Cartoon Network is prepared to unveil the latest addition to their primetime line-up. That addition is none other than George of the Jungle. The series first premiered on Teletoon in Canada back in July of 2007 and has already aired 26 half-hour shows, each show being comprised of two eleven minute episodes. It should be noted that the episodes are not airing in the same order as in Canada, although it is not serialized and the order does not ultimately matter. The series is set to debut January 18 at 7:30PM Eastern time with a pair of stories entitled "Brother George" and "Rebel Without a Claw." Now guess what? I have seen them both! Exciting stuff, no?
For those of you who are not familiar with George, he is a Tarzan-like character whose mind is that of an inquisitive child. He is always finding mischief around the jungle, much of the time causing it himself. Jay Ward, the man behind a number of memorable cartoon characters including Rocky and Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right, and Cap'n Crunch, created the character back in the 1960s. Besides a memorable toon, George came complete with catchy theme music. The theme music was revived eleven years ago when Brendan Fraser brought George to vivid life in a big screen film that actually wasn't all that bad. Anyway, George has been tweaked and re-imagined for a new generation in this cartoon.
Both of the premiere episode stories are kind of fun. It is animated in a blocky, simplistic style that is reminiscent of shows like Samurai Jack and Powerpuff Girls. There are probably others, but I just haven't seen that many of Cartoon Network's shows lately. Overall, it was kind of fun; there's not much to it, but it had some laughs and is sure to hold the kids' attention. Sadly, while it provides a few laughs and is fast paced enough to never be boring, in retrospect, George of the Jungle is rather bland and uninteresting. It feels like a squandered opportunity that exists as a distraction, never reaching beyond the expected.
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