Lines for Adults in Curious George

My two-year-old recently turned three, and it looks like she has finally grown out of wanting to watch episodes of Curious George over and over and over (and over).  They are all on Netflix, and I think we have seen each episode of all five seasons at least ten times.  I’m not exaggerating.

We considered have a Curious George–themed birthday party for her, but she is also a big fan of Buzz Lightyear, so we went the Toy Story route.  We also like to do piñatas, and we decided that disfiguring Curious George probably wouldn’t be the best idea.  Here’s why.

When my oldest daughter turned three, she too had a fascination with Curious George.  We bought a George piñata, gathered with family and friends at a local park, and we watched as all of the children beat George to a pulp.  At first, Olivia was excited.  It was fun to try to hit the moving monkey with a stick.  Then, as she saw him begin to fall apart, dread spread across her face.  She began quietly moaning and whimpering and nervously rubbing her neck.  Suddenly, she was holding George’s severed arm in her hands, and that’s when she lost it.  She became hysterical; her favorite animal character was now falling apart.  We have the whole thing on video.  It’s pretty funny (and sad, yes so sad).  We learned our lesson that time.

Here’s a picture of it.  The video is much funnier.  (And that’s my friend Cyndi in the blue shirt.  She’s AWESOME.)

So, no George for Daphne’s party.  We instead ordered a Buzz Lightyear piñata.  How did she react?

She was actually fine.  She loved it.  There may be several reasons for this, but I’m thinking it has to do (mostly) with the fact that she has an older sister and has seen and heard a lot more than Olivia had at age three.

All of this partying reminded me of the fun part of being a parent.  I don’t love knowing all of the lines to every child’s movie, but sometimes there are hilarious bits thrown in just for adults.  I’m not talking ridiculous and crude bits, like in Shrek (which I can’t stand), but I’m talking just funny wording and inside-type jokes to make sure that parents aren’t completely bored when viewing this juvenile entertainment with their little ones.

Here are some of my favorite lines from the Curious George television show on PBS.

“No one on earth is more ready, or more normal.  Just ask my monkey!” —The Man in the Yellow Hat

“Please do not shake up that nice dog!” —The Lady at the Animal Shelter

“Gosh, your baby looks like my monkey . . . He’s a good looking monkey!” —The Man in the Yellow Hat

“Oscar made the finals in the pretty face competition for pigs!” —Mrs. Rankin

“George and dirt?  When would that man in the yellow hat ever learn.” —The Narrator, voiced by William H. Macy.

“Anybody seen a monkey carrying a vacuum cleaner?”

“Is he wearing a cape?”

“I don’t know.  Could there be more than one monkey with a vacuum in the city?” —The Man in the Yellow Hat and a passerby

“For centuries, people have wondered what squirrels dream about.” —The Narrator, voiced by William H. Macy

“I’ve wanted a hat like this ever since I saw a man with a monkey wearing one.” —The Garbage Man, after finding the yellow hat at the dump.

It really is a fun and cute show.  I wouldn’t watch it by myself.  In fact, I hope never to watch it again.  Instead, I hope to read more of the books, which are quite charming with beautiful illustrations.