September 4, 2006 (2006-09-04) – March 17, 2022 (2022-03-17)[2]
Curious George is an American children's animated television series based on the children's book series of the same name for
PBS Kids which features
Jeff Bennett as the voice of Ted Shackelford (credited as "The Man with the Yellow Hat", formerly called that in the original series books and telefilm books).
Frank Welker, who voiced
George in the
2006 feature film, reprises the role in the series.[3] The show premiered on
PBS Kids on September 4, 2006,[4] and originally ended after nine seasons on April 1, 2015 before returning in 2018. The series concluded after 15 seasons on Peacock by March 17th, 2022.
Season 10 premiered on September 3, 2018 on
Family Jr. in Canada. Seasons 10-13 debuted on
NBCUniversal's streaming service
Peacock in the United States when it launched in July 2020.[5] Seasons 1-9 are available to stream for Peacock Premium subscribers since September 20, 2020, which is also available to stream on
Hulu.[6] Season 10 premiered on PBS on October 5 the same year.[7]
Curious George is a production of
Universal 1440 Entertainment (
Universal Studios Family Productions before 2013[8]),
Imagine Entertainment, and
WGBH-TV (
WGBH Kids) (before season 13),[9] and animated by
Toon City.[10] From seasons 1-9, each episode has two animated segments per half hour episode, and a short live-action segment after each. The live-action shorts illustrate and explain various concepts in math and
science, and shows a class with kids engaging in experiments, that teach the math or science concept featured in the previous story. Season 10 eliminated them, leaving only the animated segments left.
Settings
City: George and the Man with the Yellow Hat live in an apartment in the Big City. The actual name of the city is unknown but has some similarities to New York. However in the episode "Curious George Takes a Vacation", an airport worker mentions they're in Illinois meaning they possibly live in Chicago. The Doorman keeps a pigeon coop on the roof and is the guardian of Hundley, his dachshund dog. The apartment is near Endless Park, the museum where Professor Wiseman works, and the zoo. Chef Pisghetti's restaurant is nearby, as are a doughnut shop, Dulson's Toy Store, Mabel's Department Store (a parody of Macy's and its erstwhile competitor Gimbels), the supermarket, and the pet shop. These are recurring locations.
Country: George and the Man vacation in a small house in the country. The house is near Lake Wanasinklake, a stream, and a river that eventually flows past the city and to the ocean. George is friends there with farming neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Renkins, their five-year-old granddaughter Allie, the Quint Family, and the teenage paperboy, Bill.
Characters
Main
Curious George (vocal effects by
Frank Welker) is a tailless monkey who is the protagonist of the series. As his name implies, he is excessively curious and often causes unintentional problems. He is used as the "teachable" character in the show, and he is the one to whom lessons are explained to by the other characters. He is a character that children enjoy watching and can learn from.
The Man with the Yellow Hat (voiced by
Jeff Bennett) is a man who first befriended George. He is almost always wearing some form of yellow clothing, and acts as George's primary teacher and mentor. In the animated film, his name was given as Ted Shackelford.
Narrator (voiced by
William H. Macy in Season 1 and
Rino Romano in Seasons 2-15) is an unseen storyteller who narrates the events of each episode of the show. His narrations largely describe about the feelings of George and the Man with the Yellow Hat along with their actions, often serving as an internal monologue for speechless characters such as animals.
Supporting
Chef Pisghetti (voiced by
Jim Cummings) is an Italian chef in the City who owns a restaurant with his wife.
The Doorman (voiced by
Bill Chott in Season 1 and
Lex Lang in Season 2) is the doorman for the apartment building in which George and the Man with the Yellow Hat live. He is Hundley's owner.
Professor Wiseman (voiced by
Rolonda Watts) is a scientist who is a friend of George and the Man. In different episodes she is seen to be a
rocket scientist, and is seen to work at a local museum. She has two colleagues named Professor Einstein and Professor Pizza. Her name is a play on the words
wise man.
