Villacreces: Movement in George of the Jungle

The first time I watched George of the Jungle I was 7 years old. As a 7 year old I thought the movie was funny, but watching after 13 years I now realize that the movie mocks the idea of a jungle man entering a civilized world.

The scene that I chose to analyze movement from is the scene in which George is running around with horses and the the ladies looking at him. The main idea of this scene is that Jane falls in love with George during this scene. She realizes that once the other ladies in her same social status accept George as a "hottie" she is allowed to see him that way as well. She does not feel ashamed of being attracted to George as much. Although the ladies accept George as a "man", the men in this scene do not pay attention to George. One of the men say "what is it with women and horses",not mentioning George at all. This proves that the men do not see George as an equal or as competition. They see George as less than a man because he is form the jungle, he is not civilized and he is not part of their world. All this information is portrayed in this 2 minute scene. This scene does not present a literal idea, it presents the essence of the idea that the audience can notice while watching this scene.

While looking at this scene you notice that the frame is loose. You see George moving around freely with the horses. He is himself with the horses and not and not all tied up in a suit pretending to be someone he is not.

In this scene you have two different frames, George and the other one is Jane looking a George Because Jane is falling in love with George, the frame of George is in slow motion, she sees George as the perfect man for her. The use of slow motion defines this moment.

This scene is just two minutes long and presents that the self realization of Jane, and the free spirit of George.

Kehoe- George of the Jungle

The movement in George of the Jungle, for the most part, is sped up and exaggerated to look cartoonish both for comic effect and to pay tribute to the movies source material. There are few scenes that break away from this style but one of the most notable is the scene in which George is calming the horse while the women admire him. This is one of the few scenes that does not have the cartoonish style of movement, and, except for the two men asking, "what's with chicks and horses" the scene is devoid of comedy. The scene cuts between George, running with the horse, and the women drooling over him from behind the fence. When George and the horse are being shown, he is moving in slow motion, but when it cuts back to the women they are moving at normal speed. George's slowed movements symbolize how the women are idolize as a hunky wild man who is far different from the men they are used to meeting. The slowed motion also represents the peace that George brings to the horse by calming him down.

The scene is about 20 seconds into the video:

Bienvenu, Movement in George of the Jungle

Besides being widely entertaining, the animated introduction to George of the Jungle serves a significant purpose for the film as a whole. First, it pays homage to the original George of the Jungle cartoon. Second, it sets us up for the comedic piece we are about to watch by using specific elements such as movement.

In film, movement is often used as a metaphor. In other words, film uses movement to symbolize certain things. For example, the way a character moves on the screen tells us about their personality and the use of lyrical movements convey emotions and feelings. In the animation, all of baby George’s movements have a certain bounce and pep to them. This shows us how playful and lovable he is. These implied personality traits are proved again and again throughout the movie as Ursula falls in love with him and the audience helplessly follows suit. As for lyrical movement, this is seen throughout the entire introduction as well. All the animals are having fun swinging from vines and dancing. This symbolizes the “family” feeling George shares with the other creatures in the jungle. These lyrical movements also set us up for comedy because elephants don’t really swing from vines. The movements merely symbolize the comedic and fun-loving spirit of the creatures in the jungle.

Another thing to take into account when discussing movement in film is speed. One of the ways film conveys speed is by having characters move across the frame (right to left or left to right) rather than toward or away from the camera. By traveling from one side of the frame to another, the character has the opportunity to whiz past us! This is shown when baby George is quickly swinging across the screen from vine to vine. As he jumps and does flips along the way he becomes but a blur. This again emphasizes on the speed of his movements. The use of speed and movement in this animated introduction convey a happy energy to its audience.

*As a graphic design major, I also loved the way that the type had a personality of its own! The type is playful and interacts with the other characters. This again emphasizes on the happy feeling the movie provokes.

Movement in George of the Jungle

George of the Jungle as a movie is very loyal to its attempt to satirically tell the story of a boy growing up in the jungle. A talking ape teaches him how to live in the jungle, then he has to teach him how to show his affection to a girl. The fourth wall is often broken during this film. The narrator or a character speaks of the movie, or George (Brendan Frasier) slightly goes out of character.
The movement in this movie is used in the best way, to show the audience the silliness of this entire film. During the scene where George is swinging to save the girl, it appears that he is flying at the speed of a jet plane. His swing is drawn out for too long, giving the audience a feeling of faux suspense. The movie makes it apparent that the characters are going to make it out alive, and George and the girl will live happily ever after.
The movement is a pivotal technique used in this film. A lot of movement is obviously fake, and a lot of acting seems intentionally horrible. But this is what I like about the movie and what makes it work.

Mathey. meaning of the movements in George of the Jungle.

