of Salinas, California's Monterey Zoo. Sammut temporarily replaced Fraser as his stunt double for its wrestling scene. Fraser was really holding an animatronic lion. Reno, Nevada's Rick Glassey trained Kaleb. He was the third and final lion to appear onscreen. The large gorillas who live with George were all costumed actors who were Henson puppeteers. Their faces were remote-controlled animatronic heads, which, along with the yak fur gorilla suits, were provided by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Other effects were provided by Dream Quest Images. In the "Pride Rock" scene, when George presents his son to the animals, CGI work is again used. The jungle setting was constructed on a stage in Playa Del Rey, Los Angeles. The stage was 750 feet long, 71 feet high at the peak, 90 feet wide. Release Box office The film debuted at No. 2 at the box office behind Men in Black and grossed $174.4 million worldwide. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a score of 55% based on 53 reviews and an average rating of 5.5/10. The site's consensus states: "George of the Jungle is faithful to its source material—which, unfortunately, makes it a less-than-compelling feature film". On Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 53% based on reviews from 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B+" on scale of A to F. Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert gave the film two thumbs up on their show At The Movies; Ebert awarded it three out of four stars, praising it as "good-natured" and complimenting the cast's comedic performances. Siskel wrote, "What sets the film apart is a script that has the good sense to laugh at itself". James Berardinelli thought "the comedy in George of the Jungle is not sophisticated, but it is frequently audacious and irreverent". It was nominated for Best Fantasy film at the Saturn Awards. Home media Walt Disney Home Video released the film on VHS and LaserDisc in the United States and Canada on December 2, 1997. Sequel The film was followed by a direct-to-video sequel, George of the Jungle 2, which picks up five years after the original. Most of the major characters were re-cast using different actors, although Keith Scott, Thomas Haden Church and John Cleese reprised their roles from the original. References External links 1990s children's films 1997 romantic comedy films 1997 films