Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas (NR)

Curious George is looking forward to Christmas with all the anticipation of a young child. He wakes the Man in the Yellow Hat every morning at 5 a.m. to ask if today's the day. As the days pass, George and the Man prepare for Christmas by shopping for a tree, writing cards, buying a turkey and singing in a holiday pageant. The usual monkey antics ensue where George knocks down all the trees at the Christmas tree lot, and breaks the snow-maker at the museum, but his accidents are easily resolved. But as the holiday gets closer, both the monkey and the man worry about what to get for the other.

Curious George might annoy some parents, with the squeaky monkey sounds and rather vanilla storylines, but kids get a kick out of the silly monkey no matter what. This movie is no exception -- there are plenty of giggly moments, like when George tries to make a tomato snowman to please the Man in the Yellow Hat, but ends up making a big ketchup-y mess, or when George's friend makes up funny songs to familiar Christmas carol tunes. It's hard not to like Curious George, even if his antics are predictable.

This George movie includes singing, which fits the holiday theme, but seems slightly out of place for some reason. Also, near the end of the movie the Man in the Yellow Hat falls asleep and has a Christmas Carol-esque vision where a dream-like man shows him scenes of George living alternate lives. It's meant to reassure the Man that he is a good "parent" for George, but it really doesn't fit with the story -- or make much sense.