Dr. Donna's Review

About the Film

Everyone’s favorite monkey is in his first holiday movie.  When George and the Man in the Yellow Hat trade Christmas wish lists, they must both work hard to find the perfect holiday gift for each other.  Of course, friendship, silliness and that very special Curious George kind of adventure abound.

Audiences that have come to know and love this very special monkey and his treasured friendship with the Man in the Yellow Hat will not be disappointed. The story appeals to both boys and girls in the three to six year age groups and to many of their older siblings. The storyline is simple enough for young children to follow but rich enough to engage both age groups.

The characters grapple with several important and age-appropriate themes across the course of the story:

• Personal Empowerment - Knowing yourself and knowing about others is an important character trait.  George models confidence in making his own decisions, and has clear intentions about his actions and behaviors.
   
• Socialization – As George embarks on his holiday adventure he encounters many unique individuals.  George interacts with each individual with respect and curiosity, about the person, the information and the perspective they offer.  He is demonstrating that individuals have something unique to offer the world. Moreover, George is highlighting that love, caring and concern can be expressed in many different ways, especially when he puts the search for the perfect gift as a high priority on his own holiday list.
  


• Community Sense – Understanding and appreciating membership in a community is an important character trait. George highlights that everyone should be concerned about the well being of the community.  We see George donate to a volunteer (dressed as Santa) who is collecting money for people in need.  George demonstrates the importance and value of people helping others who are less fortunate, and the importance of assisting in times of need.

• Diversity – While this is a story primarily focused on Christmas, through George’s perspective and his city adventure, the audience learns about diversity. For example, George encounters Christmas with a Hawaiian flare, and a dinner of seven fishes, an Italian tradition. In this way, the lesson that diversity fosters a variety of viewpoints, new ideas and fresh ways of looking at things (and solving problems) is readily presented. George sees different examples of holiday decorations, themes and traditions.  Recognizing diversity allows George to learn about other’s customs, beliefs, history and much more.  Being cognizant of similarities and differences encourages openness to different points of view.
  


• These five themes deal with character traits and skills. Children benefit when they see desirable skills modeled by popular characters. Children need these skills as they venture beyond the world of family into the worlds of school, friends and community. The five themes offer good opportunities for discussion with children.  Here are some things to discuss with your kids:

Talking points

• The Man in the Yellow Hat imagines what George would be like if, instead of living with him,  George lived with the Doorman, Professor Wiseman, or Chef Pisghetti. This situation provides an opportunity to talk about how the environment in which you live impacts the experiences you have.  Talk with children about their home environment and how it may be different from someone else they know.

• The brief exploration of the lives of the Doorman, Professor Wiseman and Chef Pisghetti provides an opportunity to discuss their different occupations. Talk about the differences between being a hotel doorman, a museum scientist and a chef.  What other jobs do they know about?  What kind of job can they imagine doing when they grow up?

• The holidays are always a busy time of year, with many parties, celebrations and gatherings. Discuss with children some of the things on their list of preparations for the holidays.  In turn, share with them things on your “to do” list. In this way, include them in the fun, anticipation and tasks needed to make these special events go smoothly and successfully!

• At this time of year, there are many different holiday celebrations and traditions ranging from Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza and more. Discuss similarities and differences between the different winter holidays, such as dates, themes, meaning, significance, traditions and customs.

• Friends and families have different traditions for gift giving.  Talk with children about getting gifts for the holidays.  Ask them what is the best gift to give or the best to receive.  Discuss with them the value of making gifts versus buying gifts.  Talk to them about how they might feel or how the recipient might feel with a gift of a picture, a song, letter or story, just at Betsy performed a song as a gift for her Aunt. Can they think of more gifts that don’t involve buying something?


• George and the dog in the lobby are very different personalities.  Discuss with the children how their personalities are similar or different.  Ask the children about positive and negative character traits. Ask them if they are like George or the dog, and in what way are they similar or different. Use the way that George and the dog treat the Christmas tree as a specific example to illustrate individual likes and dislikes.

• There is a scene that shows George donating money to someone collecting for charity. Use this example to discuss with the children the meaning of charity and donation.  Encourage them to think about what else they might do as acts of charity and community service, citing such examples as visiting children’s hospitals, visiting senior citizens in rest homes, or gathering food for local food banks and homeless shelters.


• The Man with the Yellow Hat feels he doesn't really understand George and isn't a good parent to him.  Maybe George would be better off with someone else.  Sometimes children are frustrated and disappointed with parent’s rules and expectations and sometimes parents are frustrated and disappointed by their children’s decision-making and behavior.  Sensitively, and with age-appropriate vocabulary, and using examples from a patient, loving, caring perspective discuss parenting.  Explain the broad concepts of responsibility, concern, expectation, joy, success and failure.  Take this very delicate talking point one step further into developing empathy.  Now that they’ve been given some information, ask the child to talk about what it means to be a child.  Use this as an opportunity to do a little role playing and role reversal.

Activity ideas

• Have children draw pictures of their favorite character from the movie. Write the name of the character on the picture. Post it for everyone to see.

• Make a variety of holiday presents with your children. Gather paint, ribbon, boxes, plastic and glass containers, buttons, pictures, tape and glue and other craft supplies. Suggest ideas such as pencil cases, business card holders, flower or decorative vases, jewelry boxes, etc.
• Listen to familiar/traditional holiday songs.  Work with the children to replace words or lyrics to reflect friends and family members…or for even more of a challenge, rewrite all the words and sing it to the melody of the original.
• Try a fun arts and crafts project designed for adult and children’s participation.  Create home made snow globes.  Use an old baby food or jam/jelly jar.  Fill it with glitter and water and attach a fun object to the lid using a non-water-soluble glue.  Seal the lid to the jar with rubber cement. Once it’s dry, flip it over, using the lid as the base, and enjoy your fabulous new, homemade snow globe.

• A month or so before Christmas, start your Christmas list. Steve and Betsy from the movie talked about their Christmas list: Steve would like a bike; Betsy would like a xylophone. Help the children decide what they would like to put on their list.   Gently remind children just as Steve says, “only put on your list what you really, really want.”

Book suggestions: These books are recommended to encourage you to read to and with children about the themes from the movie.

These books are recommended to encourage you to read to and with children about the themes from the movie.

 “A Christmas Carol: A Young Reader's Edition of the Classic Holiday Tale” by Charles Dickens (about Christmas)

“Night Tree” by Eve Bunting (about family and Christmas traditions)

“How to Be a Friend: A Guide to Making Friends and Keeping Them (Dino Life Guides for Families)” by Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown (about friendship)

“Chester’s Way” by Kevin Henkes (about personal empowerment)

“Lyle Lyle Crocodile” by Bernard Waber (about civility/community)

“Mommy, Why?” by Lin Fong-ONeill (about diversity)