Curious George (2023 Live-Action film)

Curious George is a 2021 adventure family comedy live-action film inspired from the original 2006 animated film Curious George. It features Dan Stevens, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Josh Gad, Ian McKellen, and Traci Paige Johnson as the original title character (replacing Frank Welker).

Movie Plot
The introduction of the movie where we are introduced to a happy, artistic, & mischievous but lonely little chimpanzee named Georgd somewhere in the jungle. Ted Shackleford is an employed guide at the Bloomsberry Museum, introducing to the teacher Ms. Maggie Dunlop & her students who come to the museum often but they're the only regular visitors. Mr. Bloomsberry heartbreakingly informs Ted that the museum will have to close, because it's no longer making any money. Bloomsberry's son, Junior, wants to tear down the museum, & replace it with a parking garage. Ted's convinced to volunteer to go to Africa in place of Mr. Bloomsberry & bring back a mystical, 40 foot tall idol known as "Lost Shriwe of Zagawa" in the hopes that it will attract customers, much to Junior's envy. Ted's outfitted with a hideous yellow suit (which causes people to laugh at him), & boards a cargo ship to Africa despite his embarrassment.

With the help of a tour guide & tour group, Ted finds the "Lost Shrine of Zagawa", but discovers it to be only 3 inches tall, much to his disappointment. Ted also encounters the little monkey on his expedition to Africa, & gives the monkey his yellow hat. The monkey, who quickly grows fond of Ted, follows him & boards the cargo ship, unknown to Ted. Ted returns home, & enters his apparent room, only to receive a call from Bloomsberry telling him to report to the museum, so Ted can do an interview on the news. The monkey follows Ted to his apartment, the monkey's discovered busily repainting a posh apartment in full scale African animals & due to the strict "no pets allowed policy", Ted's evicted by grumpy doorman Ivan. Ted returns to the museum, & reveals to Bloomsberry the idol's size. Ted's kicked out of the museum by Junior, after the monkey accidentally destroys an Apatosaurus skeleton. Ted & the monkey sleep outside in the park, & the next morning, Ted follows the monkey into the zoo, where George meets Maggie and the children and gets into trouble & begins dangerously floating away on balloons high up over the city, Ted takes flight as well. George's balloons are popped by spikes on a building & Ted saves him from certain death.

Ted & George make their way to the home of an inventor named Clovis, where George uses an overhead projector to increase the idol's size making it & himself appear 40 ft tall. Ted & George head to the museum to show Bloomsberry the invention. Junior tries to convince his father that it wouldn't be honest to fool the public, but the elder Bloomsberry sees it as the only way to save the museum. Determined to get his parking garage, Junior foils Ted's plan by pouring hot coffee on the machine & framing George. Believing his life to be ruined, furious Ted allows the animal controllers take the kind-hearted little George away.

Ted speaks with Ms. Maggie who helps Ted "see" what's really important in his life. Ted regrets the decision to give George to animal control, & boards George's cargo ship to get him back. Ted tells George that nothing else matters besides their "buddyship". In the hold of the ship, George discovers that when reflected in light, the idol reveals a pictogram with the message "turn your eye to the light, go from blindness to sight". It turns out that when held up to the sun, the small idol's actually a map to the real idol. They sail the ship back to Africa & George helps him find the real idol which is, indeed, 40 feet tall.

The idol's put in the museum, & the museum goes back in business, & becomes more successful than ever when it becomes more hands-on because of the addition of Clovis' inventions, the interaction with Ms. Dunlop & her young students &, of course, George. Junior finally gets his parking garage, but is upset that Ted's still working at the museum. Ivan invites Ted to move back to his apartment because he likes George, & Ted & Maggie almost start a romance, but George causes more trouble by starting up a rocket ship, forcing Ted to follow him...again.

Live-Action Cast ideas

 * Traci Paige Johnson as the voice of Curious George
 * Dan Stevens as Ted Shackleford (The Man in the Yellow Hat)
 * Sarah Michelle Cellar as Maggie Dunlop
 * Josh Gad as Clovis
 * Emma Thompson as Ms. Plushbottom, an opera elderly woman
 * Luke Evans as Ivan the doorman
 * Ian McKellen as Mr. Bloomsberry
 * Stanley Tucchi as Junior Bloomsberry
 * Keith David as Edu, Ted's African Guardian