Curious George (TV series)
Curious George is an American-Canadian animated television series based on the children's book series of the same name which features Jeff Bennett as the voice of The Man with the Yellow Hat. Frank Welker, who voiced George in the 2006 feature film, returns as the voice of George.[2] The show premiered on PBS Kids on September 4, 2006, and originally ended after nine seasons on April 1, 2015. This show follows the 2006 film of the same name.
| Curious George | |
|---|---|
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| Created by | Margret Rey (books) H. A. Rey (books) Alan J. Shalleck (books) |
| Based on | Curious George by Margret Rey H. A. Rey Alan J. Shalleck |
| Developed by | Joe Fallon |
| Directed by | Scott Heming Frank Marino Cathy Malkasian Jeff McGrath |
| Starring | Frank Welker Jeff Bennett |
| Voices of | Rob Paulsen Jim Cummings Debi Derryberry Bill Chott Lex Lang Susan Silo Kath Soucie |
| Narrated by | William H. Macy (2006-2007) Rino Romano (2007-present) |
| Opening theme | "Like Curious George!" by Dr. John |
| Ending theme | "Like Curious George!" (instrumental) |
| Composer(s) | Nick Nolan |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 13 |
| No. of episodes | 158 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Ron Howard Brian Grazer David Kirschner Jon Shapiro Ellen Cockrill |
| Editor(s) | Kirk Demorest |
| Camera setup | Jaclyn Brick |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Universal Animation Studios Imagine Entertainment (seasons 1–9) WGBH Boston (seasons 1–12) Universal 1440 Entertainment (seasons 10–present) Toon City (seasons 1–9) DQ Entertainment (season 1) Sunwoo Entertainment (season 1) Brilliant Animation Studios (seasons 10–11) BV Animation Studio (seasons 10–11) Oasis Animation[1] (season 12–present) Copernicus Studios (season 12–present) |
| Distributor | NBCUniversal Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | Canada: Family Jr. (2018-2020) United States: PBS Kids (2006–20) (Season 1-9) Peacock (2020–present) |
| Picture format | SDTV 480i (2006–10) HDTV 1080i (2010–) |
| Original release | September 4, 2006 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Curious George (1980s TV series) |
| External links | |
| Website | |
On September 3, 2018, season 10 premiered, and has aired on Family Jr in Canada.[3] The episodes debuted on NBC's streaming service Peacock in the United States when it launched in July 2020.[4]
Curious George is a production of Universal 1440 Entertainment (Universal Studios Family Productions before 2013[5]), Imagine Entertainment, and WGBH-TV,[6] and animated by Toon City.[7] Each episode has two animated segments per half hour episode, and a short live-action segment after each.
The live-action shorts illustrate and explain various concepts in math and science, and show schoolchildren engaging in experiments, that teach the math or science concept featured in the previous story.
Settings
- The City: George and the Man with the Yellow Hat live in an apartment in "The City". The Doorman keeps a pigeon coop on the roof and is the guardian of Hundley, his dachshund dog. The apartment is near Endless Park, the museum where Professor Wiseman works, and a zoo. Chef Pisghetti's restaurant is nearby, as are a donut shop, Dulson's Toy Store, Mabel's Department Store (a parody of Macy's and its erstwhile competitor Gimbels), a supermarket and a pet shop. These are recurring locations.
- The Country: George and the Man with the Yellow Hat vacation in a small house in the country. The house is near Lake Wanasink, a stream, and a river that eventually flows past the city and to the ocean. George is friends there with 5-year-old Allie and the teenage paperboy, Bill.
Characters
- Curious George (voiced by Frank Welker): A tailless monkey who is the protagonist of the show. He is excessively curious and often causes unintentional problems. He is used as the "teachable" character in the show, and he is the one to whom new concepts are explained in detail by the other characters. He is written as having the mind of a young child.
- The Man with the Yellow Hat (voiced by Jeff Bennett): The man who first befriended George and also acts as his primary teacher and mentor. He does not wear his hat at home but wears it when going in public.
Episodes
The setting for most episodes is either The City, where George lives in an apartment building with The Man with the Yellow Hat, or the country, where they share a small house near a lake called Lake Wanasinklake. This allows George to mirror the experiences of kids who live in an urban environment and those who live on farms and in suburbs. A few episodes take place in alternate but familiar settings, like an airport or a train station.
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Network | ||||
| 1 | 26 | September 4, 2006 | February 23, 2007 | PBS Kids | ||
| 2 | 26 | September 3, 2007 | April 22, 2008 | |||
| 3 | 11 | September 1, 2008 | April 22, 2009 | |||
| 4 | 9 | September 8, 2009 | June 14, 2010 | |||
| 5 | 10 | September 6, 2010 | May 6, 2011 | |||
| 6 | 10 | September 3, 2011 | April 20, 2012 | |||
| 7 | 6 | December 3, 2012 | April 24, 2013 | |||
| Specials | November 25, 2009 | October 28, 2013 | ||||
| 8 | 6 | February 10, 2014 | May 21, 2014 | |||
| 9 | 6 | October 28, 2014 | April 1, 2015 | |||
| 10 | 15[8] | September 3, 2018 | December 10, 2018 | Family Jr. | ||
| 11 | 15[8] | May 6, 2019 | August 12, 2019 | |||
| 12 | 15[3] | February 3, 2020 | February 21, 2020 | |||
| 13 | 5 | July 15, 2020 | Peacock | |||
Awards
- 2008 – Outstanding Children's Animated Program
- 2010 – Outstanding Children's Animated Program
References
- "Oasis Animation Employer Profile". Animation World Network (AWN). Retrieved 2020-04-22.
- Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 143. ISBN 978-1538103739.
- "Curious George". FamilyJr.ca. 2016-10-25. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
- "NBCUNIVERSAL UNVEILS PEACOCK, A FREE PREMIUM AD-SUPPORTED STREAMING SERVICE WITH SUBSCRIPTION TIERS". NBCUNIVERSAL MEDIA. 2020-01-16. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
- "Curious George - Program Summary". PBS. Archived from the original on October 31, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
- "Curious George - Program Summary". PBS. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
- "Curious George - TV Credits". PBS. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
- https://tvschedule.zap2it.com/overview.html?programSeriesId=SH03047937&tmsId=SH030479370000&from=undefined&aid=gapzap