George of the Jungle is a Canadian/American animated television series. It is the remake of the 1967 animated series of the same name using Flash animation. It is produced in Canada airing there on Teletoon. The remake mostly stays true to the original production, with a few key differences existing between the two. One episode of the show typically consists of two 12-minute episodes. This is unlike the original cartoon, which featured other stories such as Tom Slick and Super Chicken. The original series aired from June 29, 2007 until January 11, 2008,and the revival series aired on September 10, 2016. The original series premiered on Cartoon Network in 2008, and the revival series is now on Kabillion.
George – A friendly, yet dim-witted vine-swinging man in a loincloth, he lives in a jungle in Africa Possessing incredible strength, bravery and a penchant for repeatedly crashing into trees while vine-swinging, George acts as the protector of all the jungle's inhabitants. He also acts immature (picking his nose and eating snot) and speaks in the grammatical person. In the revival series, he looks like the original 1967 version.
Ape – A sarcastic and intelligent gorilla that lives with George in the jungle. He functions as George's surrogate brother, parental-figure and best friend, although his attempts to educate George have a long history of repeated failures. He also tends to serve as the voice of reason most of the time. In "George's Birthday Present", it is revealed Ape is 5 years old in ape years. Every time he hears the sound of Mitch's bongos, he dances uncontrollably which results in mass insanity and the destruction of their Tree House and he dances on his fingers when George uses a leaf as a Kazoo as revealed in "Ape Goes Ape".
Magnolia (Ursula in the original series) As Ursula: A tomboyish city girl who came to live in the jungle with George and his friends along with her father. She quickly forms a bond with Ursula, causing the two to be frequently seen together. Young, reckless and eager to introduce modern culture into the jungle, she often tries to educate her new friends to the marvels of modern city life (such as Christmas or traffic systems), only to usually have her attempts backfire. Regardless, she does her best to assist her friends when necessary. She is still adjusting to jungle life, and so she still has much to learn. As Magnolia: A jungle scientist who is now not related to Dr. Scott (despite him being erased from the show) on a research trip to discover the rarest of animals in order to win a Nobel Prize. Her obliviousness to bad ideas often lands her in deep trouble. It is revealed that she doesn't know basic math.
Ursula (Magnolia in the original series) As Magnolia: A native of the jungle and valley girl figure, she is one of George's closest friends since she came to the jungle. Despite her dressing in jungle attire (such as loincloths and sticks) as well as fits of hyperactivity, she originally appeared to be very well educated in both human and jungle knowledge, often helping to bridge the gap between Magnolia's city life and jungle life. She originally spoke with a Southern accent, and can appear somewhat dimwitted at times. As Ursula: Born to a lost tribe who misplaced her, she is a wild feral girl who hunts to survive in the Jungle, and has animal-like mannerisms (eating grubs, berries, and bugs from her hair, scratching herself with her feet, etc.). She may attack everyone (mostly George), but there are some romantic hints about her and George in some episodes for fans to know. She is not related to the Witch Doctor.
Secondary characters
Narrator – The narrator of each George of the Jungle episode. In comparison to the narrator of the original cartoon, he speaks in a documentary-style fashion, often beginning each episode claiming "To survive in the jungle". often followed by a situation in complete contrast to the first impression of his introduction.
Dr. Scott – The modern doctor now living in the jungle with his daughter. He has formed a somewhat friendly (and often hostile) rivalry with the local Witch Doctor, continuously trying to disprove his barbaric medicine and shaman skills with modern science (often with equally unsuccessful results). His design was recycled for Dr. Chicago.
Witch Doctor – A very compact, diminutive character who believes his shaman skills are the solution to all problems. He often competed with Dr. Scott and his modern medicine to see who can solve a problem first, although neither usually provides the solution to whatever problem they tackle. In the new season, he is not related to Ursula (Magnolia in Season 1.)
Big Mitch – A conniving marmoset and frequent pest to the jungle community. He lives in an ancient temple full of riches and booby traps, and has a pair of Bongos with him. (No longer in the show.)
Shep – George's elephant friend who actually acts like a dog. He travels with George on most of his adventures, only rivaled by Tookie-Tookie. He is very untrained, and can often be seen destroying sections of the jungle. Shep likes to play with George a lot, often playing with him when he should be helping people throughout the jungle.
Tookarus Birdoozi – George's second pet, a parrot-like bird that can only say his own name.
Carl – Carl is a baboon who constantly makes a fool out of George and Ape.
Cousin Larry – George's arrogant human cousin, who does his best to win at everything, no matter the cost. He was eventually revealed to be a cheater in all his victories and was ousted from the jungle.
Cousin Papaya – George and Ape’s cousin, a King Kong gorilla that made a promise to beat the leaving day lights out of anyone who would mess with George or Ape and the other gorillas.
Edward Madmun – The creator of Madmun Island. He has an associate (and later enemy) who helped him climb to the top of Mount Everest and swim Madmun across the English Channel. George, Ape and the others often accidentally say "Madman" for his name, but someone always reminds them "It's MadMUN!".
Lion – A lion who was defeated by George in his childhood.
Tiger – A hungry predator who likes to feast on small defenseless creatures and appears randomly in cameos (as seen in "Rainy Season" and "Eagle Tick").
The original series of George of the Jungle was released on DVD in Region 1 on August 19, 2008, titled George of the Jungle: The Swinging First Season.
