I always watched Curious George before school when I was in kindergarten-second grade, on some days in fourth grade, and every day again in sixth grade, and sometimes I'd watch it again after school and on days I didn't have school too. I'd also watch other PBS Kids shows before George would come on: in kindergarten and part of the time in first grade, I'd watch Sesame Street (which is still one of my favorites to this day), The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That later in first grade, second and fourth grade, and Nature Cat in sixth grade. I've done a number of drawings of the title character during my George phase and a couple times since it came to an end. During my George phase, I had a George stuffed animal that I'd play with every day, and sometimes I'd bring him to school with me and play with him on the playground during recess. I also once brought him in for show and tell in kindergarten, and I still have him to this day. I have a few of the books and DVDs too, and I even dressed as George for Halloween when I was 7 years old. I used to have a DVD of the movie, but I don't know what happened to it. It probably got lost. I recently read in an article that if little kids are attached to a certain TV show, chances are they'll still like it when they get older, even if they are no longer the target audience. I find a lot of my childhood shows hard not to still enjoy and find nostalgic depending on whether or not they've aged well, and George is no exception, but this isn't the case for every childhood show. What's not to like about it?
This clearly isn't the only PBS Kids show or preschool show in general that I like, but this is one of the least babyish preschool shows I've ever come across. It isn't dumbed down for younger audiences, repetitive, formulaic, nor loud (except when the title character screams). The narrator speaks directly to the audience like they're just watching the show or listening to an audiobook, and he's not the tiniest bit annoying. The stories are simple yet always engaging and amusing with educational value, and they're faithful to the books and especially the movie! There's not a whole lot of educational value and more entertainment value, but there's nothing wrong with that. The show educates kids without them realizing it, and I was no exception when I was little! For example, there's an episode where either the Man in the Yellow Hat or Professor Wiseman has a broken cuckoo clock, and George imagines himself going inside the clock so he can figure out what's wrong with it and try to fix it himself; this episode makes studying a clock into a big adventure, which gives kids an opportunity to learn the science and technology of clocks and could make the education less noticeable. Another example is an episode where George gets sick, and he has a dream where he and Yoki the cat (or is her name Noki? I'm not certain which one it is) ride a flying machine to fly into his belly and fight singing germs to help cure his sickness. I'm probably the only one who has noticed this, but the germs slightly resemble the Mucinex germs. In a more recent episode, the Man in the Yellow Hat gets sick, and George and Yoki/Noki fly into either his mouth or his nose to fight the same germs and cure his sickness. Both of these episodes also make education into a big adventure and give George and Yoki/Noki opportunities to discover the science behind the sicknesses in person and learn more about them! I don't understand how anyone could go wrong with a show like that.
Not only does it educate the audience without them realizing it, but it also has simple and unique concepts in math, science, logic, and technology. For example, there's an episode where George plays both golf and basketball with his friends, and he learns that the lowest score is the best in golf while the highest score is the best in basketball, but he's confused and spends most of the episode trying to figure out why. Also, in the live action segments at the end of every episode, real life kids explore the topic the episode is about in person (e.g., ordering donuts, using an x-ray machine to see the inside of their bodies, recycling, etc.), similar to the "A Word from Us Kids" segments from Arthur.
For all my life (even before kindergarten), George has been my favorite character and a huge factor as to why I've always loved this show. Why? He wants to know how everything works and learns all he can about what he wants to know, and his curiosity often saves the day; that's what the show is all about. He wonders about very interesting things that I haven't thought about questioning before and would likely never know the answer to if I never watched this, like how certain items can drown, how to make instruments, and the most effective way to clean a messy carpet. However, he's extremely nosy and tries to get into everything, and sometimes his curiosity gets the best of him. A good example of his curiosity saving the day is shown an episode where the characters have a hoedown. The Man in the Yellow Hat's guitar needs a new string because one of the old ones broke, and George experiments with various different items that would make suitable replacements for the guitar strings (a rubber band, a yo-yo's string, etc.) until he finds out what works best. He fixes the guitar, and the Man can finally play it again! George never gives up and always tries and tries again until he succeeds! His curiosity also makes him relatable to kids without being pandering. You never know what's coming your way when you're curious like him, as mentioned in the theme song.
If you're looking for not so babyish, repetitive, annoying, hyperactive, nor loud kiddie show for you and your child to enjoy together, this is the one! The Curious George books have been popular with the young and old for generations, and the show gives parents and grandparents a chance to revisit their childhood and introduce George to a new generation, although the books are still available in bookstores and libraries. I highly recommend it!
