curious about curious

an update on the soon-to-be released curious george movie from a slightly surprising source, the wsj's opinion journal [bugmenot login]

the 'origin story' of curious george

Consider how the first book violates our modern codes of political correctness. Rather than an eco-tourist, the Man in the Yellow Hat is a gun-toting poacher. When he first spots George, he says, "I would like to take him home with me." So he sets down his goofy hat as a lure. As George investigates, the man sneaks up from behind, pops him into a bag, and takes him home.

has been altered to a more PC bit

The image they see on the big screen--of George looking at a yellow hat that has been laid on the ground as a trap--won't make it into the movie that comes out on Feb. 10. This episode simply can't take place in exactly the same form as it does in the books. The original Curious George offends so many of the 21st century's delicate sensibilities that if it were written today, no major publisher would accept it without demanding big revisions. And so, in crucial respects, the forthcoming movie--if its trailer is any guide--is sure to take liberties with the classic books by the wife-and-husband team of Margret and H.A. Rey.
[snip]
[T]he new film's whitewashing will go much further: The trailer makes clear that although the man still wears a yellow hat, he's also an unarmed naturalist. There's no snatch-and-grab, either. Instead, George mistakes the hat for a banana and follows the man across the ocean as a stowaway.

i'm a big fan of curious george and consider it somewhat of a slap in the face (to all those who bought the 30+ million books over george's 60+ years). i read more into the stories now

But the challenges of adapting Curious George are in fact a bit more complex. Earnest literary types have interpreted the first book as a barely disguised slave narrative.

despite the Reys' statement: "I don't like messages. . . . These are just stories."

hollywood won't be happy until it wrecks all of my childhood favorites

¶ - nitish @ 3:29 PM