The Man With the Yellow Hat is a Very Peculiar Man
My oldest son loves him some Curious George. The books, the show (on PBS) and even the toys, but he wouldn’t buy one of those toys because it’s not a superhero or a Planet Hero, but if those didn’t exist he probably would buy some Curious George toys.
He and I read Curious George books probably twice a week thanks to the library. Curious George Goes to a Restaurant. Curious George Plays Baseball. Curious George Flies a Kite. Curious George is Bored. Things like that. You know the drill.
And no one in this country or world would know about Curious George if it wasn’t for his ubiquitous friend, the Man With the Yellow Hat (MYWH for those in the know). He has no name, no history, he just exists as the Man With the Yellow Hat. We do know a few things about him though. He is an explorer, as we know from the first Curious George book. He also appears to be wealthy, having an apartment in “the city” and a house in “the country” and because if this he is a man of leisure. There are no real world locations in Curious George, but one can assume that given the history of his creators, the husband and wife team of H.A. and Margret Rey, who fled Nazi Germany to eventually live in New York City, that New York is “the city”, but I’m completely and totally getting off topic.
The Man With the Yellow Hat is ALWAYS wearing yellow. He never wears blue. He never wears red. He never wears black. Only yellow. And it can only be yellow or else part of his persona and psyche is gone, like a war veteran who lost a limb that can still feel it itching when he gets back to “the world”. This weird character trait would make it difficult for a normal person to shop for clothes, but he does live in “the city”, so he probably gets his clothes tailor-made at some haberdasher, being a wealthy gentlemen and all.
And for the love of all that is holy, don’t lose his hat. Few things are worse than this scenario. As he said in one of the episodes of the Curious George show, which I watch with my oldest, “Without my hat, I’m just not…me.” No kidding, Man With the Yellow Hat. Then you’re just “The Man”. A generic plot point in a children’s book. He. Is. Nothing.
The Man With the Yellow Hat also seems strange just for the fact that he’s a strapping young guy in a city full of available ogling females who lives with a monkey. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! And he’s always leaving George by himself, saying things like, “Now I’ve got to conveniently go over here. Don’t get into trouble!” What does this moron think is going to happen, George is going to just sit there? Everybody in the books calls the monkey CURIOUS George. There is no “Mild-Mannered George” or “Dullard George”.
But all in all the Man With the Yellow Hat seems to live a pretty cool life. He’s an explorer, he drives a convertible, he flies a plane, he has a pet monkey. My oldest would kill for that life.
You missed a couple crucial points. First all, old man, all the cool kids know that his name is Ted as revealed in the major motion picture of 2006. By implying he has no name dates you as an old timer who must have been born back in the 20th century. Get with it, pops.
Second, with that yellow jump suit, isn’t he really the Elvis for monkeys and toddlers? The similarities may not seem obvious if you’re simply viewing him through the eyes of the yellow bound pages. In reality, Ted is dealing with his massive celebrity status, groupies, and huge personal wealth. He holds back on the bling, but one day when they find him unconscious with his head in the toilet… it will all be crystal clear.
I am intrigued by The Man in the Yellow Hat but at this point — I have not read all the Curious George books– I tend to see him as rather strange; benevolent , yes, but I am not sure I’d want him around any little monkey of child of mine. If he has a life it may be like weak tea with lots of milk. Maybe I am a suspicious, negative old woman, but I’d like to see the results of a psychiatric evaluation.
He has given up on much — or seems to have– all for a curious little monkey.
His habit of always wearing yellow seems like compulsive behavior.
Hello!
My name is Daniel Moser and I will soon be playing ‘The Man In The Yellow Hat’ in a brand new national tour of CURIOUS GEORGE LIVE!
I loved reading what peeps had to say about the character and I’m excited to play the part!
Visit my website, or the CURIOUS GEORGE LIVE! website to learn more ’bout the tour!
*Danny
P.S. Hope I look good in yellow!
I know you wrote this quite a while ago but I had to comment. Your observations are spot on. Especially the one about MWYH being incredibly wealthy because he has a nice apartment in the city AND a country house! I guess when you spend your money on yellow clothes and toys for your monkey, you have can save a nice chunk of change.
I am “curious” about MWYH’s social life. He doesn’t seem to date much. I have suspected he might be secretly dating Dr. Wiseman (the female professor he seems to spend a LOT of time with) but I don’t know. She has the same kind of Jack (or Jane) of All Trades career that MWYH has. She works at the museum, designs rocket ships, and so on. I think they’d make a great pair. And she’s very tolerant of George’s hijinks.
The saddest thing is that as a stay at home Mom, I spend way too much time trying to psychoanalyze MWYH and the subtle nuances of the show. But I must admit, the guy fascinates me.
Thought about this–if a connection is made between the MITYH and his creators who were Jewish and fled Nazi Germany for a ‘safe’ haven in NYC, couldn’t the color of the suit reflect the yellow star of David Jews were forced to wear; and, he rescued George, taking him to the typical American settings — city and country–and to safety. Finally, if one were to consider the ethnicity of the MITYH, an argument could be made that there is a reason he is not blonde haired and blue-eyed. I would not argue that the authors did this consciously, but their powerful experiences would have to,somehow, color their writing. Perhaps in yellow…
He returned a pair of underpants to the department store because “after only one wash, they turned saffron.”
(A quizzical look from the clerk.)
“I’m giving a speech tomorrow and I need to know my shorts are yellow!”
Yes, he’s the kind of unusual gentleman you would have be friendly with if he lived next door, but you’d never leave him alone with your kids!
If he shacked up with Dr. Wiseman, I would trust him more. hmf.
@CBB I agree. The Professor Wiseman angle, being thrown in as it is, would allude that TMWTYH has some sort of romantic attachment to her, but they’ve never shown that. He makes her dinner, does presentations for her, goes on expeditions when she asks him (and George) to, but they never quite make that connection.
It’s a kids’ show, though. I think everyone is thinking about the HBO Curious George miniseries.
In the original books Dr Wiseman is a man.
Just read this, as my husband, two-year-old daughter, and I will be MWYH, Curious George, and Professor Wiseman respectively for Halloween tomorrow. (And we won’t be entirely in disguise, as my husband is a scientist, I am a woman of color who is a professor, and my daughter is a monkey
).
Anyway, my husband and I loved reading all of this, comments too! We couldn’t agree more, have considered all of these interpretations (except the one about yellow and the Star of David…interesting…), and haven’t laughed this loud in a long time! Thanks!
@Sabrina A white man at that. They explain what happened in “Curious George Becomes Politically Correct”