Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George's Creators

This is a well-made documentary about the couple Hans and Margaret Rey, the creators of the famous children's books about the adventures of the little monkey Curious George. It shows, in a quite original way, how this book character was brought to life by its makers and how it actually saved their lives. Being from Jewish descent, Hans and Margaret fled Europe just in time to escape the persecutions by the Nazi's, but bringing with them as their gift to the free world, the first manuscript about the adventures of a small curious monkey. Stories that have settled in the minds of millions of children and their children's children. Definitely recommended.

Anytime a piece of art is created that stands the test of time, there is always (lurking behind it) an interesting creation story. That is exactly what is told in "Monkey Business"...the creation of the Curious George character by Hans & Margret Rey.

This documentary examines the story of how the Rey's grew up, eventually found each other and married, escaped from pre-WWII Europe, and found their way to America where, after a time, the Curious George character entered into the cultural lexicon. The filmmakers really do a great job of making the Rey's story interesting, as well as adding in some wonderful animations/graphics of their own to make it visually appealing as well.

Another real staple of this doc is its ability to not "pull any punches" when it comes to discussing the Rey's, as they are examined warts and all. Margret is especially portrayed in a sometimes unfavorable light (in terms of overall personality), but that is something that is also echoed "across the board" from all the interviewees, so it feels authentic. It's not disrespectful at all, so I would rather have that than a rosy, saint-like portrayal of everyone involved.

As a child, I went through my own Curious George phase (hasn't everyone?!), so it was very interesting for me to now see, as an adult, the process it took for the character to be fully realized. This is a doc that can easily be enjoyed by the entire family as well. Documentary work nearly at its finest is on display throughout.

This movie was surprisingly good, It has great animation, and it tells an interesting, engaging story about the creators of curious George. If you want to learn about the surprisingly interesting story about the creators of your favorite childhood book and the hardships they had to face along the way, give this movie a try. I Recommend to everyone of all ages!

This movie tells the story of the Reys and their creation of Curious George. It open my eyes to the how and why the Reys created this series of stories. It also connects to the modern day by taking about living your passion and showing the human side of these two people. The movie uses all types of media with photos, original interviews, animation and modern interviews of people that new the Reys. It combines these media to help tell the story and it also makes the story work for young and old. It connects with the book series in a truly perfect way. I would highly recommend this to people that want to learn more about the creators of Curious George or for people that would like to have an inspiring tale to help with your own life.

By using an overlay of animation, old films and photographs, the producer brings to life the story of the Reys, as people in their lives narrate in interviews, the events surrounding their extraordinary journey to create Curious George. You will read the same Curious George books with renewed appreciation, with deeper understanding of how the Reys personalities and interaction with each other influenced the adventures of George.

The themes surrounding love, friendship, ingenuity, determination and a great amount of childlike curious and optimism touched our whole family at many points of the movie.

I enjoyed this movie tremendously and would highly recommend it.