George of the jungle was a funny and good movie overall. The movie came out in 1997 andI think they made a great job without the technology we have today. The elephant that is made by CGI in the movie actually looks pretty real which is impressive but the most important characteristic of this movie was the use of movements. The meaning of the different way the characters are moving or the frame they are given is pretty dominant along the movie. The scene I chose to analyse is the last one when George is trying to get Ursula back when she is going down the stream with her evil boyfriend. There were a lot of close up moves on each characters in order to notice their face expressions. We can tell that Ursula is scared and worried for her life struggling to survive in the boat. George is also worried because he is swinging really fast and is not sure what is going to happen. The directors keep changing the focus on each characters, one time on Ursula, then George and so on. When Georges is about to save his love, the face expressions change. Ursula's face suddenly changes from scared to happy. There also are some public shots where we look at the characters from a farther distance. For example, when George is swinging on the vine, the camera is looking up to him to show how important he is. There is a parallel similarity during this scene. While George is swinging and gaining speed in the air, ursula is also going down the stream faster and faster on the boat, they also keep the characters in the center of the screen so we do not lose them in this high speed chase.

Himmelberg, George Of The Jungle - Movement

The first time i watched George of the Jungle I thought it was an extremely stupid but funny movie. The second and third times around, (watching it at an older age), I think that it is actually kind of entertaining. I especially like"Ape", the talking gorilla, and George, the dumb yet noble, genuine and loveable man. I think it is funny and ironic, how the Ape is more sophisticated than the human.

The scene that I want to look at involving movement, that adds in these ideas is the scene when George is going to save ape. First he gets out of a crate which he has shipped himself to africa in, puts on his nike sneakers and then he starts running. He runs all through the jungle and the mountains. This movement represents real chivalry, courage, bravery etc. He has left the woman he loves to go help his best friend and when he runs they play up his body and his stride is very chivalrious. Even though it is definitely a satire on chivalrious scenes from other movies, this is the first time in the movie where George is portrayed as not being extremely dumb and animalistic. He shows characteristics through this movement that we haven't fully seen before and although he goes back to being slapstick funny and stupid quickly after this scene. For a minute or so we are shown a different, manly, chivalrious side of George that changes the audiences view of him a little bit and definitely gives him more respect.

Nolley- George of the Jungle

The scene that I felt had the best use of movement was the scene in which George was swinging on his vine trying to impress Ursula. The movement in this scene created a very comedic feel that helped lock down the movie as a children's comedy. The use of a dolly shot in the scene was helpful in creating a swinging feel. It was more effective than if the camera had remained in one spot and briefly caught George swinging. With this technique the audience has the feeling of swinging right next to him which makes them more present in the scene. It seems apparent that in this film movement is used to revamp the comedic feel. In other scenes (like the dog/elephant scene), the movement of the camera is used to emphasize the campiness of the film. It even adds a bit of suspense to what George's dog actually is. The fact that the camera is shaking, showing that the ground is rumbling from something quite large, makes the audience question what on earth George could be calling toward him and Ursula. This technique helps to peak the audience's curiosity and the scene would be much less effective if the camera movement had not been used. The combination of sound and movement can create a whole new feel to a scene and create a much more enjoyable experience for the viewer. George and the Jungle uses movement in interesting ways to achieve an extremely cheesy feel to the movie. This campy essence is what has made George of the Jungle the family classic that it is today.

Becnel George of the Jungle

One of my favorite scenes in George of the Jungle is the scene where Ursula (Leslie Mann) and her friends watch George (Brendan Fraser) interact with the white horse( 1:05: 30- 1:14:15). This scene, in my opinion, has great movement. The scene starts out George, wearing a loose, long-sleeved, unbuttoned white shirt, moving in slower motion interacting with a white horse. The camera is focused on George. We are looking at him as though we are Ursula. His graceful, sweeping slow motions are symbolic of Ursula falling in love with George, and realizing there may be more to her feelings than just warm friendship. It adds a feel of romance to the scene. He is like the knight in shining armor riding up on his white horse to save her and sweep her off her feet. Ursula and her friends are standing along a white fence, all enamored with George and his effortless appeal. They all comment on him, and as the conversation progresses, Ursula becomes more aware of the appealing qualities of George. She tells them that he doesn't have the appeal of a banker or lawyer, but he definitely has something else. Her friend answers, "sexual intelligence". He is innocent in a way that allows him to be more free and expressive of who he really is than men who grow up in a society that is about putting on appearances. Two guys in the scene ask the question, "What is it with chicks and horses?" It is not the horse that they are swooning over, it is George, with his innate aristocratic qualities, his gentleness, and his obvious "jungle cowboy" allure. As the scene comes to an end, the camera zooms (slowly) back onto Ursula's face. This zooming suggests that like Ursula we are realizing that there is more than we first thought between the two charcters. We knew early on George's feelings for Ursula. Now, her feelings are coming to light.

