Handlung

The Man in the Yellow Hat is an oddball museum employee who looks after his pet monkey, an inquisitive and wonderful creature whose enthusiasm often gets the best of him.

The man with the yellow hat named Ted Shackleford works at a natural history museum that's fallen on hard times. The museum director's son wants to turn it into a parking lot, but Ted offers to bring back a mysterious idol from Africa that's guaranteed to pull in crowds. Unfortunately, the idol turns out to be three inches tall. But Ted accidentally brings back a lonely yet irrepressible monkey, soon dubbed "George". They set off on a non-stop action, fun-filled journey through the wonders of the big city toward the warmth of true friendship.—Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}

Ted, works as a guide at the Bloomsberry museum, sent on a "business" trip of sorts by the museum's owner, to find a Zagawa shrine, he encounters a playfully mischievous and curious monkey...actually a chimp who he nicknames "George" after the George Washinghton statue. His trip being less than a success, he returns stateside, only to find George wanting to return Ted's hat, has stowed away on-board Ted's boat. Back in the states, Ted finds himself lumbered with George, who can't help but make Ted's life even more hectic than it already is.—suspiciousaccount

A clumsy, mischievous, friendly and curious monkey named George (Frank Welker) lives in the jungles of Africa. His behavior amuses the other young jungle animals, but angers their parents; therefore, George is left sad and alone.

Meanwhile, at the Bloomsberry Museum, Ted (Will Ferrell), a museum employee, teaches schoolchildren about natural history, not realizing that his lectures bore them. Afterward, he has a talk with Maggie (Drew Barrymore), the schoolteacher, who admires him and for whom he has strong feelings. Later, Mr. Bloomsberry (Dick Van Dyke), the owner of the museum, tells Ted that he is pressed to close the museum by his son, Bloomsberry Junior (David Cross), who wishes to build a parking garage in its stead. This upsets Ted, who suggests, to revive the museum's popularity, that they obtain a statue called the Lost Shrine of Zagawa. Mr. Bloomsberry is too old to go, but Ted quickly volunteers to make the expedition. Junior, frustrated, modifies his father's map of Africa to prevent Ted from finding the Shrine.

Ted is tricked into purchasing a yellow safari outfit with a yellow hat. In Africa, Ted leads a group on a four-day hike to the lost shrine. George spots the yellow hat and, mistaking it for a large banana, follows the group. They soon notice each other and become friends. When Ted reaches the end of Junior's sabotaged map, he encounters a miniature idol; believing this to be Zagawa itself, he gets depressed. He gets a call from Mr. Bloomsberry and sends a picture of the statue. However, the angle of the picture causes Mr. Bloomsberry to believe the idol is much bigger. Ted returns to the docks, while George quickly follows with the hat. George sneaks onto the ship and rides to the city without Ted's knowledge.

Upon arrival, Ted rides home in a taxi, and George follows him all the way to his apartment. Through a series of misadventures, Ted is evicted for violating a no-pets rule. Upset, Ted wonders what he is going to do with George. Together, they walk to the Bloomsberry Museum, where crowds of people await to see the idol. Junior overhears Ted complaining about the tiny idol and uses this to humiliate Ted. George inadvertently destroys a dinosaur skeleton, and Junior shoves Ted out of the museum.

With nowhere to go, Ted and George sleep in a park. The next morning, Ted awakes to find George gone. Hearing a commotion, he follows it to a zoo, where he finds George with Maggie and her class. Ted attempts to court Maggie, but George starts floating away, suspended by a bunch of balloons, and Ted goes after him in the same way. Together, they fly around the city, held aloft by Ted's balloons and using a kite to control their direction. When they float over the Bloomsberry museum, Ted holds out the idol and wishes it were big, which gives him an idea.

Ted visits Clovis, an inventor who built the museum's Zagawa exhibit, who has a projection machine that can create a 40-foot-tall hologram of any object. Ted takes the projector to the museum, intending to use it to display the idol. He shows it to Mr. Bloomsbury, who agrees it would save the museum, but Junior sabotages the projector, framing George for it. Ted is forced to admit the truth to the thousands of people waiting outside, including Maggie, disappointing everyone. Angry at him, Ted allows George to be taken away by Animal Control officers and be shipped back to Africa. However, Ted's conscience convinces him that he has made a mistake or wronged his friend, as he confesses to Maggie.

Ted gets on the cargo ship and frees George. While he tries to explain to George that their friendship is more important than any idol, a beam of sunlight passes through the tiny statue, creating a Pictogram showing the location of the full-size idol. Ted then realizes the true meaning of an ancient writing he saw back in Africa. Ted and George therefore travel to Africa in the ship's cargo bay, to rejoin Edu, Ted's guide, and find the true idol.

Upon the exhibit's re-opening, the museum is redesigned to be more interactive, thereby igniting the children's interest in science and history. Ted and Maggie are about to become a couple in earnest when George again interrupts them by hijacking a nearby spacecraft.