This is a film that marked the generation that had 10 to 16 when it opened in theaters. Unquestionably fun from beginning to end, is one of the best family films that Disney did at the end of the century, out of the animation field. This is obviously a film partially spent in a jungle with a man, George, who is literally clumsy version of Tarzan. Made to play and laugh a lot, the film is full of funny moments and even the bad guy, Lyle Van de Groot (played by Thomas Haden Church) is the most humorous I've seen, even in films of this kind.The involvement of actors is very good, but the spotlight go to Brendan Fraser, who played the main character in an absolutely brilliantly. Leslie Mann gave life to the little girl, Ursula, whom George predictably falls. She also had an inspired interpretation, and even his shrill voice gave a hand in the creation of the character, which is a rich and spoiled girl. John Cleese, one of the greats of the current mood, excellent as was voiced Ape, a monkey gifted with a very human intelligence. Thomas Haden Church also did not disappoint the audience, eager to laugh.

George (Brendan Fraser) was lost in a plane crash in central Africa as a baby. He grows up with his animal friends talking gorilla Ape and Shep the elephant. Twenty five years later, heiress Ursula Stanhope (Leslie Mann) is on a safari. She is annoyed by the arrival of her fiancé Lyle Van de Groot (Thomas Haden Church) who is traveling with poachers Max (Greg Cruttwell) and Thor (Abraham Benrubi). George rescues Ursula from a lion and brings her back to his home. Lyle finds them and shoots George. Lyle is sent to African prison. Ursula takes George back to San Francisco. Her mother (Holland Taylor) refuses to accept the jungle man.Brendan Fraser is essentially redoing Link from Encino Man. This is an one-joke character and he's does the one-joke great. The section I like the most is on the bridge. The rescue was fun and everybody gets to say "Watch out for that...!" The narration is reminiscent of the cartoon. The plot created around this character isn't that compelling. It can't expand beyond the animated shorts. I also think George needs to be dumber for him to be funny.

For starters - When it came to that whole business of George repeatedly crashing into trees while swinging from a vine (which was supposed to be one of this picture's comical high points) - Believe me, it all became really tiresome and totally stale, real fast.Instead of this stunt producing big laughs, it only succeeded in making me cringe and roll my eyes to the ceiling out of bored exasperation. It actually got to the point where I found myself hoping that George would, indeed, seriously injure himself the next time he came face-to-face with another tree trunk. But, my wish was never granted.Not only that, but, I found that the annoying & unfunny voice-over narration that cropped-up throughout the story didn't help matters much, either. And as far as the George character went, I thought that Brendan Fraser was clearly miscast for his part and his performance unbelievably irritating, to boot.When George arrived in the "civilized" world, that certainly made his character look even more stupid than ever.If you ask me - This $55 million, live-action cartoon tried way-way too hard to be funny, but regardless of all of its zany, slapstick comedy, it only succeeded in falling flat on its face for the most part.Based on the characters from a very mediocre TV cartoon series from 1967, George Of The Jungle was strictly geared for an audience that has very low expectations about what encourages them to laugh.

"George of the Jungle" was released in 1997 to moderate critical acclaim, children love the movie, it is very cartoonish. What some people fail to recognize or don't know is that this film is a remake of a 1967 cartoon TV series.John Cleese co-stars as the voice of the "Ape named Ape" which is probably the funniest part of the film. Also, the elephant who acts and thinks he is a dog, Shemp is pure Disney fun.Thomas Haden Church plays the seemingly bad guy Lyle Van de Groot, and Leslie Mann plays Ursula Stanhope, the good girl. They went into the jungle as a couple, but Ursula and George leave together.A love story like Tarzan & Jane!