CURIOUS GEORGE® Takes on the Arts in an All-New Season Premiering Labor Day, September 5, 2011 on PBS KIDS® (check local listings)
Everyone’s favorite monkey is back for a new season of (mis)adventures when CURIOUS GEORGE premieres its sixth season Labor Day, September 5 on PBS KIDS (check local listings). Follow George’s contagious enthusiasm as he encourages preschoolers to find their own creativity and get curious about the arts. The fun continues all season long as George explores arts themed activities including helping Betsy enter a photography contest, creating a wind symphony, sand painting the desert, and even dancing the box step.
It all starts Monday, September 5, 2011 with “Auctioneer George” and “Sock Monkey Opera.” In “Auctioneer George,” George has one dollar to buy anything he wants at the Annual Corn Roast and Attic Auction, and he sets his sights on a pair of red elephant mittens. When the Man with the Yellow Hat leaves George alone, he bids …and bids…and wins! Only, he didn’t realize how bidding works, and now he owes $100. While George tries to re-auction the mittens himself, Marco searches the city for the only person unique enough to pay $101 for red elephant mittens…Mr. Glass. Then in “Sock Monkey Opera,” when Betsy gets the chicken pox and can’t see her favorite opera,Hansel and Gretel, she sends George in her place. George loves the opera so much, he decides to cheer up Betsy by performing for his itchy friend. But how can one little monkey sing, dance, and act for an entire cast of characters?”
“The Arts are actually a great vehicle to teach kids about science, engineering, and math,” said WGBH Executive Producer Dorothea Gillim. “With this new season, kids will be inspired to dance, sculpt and paint along with George, and they’ll also come away with knowledge of important STEM concepts.”
The fun continues on Tuesday, September 6, 2011 when George learns that clues are key to solving mysteries in the new episodes “Hamster Cam” and “The Great Monkey Detective.” In “Hamster Cam,” Steve’s pet hamster, Hogie, is on the loose in the city streets with nothing but a small video camera tied to his back. George helps Steve track his whereabouts using clues from the hamster cam and his best monkeyish map-reading skills. But can a monkey with a map keep up with a hamster on the run? Then in“The Great Monkey Detective,” it’s a mystery movie night at Chef Pisghetti’s restaurant. But the big mystery really begins when Chef Pisghetti’s cookbook suddenly vanishes! A fan of Detective Basil Know-it-All, George understands that clues are the key to solving a mystery. Will George be able to crack the case of the missing cookbook or will this mystery remain unsolved?
And on Wednesday, September 7, 2011, George explores sculpting and photography in “George and the Giant Thumb and “Shutter Monkey.” In “George and the Giant Thumb,”a bored George and Allie decide to make a ginormous sculpture of Bill’s sprained thumb. The duo quickly run out of clay and turn to less conventional art supplies. Peanut butter proves too sticky and shaving cream too drippy, so George and Allie use mud to finish their masterpiece. But will Bill give their art a thumbs up? Then in “Shutter Monkey,” Betsy’s “Out of Sight Shapes” entry for the photo contest is sure to win first prize—that is until George and Steve accidentally ruin her pictures. With some help from Steve, George runs around town trying to re-shoot the photographs. But finding the hidden shapes in things is hard for a little monkey! Can George snap 4 pictures of 4 shapes by 4:00…or are Betsy’s prize-winning photos out of sight for good?
“Now in our sixth season, we’re excited to present an all-new set of eight (mis)adventures that highlight the arts,” said Senior Vice President of Animation Production for Universal Studios Family Productions Ellen Cockrill. “And we hope that viewers will stay tuned later this season when we launch the “Exercise Your Creativity Dance Contest,” giving children the opportunity to show us their unique creativity through dance.”
Based on the best-selling Curious George books by Margret and H.A. Rey, CURIOUS GEORGE the television series expands George’s world to include a host of colorful characters and original locales, while maintaining the charm of the beloved books.
I've always liked Curious George.