Steve (voiced by
Elizabeth Daily) & Betsy (voiced by
Grey DeLisle) are siblings from George's neighborhood in the city. They live with their Aunt Margaret and their dog, Charkie.
Mr. Glass (voiced by
Rob Paulsen, with the vocal impression of
Gilbert Gottfried) is a friend of Chef Pisghetti who owns a building known as "The Glass Palace" and hires window washers in the city.
Hundley (vocal effects by
Bill Chott in Season 1 and
Lex Lang in Season 2) is an orange male
dachshund. Hundley is very proper and gentlemanly. He keeps vigil on the lobby of George's apartment building when his owner, the Doorman, is absent.
Compass (vocal effects by
Rob Paulsen) is a blue male
homing pigeon, also cared for by the doorman. His sense of direction is substandard, he is therefore often referred to as an "Almost-Homing Pigeon". A
running gag throughout the series shows him constantly trying to guess what kind of animal George is, but has trouble.
Jumpy Squirrel (vocal effects by
Jim Cummings) is a male squirrel who lives in the country.
Gnocchi (vocal effects by
Debi Derryberry in Seasons 1-3 and "Gnocchi The Critic" and
Dee Bradley Baker in Season 4-15) is Chef Pisghetti's beige female cat.
Bill's Bunnies (vocal effects by
Frank Welker) are seven baby
bunnies owned by Bill. Their names are Fuzzy, Whitey, Brownie, Spotty, Black Ears, Cotton Tail, and Herbert Nenninger. He also owns their mother (Ma Rabbit), whose burrowing abilities are highlighted in several episodes.
Mr. Renkins (voiced by
Jeff Bennett) & Mrs. Renkins (voiced by
Kath Soucie) are a couple who own a farm near the country house.
Allie (voiced by
Lara Jill Miller) is the 5-year-old granddaughter of the Renkins, who is first introduced in George Meets Allie-Whoops! where she and George become fast friends.
Mr. Zoobel (voiced by
Carlos Alazraqui) is George's upstairs neighbor in the city, and a painter of modern art.
Marco (voiced by
Grey DeLisle) is a Mexican boy who lives in The Puerto Del Sol district, a Mexican neighborhood in the city, he and his family play Spanish music everywhere.
Bill (voiced by
Annie Mumolo) is George's neighbor from across the street in the country.
Minor
Netti (voiced by
Susan Silo) is Chef Pisghetti's wife.
The Quints (male Quints voiced by
Jim Cummings and female Quints voiced by
Candi Milo): Clint Quint is one of George's country friends, an avid fisherman and one of a set of
quintuplets. His siblings include a sister who is a
track runner (Sprint), a brother who is a
train-station master (Flint), a brother who is a
police officer (Wint), and a sister who prints
money (Mint).
Jagger (vocal effects by
Rob Paulsen) is a rooster who's very protective of those hens in the hen yard.
The setting for most episodes is either the city, where George lives in an apartment building with the Man in the Yellow Hat, or the country, where they share a small house near a lake called Lake Wanasinklake (on rare occasions, both settings are featured). This allows George to mirror the experiences of kids who live in an urban environment and those who live on farms and in suburbs. A few episodes take place in alternate but familiar settings, like an airport or a train station.
The show premiered on
PBS through
PBS Kids in the United States and through
CITV in the United Kingdom in 2006 and
Family Jr. in Canada in 2015. Season 10 premiered on PBS and the series made its debut on the PBS Kids 24/7 channel the same day. All seasons are available on
Peacock and PBS Kids with the first 9 seasons exclusive to Peacock Premium and
Hulu.
Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas, an animated television film, was released on November 25, 2009. It was distributed by PBS and produced by Imagine Entertainment and Universal Animation Studios. The film is a holiday
television special featuring George, as featured in the TV series, wondering what to give The Man in The Yellow Hat who is also wondering what to give George. It is shown every
Christmas season on PBS Kids.