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GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE

Starring Brendan Fraser, Leslie Mann, Thomas Haden Church, Holland Taylor

Director Sam Weisman

Opens July 18

Fraser sports a loincloth and 6 percent body fat, but don't let the physique fool you. George is still vine challenged: ''He's a well-intentioned, enthusiastic guy who just misjudges,'' says director Weisman, whose film aspires to the subversive sensibility of Jay Ward's late-'60s TV cartoon. To achieve that end there's Shep, the elephant who thinks he's a dog; Ape, George's long-suffering mentor (voiced by John Cleese); an ark-load of real, man-made, and computer-generated creatures; plus $2 million worth of jungle. The plot: George rescues on-safari socialite Ursula (Mann) and causes her to rethink plans to marry snooty Lyle (Haden Church). Fraser had to invent a rhythm for his character's lingo (''nouveau iambic pentameter,'' he calls it) and his own yell. ''I just squeezed my butt cheeks,'' says Fraser, ''and screamed.'' UPSIDE Boomers who loved the cartoon now have children to share it with. DOWNSIDE Does anyone love the cartoon?


Posted May 16, 1997 | Published in issue #379 May 16, 1997 | Order Article Reprints