Mighty Joe Young
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Movie Reviews of Mighty Joe Young
Movie Review: Mighty Joe Young
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie was excellent. It reminded of my youth. I am proud to add it to my video collection. Even though it's in Black and white, it's a good DVD. I give it 5 stars.
Movie Review: King Kong without the sad ending
Summary: 4 Stars
This could also be titled, "A tale of four giant monkey movies", since MJY and KK were both given remakes in recent years (for this review, I'll ignore the unfortunate 1976 KK remake). The plots for each is, by now, pretty much familiar to most people, although MJY has been overshadowed by KK. This is a pity. Growing up, I always loved this film. I liked the original KK, too, but always thought it took itself just a little too seriously. Also, as a child, I really didn't like that Kong was killed at the end. Kids don't really appreciate tragedy.
MJY has the heart and humor that KK lacked. Some would complain about maudlin sentimentality, and it does require a certain innocence to appreciate it. I was fortunate enough to first see it at an age when I still had that innocence. I'm not ashamed to admit that I can still see it that way after all these years. Disney remade MJY in 1998, but some of the innocence and charm were lost in translation. The '98 version was a very forgettable film and an unworthy successor to the original.
Comparisons to KK as well as the '98 remake are inevitable though, so let's address them (WARNING: some spoilers ahead)...
KK is pretty much a straightforward action film with interludes of unconvincing romance. The acting in KK is really quite awful. (Although Robert Armstrong plays pretty much the same part in MJY that he played in KK, he does it better in MJY.) But then, all of the human actors in KK are pretty wooden, and not helped all that well by the script. (Peter Jackson's KK remake is excellent, crippled only by the poor choice of Jack Black to play the Carl Denham character.)
By comparison, MJY also blends action and romance, but adds some notes of humor and sentiment. All of these have held up well over the years. One of the big differences between the original and the '98 remake is that the original seems more genuine in context. The original is really good storytelling, but the remake seems built on the same plot framework, but designed to appeal to focus group audiences. The acting in MJY is still inferior to the remake, but that's not enough to detract from the charm of the story. Peter Jackson obviously had some of the same feelings about the two that I did since he added some moments of lightness and sentiment to his KK remake that the original lacked.
KK's great weakness is that its "moral" is hopelessly naive from a modern perspective. "Beauty killed the beast" is not only corny, it ignores that what really killed Kong was human greed and meddling with the natural world. Both KK remakes have picked up on this. By contrast, MJY is a "fish out of water" movie where both Joe and Jill are seduced by a society they're too innocent to understand. As great storytelling, you root for them to be able to go home, and the story obliges in the end. Unlike KK, the moral of MJY is every bit as relevant today as the day it was made.
One weakness of the MJY plot is that Joe is, essentially, Jill's pet. Although this enhances the charm of the story, it detracts from its message about nature. No, Joe isn't a house pet, but he's still clearly domesticated. That Kong is just as clearly a wild animal enhances the sense of dread in KK's action sequences. KK turns that relationship on its ear, the making Ann Darrow character Kong's pet. One major difference between the original KK and Peter Jackson's remake is that the original suggested that the relationship between Kong and Ann was sexual on some level. The remake depicted Kong as a lonely creature and his pet human as a welcome companion.
I have to make one final observation, unrelated to reviews of any of these films... I find it fascinating to see the effect that these giant monkey movies had on the careers of their female leads. Without KK, no one today would be likely to remember Fay Wray. Alone among these actresses, Terry Moore was most likely to have been remembered, but more for her relationship with Howard Hughes than her work in MJY. The '76 KK remake launched the career of Jessica Lange just as the MJY remake launched the career of Charlize Theron. It will be interesting to see how Naomi Watts' career progresses after the latest KK remake.
Movie Review: Striking! Startling! Staggering!
Summary: 4 Stars
PLOT: The film begins in Africa in the late 1930s. The film focuses on a little girl named Jill Young, who lives in Africa with her father who is an American explorer. One day, two natives walk past Jill's house with a straw basket. Jill asks if she can see what is inside. To her amazement, it is an adorable baby gorilla. Jill gathers up some of her belongings, as well as her father's big flashlight, and uses them to buy the gorilla. She names the gorilla "Joe". Jills father later comes home and sees that his flashlight is gone.When he finds out that Jill used it to buy a baby gorilla, he immediately says that there is no way that she can have it. Soon enough, Jill's father begins to fall in love with Joe the same way she has, but he reminds her that they can't keep him forever. Some day Joe will grow into a large, ferocious gorilla. The film then jumps to New York City in 1949. A nightclub owner named Max O'Hara (King Kong veteran Robert Armstrong) is looking for a new theme for his club, and he is certain that he will find it in Africa. O'Hara journies to Africa with a team of cowboys led by Gregg Johnson (Ben Johnson) to capture some animals for the nightclub. The group of men are stunned to find Joe, who has miraculously grown into a ten-foot-tall gorilla. Jill (Terry Moore) is now a full-grown women and she rescues Joe from the men, who nearly shot him. She shows them that while Joe may look ferocious, he is very sweet and gentle. O'Hara knows that Joe is the perfect act for his nightclub, and he pleads with Jill to sign a contract. Eventually she agrees and she and Joe go to New York. Joe, billed as Mr. Joseph Young, is a huge smash with the public, but eventually several weeks go by and Jill is uncertain if the act will ever end. Is it possible that Joe can become a danger to others as well as himself?
