(playful piano music)
- [Narrator] Curious George, the beloved children's book
character is a mischievous monkey
who's inquisitiveness gets him in all kinds of trouble.
But before he reached global fame,
George started as a drawing in the basket
of a jerry-rigged bicycle escaping the Nazi's.
(bicycle bell dings)
(Latin beat music)
It's 1935 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Jewish-German artists and newlyweds
Margret Waldstein and Hans Reyersbach
were living in an apartment with two pet monkeys
that were always causing trouble.
(French bistro music)
On their honeymoon in Paris, Hans and Margaret
fell in love with the city
and decided to move there.
They spent the next four years
writing and illustrating children's books.
One character was inspired by their pets
in Brazil, a monkey named Fifi.
(dramatic music)
But World War II was underway,
and in May 1940, Nazi Germany crossed into France
with their sights set on Paris.
Hans and Margret planned to escape to New York
on a ship leaving for Lisbon, Portugal,
but there were no more trains out of Paris.
After a desperate search for transportation,
they finally found a bicycle store
that was nearly empty.
Hans had to improvise.
So he bought spare parts
and cobbled together two makeshift bicycles.
The next morning Hans and Margret
loaded their bicycles with as much as they could carry,
including of course,
their manuscripts for the Adventures of Fifi.
They pedaled south for four full days
to the nearest working train station,
finally arriving in Lisbon
to board a ship to Rio de Janeiro.
(gentle music)
From Rio, Hans, Margaret and Fifi
were able to safely board a ship to New York.
It was here that they published Fifi's first book,
but decided to give him a new,
more American name, George,
Curious George.
After the war, Hans and Margret became US citizens,
happily living out their days in the States.
And George, his story isn't over.
The little monkey has sold 75 million books,
has been translated into over 15 languages,
and has his own TV show
and three full-length movies.
But most importantly, he continues to delight
curious children around the world.