Phillpott- George of the Jungle

One of my favorite scenes from George of the Jungle is the dance scene with Ursula and George. It starts out a bit silly. George is moving his body around and beating on his chest, while Ursula looks on unsure of how to join in. George doesn't care what he looks like because he is just having fun and enjoying life. His movements seem rough when compared to the apes that are playing the music for them. The apes move smoothly like a band would move while playing music. George appears to have no rhythm; yet, in a weird way his movements are lyrical. Eventually, (but very slowly) Ursula joins in by mocking his movements. When they each begin to dance this very different type of dancing, the whole scene becomes very sweet and romantic. Their movements eventually become very fluid, and it doesn't matter that they are not dancing "traditionally." What first started as comic turns into a major part of their relationship development. Their "first" dance shows Ursula that George could be seen as a man. George also helps Ursula realized with this dance that sometimes you don't have to be embarrassed to have fun--sometimes it just doesn't matter. I think the movement in this scene is beautiful. Everything comes together and the audience can really begin to feel the love they have for one another as the characters experience it. Their dance together proves that you can be who you are without fearing what others will think. The movement in this scene helps covey the message of love despite one's quirkiness.

Hales - George of the Jungle

There are many examples of movement in the Bay Bridge scene in George of the Jungle. Once George sees the bridge he immediately runs up one of the sides of it. At first he is shown moving slightly ape-like, with jerky movements and swinging arms. This, along with the simple sight of seeing a man running up the side of a city bridge, can be seen as a symbol of his jungle roots. He doesn’t know that  he isn’t supposed to run up the side of a bridge, and that is shown in his child-like and animalistic movements. The next shot has the camera panning around George while he is standing at the apex of the Bay Bridge. His stance is extremely loose, casual even. He is leaning against a post with one of his legs kicked out and his hand above him hanging onto a tension cable (but in a nonchalant manner, not grasping in order to steady himself.) This helps establish how comfortable he is. Although in a foreign environment, George appears to be totally at ease, even atop and extremely large and dangerous bridge. This is furthered by the wind blowing his hair and billowy white shirt. After George hears the parachuter's cries for help, he moves very methodically to get a look at a good way to help rescue him. The next shot is a camera shot from George’s point of view, looking up and down, quick and shaky from the sky to the water. This demonstrates the urgency of the situation and helps to build suspense. Once George grabs the cable and starts swinging, his movement is very graceful. He almost moves like a dancer or trapeze artist, even stretching his arm above his head at one point. This is of course completely unnecessary and performed to display his confidence and further the viewers perception of him as an unwavering hero figure.

Falanga, George of Jungle Movement

The scene in which George walks in on a dance class and plays the drums and dances around contains many forms of movement. The camera closes in on George's hands which are banging the drums, then goes chaotically around the room while spinning and going upside down to illustrate the moves of the dancers. This type of sporadic yet rhythmic movement that seems chaotic is a portrayal of how George lives his life in the jungle, which may seem chaotic but has a rhythm and beat with harmonious parts to it. The seemingly barbaric lifestyle of George which may seem like running around is actually movement with a tempo, much like the way he plays the bongos and dances in this quick scene. The ballet dancers are swiftly circling and moving around using all parts of there body whilst the camera goes crazy and even tilts upside down a few times to convey this craziness that is still fun and enjoyable from the mood given as the music is quick yet uplifting and the dancers smile and jump with much energy and enthusiasm. The chaos evident in the scene still has a purposeful flow in that even though it may seem unordered, it is still giving a message of control because everyone's happiness and energy that is lead by George. This chaos is illustrated as a good thing and shows George's character not one of uncontrollable barbaric image but as a different means for being high spirited and living life. The movement in this scene captivates George's mode of chaos and rapid pace as something positive and fun loving not different and foolish.

George of the Jungle, Chris Coulter

George of the Jungle uses many different methods of character movement. In the scene to the right George has just got done wrestling with a lion and has just started spinning him over his head, who he will finish spinning on one finger like a basketball in fast motion. Throughout the movie George swings from vines usually with only one hand, which is quite impossible in reality but makes for an interesting comic effect. There are also several times in the film in which fast motion is used, my favorite being when Thor gets into a fight with the narrator. There is also a well shot scene done in slow motion in which Brendan Fraser jogs around with horses while being watched by all the women at the engagement party. There are also many moments in the movie in which the action would freeze to draw attention to comic facial features. There is also a fair amount of stop-motion done with the animals in the movie so that they can exhibit human type actions. The most interesting shots, I felt, were the fight scenes. The combination of comedic effect and poetic motion was in a good balance during these scenes.