Movie Review: Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest (2013)

Back in October 2020, I was stressed out due to the pandemic and everything that happened or didn’t happen because of it. On the suggestion of some of my friends, I started watch PBS children programing. At that time, some of my friends were pregnant and wanted to watch as many children’s movies and TV shows to see if they would like to show their children once they were born. I didn’t mind helping out, so I started watching a lot of children’s programing.

Despite being an adult woman in her 30’s without any children, I actually enjoyed watching children’s programing. Some of the PBS programs, like Arthur, was nostalgic, and others, such as Let’s Go Luna, was new and made me wonder if I would actually like it as a child. Some PBS shows I liked more than others. One of my favorites was Curious George.

During the weeks leading up to Halloween, PBS began to show many Halloween specials for children. This included one of my favorite Curious George movies and episodes, A Halloween Boo Fest. A Halloween Boo Fest is a stand alone, one hour movie about an adventure Curious George has during Halloween. Ever since I saw it for the first time, I fell in love with it. Even though I am a 30 something year old woman without children, I love the story, the pacing, the moral of the story, and the animation. In the absence of It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown! on TV, A Halloween Boo Fest has become my favorite replacement. Since it is nearing Halloween, I wanted to write a review about the movie.

The description on Amazon’s listing for the DVD version of the movie is…

Hang on to your hats and get ready for a spook-tacular good time, with Curious George — in his first-ever, full-length Halloween movie. Autumn is here, bringing colorful leaves, hay rides, pumpkin patches, and the annual Boo Festival. After hearing about a legendary scarecrow who steals hats, the inquisitive monkey and his friends set out to find him. By the time he gets to the festival, George realizes that it’s not always easy to pick the perfect pumpkin, and that winning the prize for Best Costume may be as difficult as catching the mysterious scarecrow. Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest — it’s a bewitching treat for the whole family!

The story, like how you would expect a children’s animated movie, features a story that is easy to follow. The dialogue is well written for children, but there is more than enough story complexity to make the dialogue enjoyable for adults to watch as well. The animation is well done as well. The animation is more complicated and detailed than what is use in the TV series. Still, the same style was used to create the movie.

Something the description for the movie does not mention is that there are songs peppered throughout the movie. These songs are meant to emphasize something that is happening at that time, such as George learning about scaring someone by shouting the word “Boo!”. The songs are simple to follow, yet are very enjoyable and catchy. It is easy to get the songs stuck in your head!

This movie is very simple, yet very enjoyable. It is created for children, so I suggest it for anyone looking for a cute, clean movie to show children about Halloween. The story of the local scarecrow who steals hats is frightening enough to be a concern, but is not too scary for young children. Also, George and his friends, The Man in the Yellow Hat and, later, Allie’s, search for the true story about the scarecrow is also very educational for children about how scary stories are started. I also recommend this movie to adults looking for a clean, Halloween themed movie to watch. It may not be suited to every adult’s taste, and some may find the songs annoying, but it is worth a watch.

Well, that’s all for now! Thank you for reading!