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.