COMMENTS: While not an official King Kong film, this RKO produced film is often considered one because it was created by many of the same people who created King Kong (1933). The film isn't exactly a horror film, but it does feature some of the best monster special effects ever seen on the screen. The story was conceived by Merian C. Cooper, who also wrote King Kong. Stop-motion master Willis O'Brien once again was hired to create the astonishing visuals, but by now they had been perfected a little bit more. Joe was created from a fifteen-inch tall armature puppet. A new type of hair was put on him so that the animator's fingerprints weren't visibile, as seen in King Kong and Son of Kong (1933). Because of time constraints, O'Brien was unable to do any of the actual animation himself. Most of the animation was done by his new protege, Ray Harryhausen. Harryhausen saw King Kong when he was 13 years old, and he wanted to be a stop-motion animator ever since. He eventually tracked down O'Brien and convinced him to take him in as his apprentice. Harryhausen made Joe move and behave more like a real gorilla, unlike the cartoonish behavior of Kiko in Son of Kong. He later went on to do some of the amazing stop-motion seen in films such as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) and One Million Years B.C. (1966). Ultimately, Mighty Joe Young was succussful but not successful enough to earn back the $2.5 million it cost to produce the film. A planned sequel, Trazan Meets Joe Young, was cancelled. Willis O'Brien later received an Oscar for his work on the film--the only one he ever received. In 1998, Walt Disney Pictures remade the film. Joe was now created by special make-up effects master Rick Baker, who also created the King Kong suit in the 1976 remake of King Kong. Baker created Joe through the use of a man-sized costume, two full-scale animatronic puppets, and CGI. The storyline, however, was radically changed from the original. The remake featured cameos by Terry Moore and Ray Harryhausen. This DVD features the film in its original fullscreen presentation. It also features the theatrical trailer, two featurettes with Ray Harryhausen, and Commentary by Ray Harryhausen, Terry Moore, and Ken Ralston.
Movie Review: Wonderful commentary track, nice restoration highlight of this classic film
Summary: 4 Stars
The third in a trio of films by Merian Cooper, Ernest Schoedsack and Willis O'Brien's featuring giant apes , "Mighty Joe Young" has a heart of gold. He's a big ape with a soft spot for Jill Young (Terry Moore) that raised him. Promoter and nightclub owner Max O'Hara (Robert Armstrong from "King Kong") and Gregg a cowboy from Texas (Ben Johnson)attack the 18 foot tall Gorilla when they first encounter him in the wilds of Africa. When they discover he can be friendly and that he's only protecting his turf, O'Hara sees Young as the lynchpin for his new nightclub. O'Hara convinces Jill to take Joe to New York for his nightclub based around an African theme.
Featuring dazzling effects that echo "Kong", "Young" may not have the amazing look of the previous film but the dazzling mix of animation and live action done by Ray Harryhausen under O'Brien's direction looks pretty impressive even today. While the story might be a little slow initially for modern audiences, it has a wonderful pay off and an ending that beats the remake by a mile.
Warner has done a terrific job of transfering "Joe" to DVD. The grain isn't quite as bad as "Kong" (the source material was, no doubt, in better shape)and Warner has restored the color to the fire sequence bringing the film close to its original glory. The commentary track features legendary animator Ray Harryhausen (who did much of the hands on animation), actress Terry Moore and visual effects Ken Ralston discussing the making of the film. There are also a duo of great extras. The Chiodo Brothers animators currently working in the industry interview Harryhausen about the effects work on the film. "Ray Harryhausen and Mighty Joe Young" takes a glimpse back to Harryhausen's work on this pivotal film with O'Brien (and the only film to win O'Brien and his crew an Oscar for visual effects). We also ge the original theatrical trailer as an added bonus.
A classic finally gets the restoration and loving care it deserves.
Movie Review: If You Liked King Kong (1933), You'll Like This
Summary: 4 Stars
"Mighty Joe Young" was a very entertaining film with a surprising amount of action. In fact, the last third to last half of this film is just about non-stop. it reminded me of King Kong, of course with a big age being brought to New York City for display and then things going haywire. This movie, however, has a happier ending than "Kong," although it doesn't look like that will be the case near the end. It turns to be a very suspenseful movie in that last 30 minutes, especially.
Even though this was an early Ray Harryhausen special-effects effort (and he's interviewed in two features on the DVD), it still looks pretty hokey in spots. But in 1949, this must have been pretty cool. Hey, to be fair, some parts are decently realistic if you aren't too critical. One thing: they are fun to watch!
What made this movie better-than-average was the injection of some humor into this adventure story. Humor, and a bit of sentimentality as Mighty Joe is humanized to a degree. The big ape was funny while sitting in the back of a speeding truck eluding the police, and at the very of the movie he made most viewers laugh.
This movie is much better now that it's on DVD. The transfer is excellent; a nice picture. The commentary and bonus features are done well. Overall, if you liked the 1933 version of King Kong, you'll like this. A lot of the same people were responsible for both films. This is pure entertainment.