Who else can soak in every bit of fun about Halloween than Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat? Branching off from the series of short films, “A Halloween Boo Fest” is a perfect celebration of Halloween and autumn that tells quite the interesting story. The Man in the Big Yellow Hat wants to show George his first ever country Halloween, but George ends up getting in to so much more along the way.
George is experiencing his first country Halloween and Autumn and the Man in the Yellow Hat is dead set on showing him how fun the season can be. But George learns the urban legend of No Noggin, an alleged scarecrow without a head that kicks the hats off of trick or treaters. George visits a pumpkin patch and figures out that the best way to stop No Noggin is to give him a new pumpkin head, as he once wore one before his hat kicking began. Along the way, George indulges in creating his own costume, carving a jack o lantern, raking leaves, and getting ready for the town’s Boo Festival. Will No Noggin show up again to kick the hats off of random trick or treaters?
As with all of the Curious George movies, this is about as innocent and light hearted as you can get without being absolutely cloying. George is a fun protagonist who sees the world through the eyes of a child, and has a lot of maturity in him, in finding the amusement even behind the scariest parts of Halloween. “A Halloween Boo Fest” watches like a series of episodes strung together, as George learns about Halloween, celebrates the themes of the season, and engages in the search for a famous urban legend known as No Noggin.
Along the way there are some fun scenes including the attempts to haul a giant pumpkin across town, a game of “boo!” in a pumpkin patch, and the chaos George accidentally wreaks when he begins running around town in his costume. The explanation for No Noggin is equal parts funny and adorable, and reveals a lot about George’s more tender side. The relationship between the Man in the Yellow Hat and George is absolutely adorable, and they build off of the fun relationship from the books. The topper is the voice cast with Frank Welker, Rino Romano, Jeff Bennett, Cree Summer, and Kathie Soucie respectively. “A Halloween Boo Fest” is harmless, inoffensive, non-violent Halloween fun, and it’s a great way to ring in the Halloween season.