Mighty Joe Young is a fun entertaining family-friendly film about a oversized Gorilla who makes his way to the West where he's put on display. Now, you may be thinking to yourself, "I've seen this before" and you would be correct in making the comparison to that other classic film of the big gorilla who goes west, "King Kong", but that's where the similarities end or are atleast diluted to some extent.
Yes, Mighty Joe Young is inspired by King Kong, but it's also clearly inspired by Gorillas in The Mist (1988), which itself is inspired by the life story of Dian Fossey, a conservationist and primatologist who lived in the mountains of Rwanda where she took care of the mountain gorillas until she was murdered. Dian Fossey is a member of The Trimates, a group of three primatologists, which also included Jane Goodall (another person whom inspired this film), who studied apes in their natural habitats.
As well, this film is a remake of the 1949 classic of the same name (Mighty Joe Young) but takes a huge departure from the original story. Whereas in the 1949 version, Jill takes Joe to the west to seek fame and fortune, in this version she (portrayed by the beautiful and ever graceful Charlize Theron) does so out of compassion, love, and good intent for his well-being. Overall, it is a great story that will captivate children and adults alike. The special effects for the time (1998) are very good although at times I felt that there was a little inconsistency in the size of Joe from one scene to the next. This, no doubt, is due to some questionable methods of Camera trickery to enhance Joe's size (who is primarily played by an actor in an animatronic suit). Nevertheless, it's flaws are few and it's thrills are many.
Yes, Mighty Joe Young is inspired by King Kong, but it's also clearly inspired by Gorillas in The Mist (1988), which itself is inspired by the life story of Dian Fossey, a conservationist and primatologist who lived in the mountains of Rwanda where she took care of the mountain gorillas until she was murdered. Dian Fossey is a member of The Trimates, a group of three primatologists, which also included Jane Goodall (another person whom inspired this film), who studied apes in their natural habitats.
As well, this film is a remake of the 1949 classic of the same name (Mighty Joe Young) but takes a huge departure from the original story. Whereas in the 1949 version, Jill takes Joe to the west to seek fame and fortune, in this version she (portrayed by the beautiful and ever graceful Charlize Theron) does so out of compassion, love, and good intent for his well-being. Overall, it is a great story that will captivate children and adults alike. The special effects for the time (1998) are very good although at times I felt that there was a little inconsistency in the size of Joe from one scene to the next. This, no doubt, is due to some questionable methods of Camera trickery to enhance Joe's size (who is primarily played by an actor in an animatronic suit). Nevertheless, it's flaws are few and it's thrills are many.