George of the Jungle (1997) is a Master Class in Kids Movies Thanks to its Omniscient Narrator

Hello, reader. It’s Jeremy. Today is a special occasion, because this week’s post is from my friend Mary Catherine, a fellow film/TV aficionado who is constantly writing about what she’s watching. Which means she’s perfect company around these parts. Also, she chose a Brendan Fraser movie to write about, which makes this the third Brendan Fraser movie covered on Dust On The VCR this year, which makes us the internet’s leading purveyor of Brendan Fraser content, I think. Hope you enjoy this one and then you go read more of Mary Catherine’s work!

The fall of 2021 will always be known in my heart as the season in which my then-three-year-old son was constantly running around wearing my husband’s long-sleeved t-shirt tied around his waist and looped between his legs (like a loin cloth), and banging into any conceivable vertical surface. This was, of course, the fall that we first showed him George of the Jungle, Disney’s sterling and largely unsung classic.

I believe this movie is iconic for many reasons, but after watching this childhood favorite of mine dozens (I mean dozens – if you know, you know) of times with my own child, I can confidently report that it’s also the best in its class at connecting with its target demographic. Sure, it helped launch Leslie Mann* as a dazzling It Girl in comedy, and it gave us a new rendition of the earworm of a theme song from The Presidents of the United States of America. But what really makes this sometimes-adult movie work for all audiences is the help of the narrator. 

If it’s been a while since you’ve laid your eyeballs upon George of the Jungle, let me remind you: From the very first frames, the story is punctuated by the voice of Keith Scott (not a household name, but a voice actor who’s lent his pipes to a bunch of relatively unknown** projects over the years). Because of our pal Keith’s omniscience, this plot is able to take a few more grizzly twists without losing or frightening its young audience.

For example, after Lyle (played to entitled perfection by Thomas Haden Church) throws an African guide over the side of a rope bridge and into a deep river gorge, Keith is there to help: “Don’t worry,” he bellows, “nobody dies in this story. They just get really big boo-boos.” Later in the movie, Ape (voiced by a hysterical John Cleese***) is nearly carted off by American poachers. George (Brendan Fraser****) runs at the villains, attempting to stop the Ape-napping, and is shot (in the head, actually, yikes?) by Lyle. Enter Keith: “Whew! Okay kids, let’s settle down and review the information. Lyle is a big doofus. Poor George was really shot, but can’t die, because let's face it, he’s the hero.”

The amazing trick this movie pulls off isn’t just reassuring its young audience, though. It’s sneakily teaching kids how to watch movies. Keith helps children identify the protagonists (George and Ursula) and the villain (Lyle, set up as the epitome of white privilege and a general boob against a team of Ugandan porters who make a fool out of him at every opportunity). He paces the movie, identifying important moments (“And so, George of the Jungle attended his first co-ed dance...”) and zipping us through what would otherwise be shoe leather for viewers with short attention spans (“The young Miss Stanhope proceeded to spill the beans…very quickly,” Keith says as Ursula recounts her jungle adventures to her parents***** in that fast-forwarded-mouse-voice). These barely noticeable additions ground kids in understanding how movies work by both enveloping them in a created world and pointing out the seams.

George of the Jungle is an inclusive viewing experience from a narrative standpoint. The film employs Keith (who’s really just the writers in disguise, of course) to get and keep kids in on the joke. The movie doesn’t talk down to kids either; instead, it offers them a buddy who can lean down and whisper something reassuring in a way that helps them process what’s happening but that doesn’t make them feel like idiots.

Keith, really, is their Movie Mom. What more can an actual parent ask for than to have someone help shape their children’s understanding of narrative machinations and high-level comedy? Not much. Give it a rewatch. Trust me (and Keith).

*Truly a queen among us. Ageless perfection in this movie, and (because everything old is new again) nearly every outfit she wears could step right out into 2022. The 90s, y’all! They’re back!

**One such unknown is the Dot series, popular in Australia. Somehow, as a youth, I watched an old VHS recording of Dot and the Whale. Let me tell you, if you’re looking for some truly unhinged children’s programming that was written in the throes of someone’s acid trip, pull that baby up on YouTube and settle in for a wild ride.

***Legend has it that John Cleese actually got into this giant gorilla suit, and I’m choosing to believe this half-assed research because…well, it's fun.

****I am using all my energy thwarting the instinct to devote this entire piece to how absolutely and insanely hot Brendan Fraser is in this movie. It’s like staring at the sun; he’s almost hard to look at. (I’m a married woman, but I said what I said.)

*****The legendary Holland Taylor plays Ursula’s mother and is cemented in my brain in this role as a WASPy, perfectly coiffed nightmare.

George of the Jungle is available on Disney+, and it’s available to rent elsewhere.