extra long story, so you know something is going to happen. And it does.
I really like the dynamic of George and Hundly, and it was nice to see the two of them in a different setting. There was more music in here as well, probably to pad out the running time, which is fine. At just under an hour, I think considering it a movie is a stretch, but it certainly is a much longer adventure than even a double length episode of the television series would be.
Curious George Swings Into Spring is a great way to introduce the concept of seasons to your youngsters, but more than that it is a fun adventure. George makes a great stand-in for a child’s natural curiosity.
No special features (other than a sheet of stickers inside the DVD case) and just under an hour of content on the DVD doesn’t necessarily sit well with me, but it’s not a bad DVD to have on your shelf. Amazon has it for $15 which seems about the right price, so don’t pay any more than that.