George of the Jungle is a 1997 American comedy film directed by Sam Weisman and based on Jay Ward and Bill Scott’s 1967 American animated television series of the same name, which in turn is a spoof of the fictional character Tarzan, created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Written by Dana Olsen and Audrey Wells, and starring Brendan Fraser, Leslie Mann, Thomas Haden Church, Holland Taylor, Richard Roundtree, and John Cleese. It tells the story of a young man raised by wild animals who falls for an heiress and contends with the heiress' spoiled fiancée. The film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and was released in theatres throughout the United States and Canada on July 16, 1997. It was later aired on Disney Channel in the United States on December 5, 1998. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $174 million worldwide. A sequel, George of the Jungle 2, was released direct-to-video on October 21, 2003.
Plot
While touring Burundi with local guide Kwame and a trio of porters, San Francisco heiress Ursula Stanhope encounters her spoiled fiancée Lyle van de Groot, who wishes to take her home and had hired two poachers, Max and Thor, to track her down. Kwame tells the group of the "White Ape", a local legend of a superhuman primate that lives on Ape Mountain and rules the jungle. The next day, Ursula refuses to go home until she sees the White Ape, so Lyle goes into the jungle with her to find it. The two are attacked by a lion, and Lyle knocks himself unconscious trying to flee. Ursula is saved by the King of the Jungle, George.
After taking Ursula to his tree house home and caring for her, George introduces her to his three animal friends: Ape, the sapient talking gorilla who raised him; Shep, his pet African forest elephant that acts like a dog; and Tookie, a toco toucan who gives him news involving the jungle’s animals. George is smitten with Ursula and attempts to woo her; Ursula soon reciprocates his attraction, and her time spent with George makes her no longer wish to return home.
Lyle, Max, and Thor soon arrive at the treehouse, but Ursula treats Lyle coldly for trying to abandon her during the lion attack. Max and Thor try to shoot Shep for his ivory, and Ape shouts at Shep to run. Everyone is stunned by the sight of the talking ape, and Max and Thor decide to tranquilize and capture him. George runs to stop them, and is accidentally shot by Lyle, who thought the gun was his novelty lighter that he had planned to scare George off with.
Lyle is imprisoned after being identified as the shooter by the porters. Max and Thor are deported, but resolve to return to the treehouse to capture Ape and make a fortune off of him in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Ursula takes George to San Francisco to get medical help for his gunshot wound, and to show him the human world, which he has not seen since infancy.
While Ursula is at work, George explores San Francisco on his own, and uses his vine-swinging to rescue a man whose paraglider has become caught on the suspension cables of the Bay Bridge. Now disgusted with Lyle, Ursula admits what happened in Africa to her parents. She intends to break off the wedding, but her overbearing mother Beatrice objects. At a party intended to celebrate Ursula's engagement, Beatrice takes George aside and coldly tells him that Ursula's marriage to Lyle must proceed as planned, and threatens to harm George if he interferes.
Back in Burundi, Max and Thor tranquilize Ape; before he falls unconscious and is captured, Ape manages to send Tookie to find George. Tookie flies to San Francisco and informs George of Ape’s capture, forcing George to leave Ursula and return to Burundi. While confused by George’s unexplained departure, Ursula realizes she loves George and goes to find him, despite her mother’s protests.
Max and Thor, having returned to the treehouse after getting turned around by a phony shortcut trail, are confronted by George, but quickly subdue him. With help from Ursula and the animals, George gets free, defeats the poachers, and saves Ape. Lyle then appears, having escaped prison, joined a cult, and become a legally ordained minister able to perform marriage ceremonies. Lyle has George subdued by a group of hired mercenaries, and forcibly takes Ursula to a boat waiting on Ape River to perform their marriage rites. However, the ceremony is interrupted by a series of harsh rapids that puts them both in danger.