Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! is a 2009 American animated direct-to-video adventure comedy film directed by Norton Virgien. The film is based on the Curious George children's stories by H.A. Rey and Margret Rey. A sequel to the 2006 film Curious George, it was originally subtitled Monkey on the Run. It was released straight to DVD in the United States and theatrically in Denmark, Sweden, and Iceland.
While Frank Welker and Ed O'Ross reprise their roles from the first film as George and Ivan respectively, several other roles were recast. Will Ferrell, the voice of Ted (The Man with the Yellow Hat), was replaced by Jeff Bennett, reprising his role from the television series; Drew Barrymore, the voice of Maggie, was replaced by Nickie Bryar; Dick Van Dyke, the voice of Mr. Bloomsberry, was replaced by Fred Tatasciore. Clint Howard who previously voiced Balloon Man in the first film, voices Farmer Dan. Tim Curry, Jamie Kennedy, Matt Lauer, and Jerry Lewis voice the new characters. Ron Howard, who is the producer of the 2006 film, returns as executive producer, along with his partner Brian Grazer.
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Plot
George, now living with Ted in his apartment in New York City, goes to pick up the newspaper one morning. He reads that the great magician, Piccadilly, is putting on a magic show with a kindhearted elephant named Kayla. He attempts to show Ted the news, but Ted is running late to a meeting with Mr. Bloomsberry.
Unfortunately, Mr. Bloomsberry is retiring and tells Ted he is the only candidate to replace him as head of the museum because he couldn't imagine not even leaving his son Junior (who is now working as a cashier at a parking lot) to run the museum. on condition that Ted write a presentation on his vision for the museum, to be delivered in one week to the Board of Directors.
Maggie tells Ted his loved ones need more attention than his career, so Ted takes George to the magic show. When Piccadilly makes Kayla disappear, George goes looking and finds her in the basement. They stumble upon the exit. When Piccadilly finds Kayla missing he calls security led by Danno Wolfe, assisted by Mrs. Fisher. Danno gets suspicious of Ted and George. At Ted's apartment George and Kayla see TV coverage of Kayla's original home in a California animal park, with her brother Tonga and sister Layla.
Ted finds George and Kayla in the apartment. On their way back to return Kayla, George follows an advertisement for a "California Express" train to get Kayla back to her family. Ted finds them in the train but can't get them out of the boxcar before it leaves the station. Danno thinks George and Ted have kidnapped Kayla. When George opens the boxcar door, Ted falls out trying to catch the pages of his presentation. At a small train station Ted calls Piccadilly, but doesn't manage to complete the call which makes Danno even more certain he kidnapped Kayla. Ted catches up with the train on the stationmaster's motorcycle.
Ted, George, and Kayla continue on the train until Kayla's movement causes the boxcar to separate from the rest of the train. When it finally stops a man in a flatbed truck picks them up. Piccadilly, interviewed by Hark Hanson, reveals pictures of George and Ted as Kayla's kidnappers. After sleeping overnight in the back of the truck, Ted realizes they have been heading the wrong way and attempts to head them back east again.
They spend the night with Dan, a farmer, and his daughter Anna. The next mourning, Ted reads in the newspaper that the whole country thinks they're kidnappers. He also reads about Kayla's family, finally understanding why George brought them to California. Ted calls Bloomsberry to fix the mess but he reveals that everyone is looking for them in New York and that he may possibly go to jail for this. Ted attempts to convince George to let them return Kayla to Piccadilly but he disagrees with him. The next mourning, Ted changes his mind and decides to take Kayla to the animal park but before they can leave, Danno arrives in a helicopter. A pig throws Danno into a rain barrel and Kayla scares the pilot into flying away.
Voice cast
Frank Welker as Curious George, Duck, Cow
Jeff Bennett as Ted (The Man with the Yellow Hat). Bennett reprises his role from the TV series, replacing Will Ferrell from the first film.
Fred Tatasciore as Mr. Bloomsberry. Tatasciore replaces Dick Van Dyke from the first film.
Nickie Bryar as Maggie, Teenage Boy
Ed O'Ross as Ivan
Amy Hill as the Flower Pot Lady, Irate Woman
Tim Curry as The Great Piccadilly
Catherine Taber as Tina
Jamie Kennedy as Danno Wolfe
Matt Lauer as Hark Hanson
Jerry Lewis as The Humbleton Stationmaster
Cree Summer as Mrs. Fisher, Cargo Pilot, Young Girl
Jeff McNeal as Kayla, Hog, Tonga & Layla
Clint Howard as Farmer Dan
Trupti Potdukhe as Anna
Phil LaMarr as California Animal Park Attendant
Carlos Alazraqui as Train Conductor, Newspaper Vendor
Soundtrack
The soundtrack features the hit "California Sun" performed by Brian Wilson as well as all new songs by Carbon Leaf, a special title track recorded by 429 Records' artist Jackie Greene, and an original score by Heitor Pereira. Two tracks from Carbon Leaf, "Life Less Ordinary" and "Let Your Troubles Roll By", previously appeared on the band's 2004 album Indian Summer, but have re-recorded lyrics to fit the movie's theme. The soundtrack was released on March 2, 2010.
Track listing
"Life Less Ordinary" - Carbon Leaf
"The Friendship Song" - Carbon Leaf
"California Sun" - Brian Wilson
"On a Roll" - Carbon Leaf
"Heart of the Day" - Carbon Leaf
"Let Your Troubles Roll By" - Carbon Leaf
"Walking in the Sun" - Carbon Leaf
"Follow That Monkey" - Jackie Greene
"Moon Man" - Heitor Pereira
"Going East" - Heitor Pereira
"Giving a Hand" - Heitor Pereira
"Zoo" - Heitor Pereira
"The Friendship Song" - Heitor Pereira
Release
Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey was released in the United States on March 2, 2010 as a direct-to-video release and received a theatrical release in select countries.
Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey grossed $2.2 million throughout its entire theatrical run in three countries. The film was theatrically released in Sweden, Iceland, and Denmark, with the latter generating the most revenue. The film opened in 50 theaters in Denmark and finished seventh for the weekend, grossing $64,158. The film stayed at ninth for its second and third weekends. The film closed its theatrical run in the country with $1.1 million in box office receipts. In Sweden, the film opened in 47 theaters and finished sixth for the weekend, grossing $59,500. The film did better in its second weekend, adding only one theater and staying at sixth but grossing $122,295 and going up 105.5%. The film closed out its theatrical run in the country with $1 million. In Iceland, the film only opened in three theaters and finished 12th, grossing $1,794 with an average of $598 per theater. The film closed out its run in the country with $12,946, making much less than its predecessor.
Home media
Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey along with the franchise is available on Hulu starting in 2016. The franchise was picked up by Peacock in 2020 where it is running concurrently with Hulu.
Reception
Joly Herman of Common Sense Media awarded the film 4 out of 5 stars, writing that "cross-country caper with mild peril is OK for preschoolers". Bianca Schulze of The Children's Book Review wrote in her review: "Book characters in movies are a great way to connect reluctant readers with the wonderful world of books—The Man with the Yellow Hat and Curious George are so easy to like."
Sequels
A sequel, titled Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle, was released to DVD and theaters on the same day, June 23, 2015. Curious George: Royal Monkey, the fourth film of the series, was released on DVD on September 10, 2019. Curious George: Go West, Go Wild, the fifth film of the series, was released on Peacock and DVD in September and December 2020, respectively. A sixth film, Curious George: Cape Ahoy, was released on Peacock exclusively on September 30, 2021.