Curious George (TV series)

Curious George is an American children's animated television series based on the children's book series of the same name for PBS Kids which features Jeff Bennett as the voice of Ted Shackelford (credited as "The Man with the Yellow Hat", formerly called that in the original series books and telefilm books). Frank Welker, who voiced George in the 2006 feature film, reprises the role in the series.[2] The show premiered on PBS Kids in the fall of 2006[3], and originally ended after nine seasons on April 1, 2015 before returning in 2018.

This article is about the television series shown from 2006. For the 1982 television series, see Curious George (1982 TV series).
Curious George
GenreFamily
Adventure
Comedy
Education
Children's television series
Based on
Curious George
by
Developed byJoe Fallon
Voices of
Narrated by
Theme music composer
  • Rocco Gagliese
  • Steve D'Angelo
  • Terry Tompkins
Opening theme"Like Curious George!" performed by Dr. John
Ending theme"Like Curious George!" (instrumental)
ComposerNick Nolan
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons15
No. of episodes198 (389 segments + 3 specials) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
EditorKirk Demorest
Running time22.9 minutes (11 minutes per segment)
Production companies
Animation services
  • Toon City (seasons 1–9)
  • DQ Entertainment Limited (season 1)
  • Sunwoo Entertainment (season 1)
  • Brilliant Animation Studios (seasons 10–11)
  • BV Animation Studio (seasons 10–11)
  • Oasis Animation[1] (seasons 12–15)
Release
Original network
Original releaseSeptember 4, 2006 (2006-09-04) –
March 17, 2022 (2022-03-17)

Season 10 premiered on September 3, 2018 on Family Jr. in Canada. Seasons 10-13 debuted on NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock in the United States when it launched in July 2020.[4] Seasons 1-9 are available to stream for Peacock Premium subscribers since September 20, 2020, which is also available to stream on Hulu.[5] Season 10 premiered on PBS on October 5 the same year.[6]

Curious George is a production of Universal 1440 Entertainment (Universal Studios Family Productions before 2013[7]), Imagine Entertainment, and WGBH-TV (WGBH Kids) (before season 13),[8] and animated by Toon City.[9] From seasons 1-9, 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 shows a class with kids engaging in experiments, that teach the math or science concept featured in the previous story. Season 10 eliminated them, leaving only the animated segments left.

Settings
  • City: George and the Man live in an apartment in the Big City. The actual name of the city is unknown but has some similarities to New York. However in the episode "Curious George Takes a Vacation", an airport worker mentions they're in Illinois meaning they possibly live in Chicago. 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 the zoo. Chef Pisghetti's restaurant is nearby, as are a doughnut shop, Dulson's Toy Store, Mabel's Department Store (a parody of Macy's and its erstwhile competitor Gimbels), the supermarket, and the pet shop. These are recurring locations.
  • Country: George and the Man vacation in a small house in the country. The house is near Lake Wanasinklake, a stream, and a river that eventually flows past the city and to the ocean. George is friends there with five-year-old Allie and the teenage paperboy, Bill.

Characters

Main
  • Curious George (vocal effects by Frank Welker) is a tailless monkey who is the protagonist of the series. As his name implies, 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 lessons are explained to by the other characters. He is a character that children enjoy watching and can learn from.
  • The Man with the Yellow Hat (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a man who first befriended George. He is almost always wearing some form of yellow clothing, and acts as George's primary teacher and mentor. In the animated film, his name was given as Ted Shackelford.
  • Narrator (voiced by William H. Macy in Season 1 and Rino Romano in Seasons 2-15) is an unseen storyteller who narrates the events of each episode of the show. His narrations largely describe about the feelings of George and the Man with the Yellow Hat along with their actions, often serving as an internal monologue for speechless characters such as animals.

