Review

Okay, so while we didn't exactly need another movie based on an animated television series, Disney's live-action spin on the cult Saturday morning cartoon is actually amicable, innocuous fun. Fraser stars as the accident-prone, loincloth wearing jungle boy George, and it's the sort of camp-it-up, cheerfully goofy role that would humiliate an actor with either less confidence or a diminished sense of humor. As he's proven in everything from the likable but brain-dead Encino Man to stinkers like Airheads, Fraser is one of the most exciting and personable actors of his generation, and his comic timing is splendid. He exudes charisma, and whether swinging from vine to vine through the African jungle, fighting a vicious CGI lion, or courting a beautiful San Francisco socialite (Mann) on safari, he's a consistent delight. Another ingredient in the film's overall enjoyment: it captures the sassy tone of the old Jay Ward cartoons (i.e., "Rocky and Bullwinkle") — right down to the smart-ass narrator, a plethora of bad puns, and the tearing down of the cinematic fourth wall. Surprising, how many laughs one can milk out of George smashing face-first into a variety of objects.

 -- Steven D. Segal