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Early on in 'George of the Jungle 2', the alliteration-addicted narrator mentions that this movie uses a completely new set for the jungle scenes. Shortly thereafter, the narrator seems surprised when confronted with new George, Chris Showerman, asking who he is. George/Showerman responds that he's the new George, because the studio was too cheap to pay Brendan Fraser. At this point, I think we know where we're going. ***

The first movie came some six years ago, and along with 'Dudley Do Right' served as part of Fraser's attempt to scare us all into thinking he was going to ruin all the great, campy cartoons of my youth. Many a nightmare featured Fraser stepping into the Way Back machine. At any rate, that first movie apparently did well enough in the rental market to set off the bells at Disney which mean that another sequel will be made whether there is the slightest point in one or not. ***

In this one, George and Ursula are happily married and have a son whose fifth birthday is approaching. Ursula's mother show up at their jungle paradise hoping to convince Ursula to return to civilization. Mom is in cahoots with the dastardly Lyle, who has his own plans for forcing George and Ursula apart. It seems that Ape is now living in Las Vegas running up gambling debts, and of course Lyle owns the casino. Lyle plans to get the deed to Ape Mountain, possession of a deed, of course, being all the points of the law, and then kick George and all his animal friends off it so he can build condos. Meanwhile, Ursula's mother is trying to guilt George into leaving Ursula. It's the old 'if you really loved them you would want them to be happy living with civilized people' trick. ***

In what is comparatively a stroke of utter genius, Plan A misfires, and though we do manage to get the whole crew to Las Vegas, Lyle is no closer to Ursula than ever before. It is pretty obviously time to call in the hypnotist. And, of course, we also have a sort of 'Behind-the-Scenes' subplot wherein Lion, back at Ape Mountain, is trying to regain his throne. This, naturally, being necessary for the 'Lion King' references that are such a hoot. ***

In the end, after we've sat through every hopelessly overburdened plot contrivance ever invented, the end of the movie throws all hope to the wind, and falls back on a deus ex machina move. The first 'George of the Jungle' apparently had enough funny bits in it that it was deemed worthy of renting for the kiddies. I haven't seen the thing, but I can imagine that Fraser can pull off something decent enough to avoid being a total waste of time. In our second feature, nothing is funny, the movie is so self-referencing (a move that started us out on a clever note) that within twenty minutes it's only boring, and the plot only exists to get us from one gag to the next. Someone has an idea for a 'King Kong' referencing gag, and now we manipulate the plot until we get there, and don't worry how ridiculous things become along the way. ***

Some credit must be given to Chris Showerman and Thomas Haden Church who do as well as can be managed with their roles. We also have to feel a bit of sorrow for John Cleese. Even though he obviously got a rather large check for showing up at a studio for about ten minutes, it's still rather sad to see his name affixed to this. ***

No matter angle you might be coming from with this movie, there is very little of merit here. Sure, the kiddies might get a chuckle or two out of it, but not many I assure you, and do you really want your kids watching this anyway? Silly can be great, and the original George was only sort of The One Stooges In The Jungle, but silly and completely stupid are not the same thing.

The picture quality of 'George of the Jungle 2' is hard to fault. It is exceptional, but there are only minor flaws. Compression artifacts are very rare, and colors are extremely sharp and vivid. Contrasts are not perfect, but certainly more than adequate. One of the few pluses of the movie is that the shots of the jungle come through so well. ***

The sound is of surprising quality on the DVD, and whenever we're in the jungle the detail to the sound design is quite impressive. Sound effects truly immerse the viewer in the jungle, with surrounds being solidly utilized. In Las Vegas there suddenly becomes no point at all to a rear channel, which is rather distracting in contrast. The DTS is a surprise, and seems mainly to exist so that the DVD's packaging can say it does. Still, overall this is a very appealing sound effort. Dialogue and effects come through very nicely. -

The DVD is not exactly overloaded with features, but they are likely to appeal to the children they were intended for. ***

'Behind the Trees' is a 10 minute 'Making of' style featurette, but it is given to us in just the sort of silly way we might expect from such a movie. We chat briefly with a few of the stars, and get a quick tour of the sets, but it isn't long before we realize that this is more of a mockumentary on the film's creation. Soon the camera crew is thrown off the lot by security, and the whole thing is at least as whimsical as the movie itself. ***

'Vine-Surfing' is a game that is really just a trivia feature that is for only the youngest of audiences. Much like the movie trivia found on the 'Harry Potter' releases, answering questions moves us along a path to more questions. ***

There are seven deleted scenes with optional commentary. A few of these are fairly interesting scenes, though one or two of them are either not actually scenes at all, or are only a few seconds long. The commentary is about as interesting as can be expected, though of course the scenes were only cut for time, and not for any artistic reasons (because what could that mean?) ***

'Jungle Bungle' a blooper reel, is among the most bizarre of special features ever to make it to a DVD. A blooper reel is certainly a fine choice, and a ready staple of the extra feature world, but when a movie as goofball as this, filled with less than impressive actors has a blooper reel that is thirty seconds long, it is certainly less than satisfying. At literally thirty seconds, the thing ends before you're sure it's started, and I can't imagine anyone not feeling completely cheated by it. ***

The disc also includes trailers for the Disney films: 'Brother Bear', 'Finding Nemo', 'Santa Claus 2', 'Freaky Friday', and 'Lion King 1 ½'

Even the legitimate kiddie entertainment is woefully lacking in this one. It certainly isn't funny for adults, and I can't imagine they could stomach the plot. The laughs we get from children are few and far between, and the majority of the really bad humor will go over their heads in any case. Disney will not tolerate a movie without a sequel, and sometimes this is what we get. On the other hand, I can usually figure out who they're for.

Marc Eastman

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