Supporting
  • Chef Pisghetti (voiced by Jim Cummings) is an Italian chef in the City who owns a restaurant with his wife.
  • The Doorman (voiced by Bill Chott in Season 1 and Lex Lang in Season 2) is the doorman for the apartment building in which George and the Man with the Yellow Hat live. He is Hundley's owner.
  • Professor Wiseman (voiced by Rolonda Watts) is a scientist who is a friend of George and the Man. In different episodes she is seen to be a rocket scientist, and is seen to work at a local museum. Her name is a play on the words wise man.
  • Steve (voiced by Elizabeth Daily) & Betsy (voiced by Grey DeLisle) are siblings from George's neighborhood in the city. They live with their Aunt Margaret and their dog, Charkie.
  • Mr. Glass (voiced by Rob Paulsen, with the vocal impression of Gilbert Gottfried) is a man who owns a building known as "The Glass Palace" and hires window washers in the city.
  • Hundley (vocal effects by Bill Chott in Season 1 and Lex Lang in Season 2) is an orange male dachshund. Hundley is very proper and gentlemanly. He keeps vigil on the lobby of George's apartment building when his owner, the Doorman, is absent.
  • Compass (vocal effects by Rob Paulsen) is a blue male homing pigeon, also cared for by the doorman. His sense of direction is substandard, he is therefore often referred to as an "Almost-Homing Pigeon".
  • Jumpy Squirrel (vocal effects by Jim Cummings) is a male squirrel who lives in the country.
  • Gnocchi (vocal effects by Debi Derryberry in Season 1 and Dee Bradley Baker in Season 2) is Chef Pisghetti's beige female cat.
  • Charkie (vocal effects by Kel Mitchell & Rob Paulsen) is a female black cocker spaniel owned by Steve and Betsy.
  • Bill's Bunnies (vocal effects by Frank Welker) are seven baby bunnies owned by Bill. Their names are Fuzzy, Whitey, Brownie, Spotty, Black Ears, Cotton Tail, and Herbert Nenninger. He also owns their mother (Ma Rabbit), whose burrowing abilities are highlighted in several episodes.
  • Mr. Renkins (voiced by Jeff Bennett) & Mrs. Renkins (voiced by Kath Soucie) are a couple who own a farm near the country house.
  • Allie (voiced by Lara Jill Miller) is the 5-year-old granddaughter of the Renkins, who is first introduced in George Meets Allie-Whoops! where she and George become fast friends.
  • Mr. Zoobel (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) is George's upstairs neighbor in the city, and a painter of modern art.
  • Marco (voiced by Grey DeLisle) is a Mexican boy who lives in The Puerto Del Sol district, a Mexican neighborhood in the city, he and his family play Spanish music everywhere.
  • Bill (voiced by Annie Mumolo) is George's neighbor from across the street in the country.

Minor
  • Netti (voiced by Susan Silo) is Chef Pisghetti's wife.
  • Dinwoodie (voiced by Jess Harnell)
  • The Quints (male Quints voiced by Jim Cummings and female Quints voiced by Candi Milo): Mr. Quint is one of George's country friends, an avid fisherman and one of a set of quintuplets. His siblings include a sister who is a track runner (Sprint, voiced by Annie Mumolo), a brother who is a train-station master (Flint), a brother who is a police officer (Wint), and a sister who prints money (Mint).
  • Jagger (vocal effects by Rob Paulsen) is a rooster who's very protective of those hens in the hen yard.
  • Hamilton (vocal effects by Rob Paulsen) is a pig.
  • Dumpling (vocal effects by Frank Welker) is a duck.
  • Dottie (vocal effects by Jeff Bennett) is a deer.

Voice cast

Episodes
Main article: List of Curious George episodes

The setting for most episodes is either the city, where George lives in an apartment building with the Man in the Yellow Hat, or the country, where they share a small house near a lake called Lake Wanasinklake (on rare occasions, both settings are featured). 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.

SeasonSegmentsEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast airedNetwork
16030September 4, 2006February 23, 2007PBS Kids
24020September 3, 2007April 22, 2008
32211September 1, 2008April 22, 2009
4189September 8, 2009June 14, 2010
52010September 6, 2010May 6, 2011
62010September 5, 2011June 25, 2012
7126December 3, 2012April 24, 2013
SpecialsNovember 25, 2009October 28, 2013
8126February 10, 2014May 21, 2014
9126October 28, 2014April 1, 2015
102815September 3, 2018 (2018-09-03)December 10, 2018 (2018-12-10)Family Jr.
112915May 6, 2019 (2019-05-06)August 12, 2019 (2019-08-12)
122915February 3, 2020 (2020-02-03)February 21, 2020 (2020-02-21)
133015July 15, 2020 (2020-07-15)December 11, 2020 (2020-12-11)Peacock
142915October 21, 2021 (2021-10-21)
152815March 17, 2022 (2022-03-17)

Broadcast and release

The show premiered on PBS through PBS Kids in the United States and through CITV in the United Kingdom in 2006 and Family Jr. in Canada in 2015. Season 10 premiered on PBS and the series made its debut on the PBS Kids 24/7 channel the same day. All seasons are available on Peacock and PBS Kids with the first 9 seasons exclusive to Peacock Premium and Hulu.

Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas, an animated television film, was released on November 25, 2009. It was distributed by PBS and produced by Imagine Entertainment and Universal Animation Studios. The film is a holiday television special featuring George, as featured in the TV series, wondering what to give The Man in The Yellow Hat who is also wondering what to give George. It is shown every Christmas season on PBS Kids.

Awards

Emmy Award

References
  1. "Oasis Animation Employer Profile". Animation World Network (AWN). Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  2. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 143. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  3. Publicity, Pbs (2005-01-15). "Curious George In Production for PBS KIDS". About PBS - Main. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
  4. "NBCUNIVERSAL UNVEILS PEACOCK, A FREE PREMIUM AD-SUPPORTED STREAMING SERVICE WITH SUBSCRIPTION TIERS". NBCUNIVERSAL MEDIA. 2020-01-16. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  5. "Curious George New Movie, TV Series Seasons Streaming Free on Peacock". Variety. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  6. @ItsPeebs (2020-08-20). "Beginning October 5, 2020, Season 10 of Curious George will debut on PBS! 5 "new" episodes will air that week. These episodes are already available on Peacock" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. "Curious George - Program Summary". PBS. Archived from the original on October 31, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  8. "Curious George - Program Summary". PBS. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  9. "Curious George - TV Credits". PBS. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
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