"Monkey Down Under" is Episode 1, Season 7 of the animated TV series Curious George, originally aired on 3 December 2012.
George and his friend "The Man with the Yellow Hat" head to Australia for a safari in the Outback with Bailey and Bindi Bungee.
Bailey and Bindi pick them up at the airport in the yellow Jeep (right hand drive of course.)
The voice of Bindi Bungee is provided by Australian actress and conservationist Bindi Sue Irwin, who is the daughter of the late conservationist Steve Irwin and his wife Terri.
I'm guessing that the yellow Jeep may have been inspired by a photo of Daryl Day's 1958 CJ-3B in Victoria, Australia that the animators found somewhere online -- like in the 1958 Owners' Photos on CJ3B.info.
They head offroad into the bush, where George and The Man With the Yellow Hat will learn about the animals of Australia, like emus, dingoes, crocodiles, koalas, wallabies and kangaroos.
Produced by Ron Howard's production company for WGBH Boston, Curious George premiered on PBS Kids in 2006, and won Emmy Awards in 2008 and 2010 for Outstanding Children's Animated Program.
The first wildlife sighting by Bailey, Bindi and the boys is a crocodile. Like George, who always has a smile on his face, this croc seems friendly, but that's where the term "crocodile smile" comes from.
Among the other animals they run across is a mob of emus. Up to six feet tall, the emu is the second tallest bird in the world (after the ostrich.) It doesn't fly, but can swim when necessary.
Curious George is widely referred to as a monkey, but at least one biologist has pointed out that since he doesn't have a tail he is more likely actually based on a chimpanzee.
The Curious George animated series is based on eight books written by Margret Rey and H.A. Rey beginning in 1941. The Reys were German-born Jews who escaped the Nazis by bicycling out of Paris, taking five children's book manuscripts with them as German planes flew overhead.
The yellow CJ-3B heads into the sunset, but George and The Man With the Yellow Hat will have a few more adventures before the end of "Monkey Down Under".
For a real Yellow Jeep safari in the Outback, see the 1969 Simpson Desert Expedition on CJ3B.info. -- Derek Redmond
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