As a child living in Africa, Jill Young saw her mother killed while protecting wild gorillas from poachers led by Andrei Strasser. Now an adult, Jill cares for an orphaned gorilla named Joe -- who, due to a genetic anomaly, is 15 feet tall. When Gregg O'Hara arrives from California and sees the animal, he convinces Jill that Joe would be safest at his wildlife refuge. But Strasser follows them to the U.S., intent on capturing Joe for himself.
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Reviews
Beautiful, moving film.
A Masterpiece!
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.
This time I think the remake is fine. I thought the original was lightweight at best, being a kind of King Kong sequel. People were enamored with gorillas in those days, not because they were endangered but because they were simply interesting. In this one, the bad guys are poachers who kill a woman and a gorilla. Once the young woman begins to protect Joe, she and Joe become their target. As Joe gets bigger and bigger his stock rises. The positive about this film is that the special effects and Joe's being is so much more convincing that the stop action stuff of the forties. Of course, that doesn't mean the original is less worthy; it's just that things get cleaned up here. This is a good movie and doesn't beg comparisons.
I have never saw the original, but I might need to give that a look since I watched this one when I was young back then. "Mighty Joe Young" tells the story about a woman name Jill Young who is looking after Joe and protecting him by poachers, since they were once young as they both lost their mothers. Now as the two are all grown up, Gregg O'Hara arrives to Africa and convinces Jill to bring Joe to Los Angeles, California so he could be away from the poachers so that no one will hunt him down. I don't think this movie deserves such a low rating, and I don't think it deserves to be ignored either. I know everyone remembers the original, but I think they need to give this movie a chance and have the respect that it really deserves. Heck, even Disney needs to give this a proper DVD and Blu Ray release with actual special features like a documentary with interviews for the cast and crew (Bill Paxton, Charlize Theron, Ron Underwood, Rick Baker, James Horner, etc.) as they take a look back on how the movie went as there were problems, working on the special effects, when it first came out to mixed reviews, and maybe why the movie will always be a great movie as it has fans that remembers it. Like me. Also, a commentary track for the cast and crew along with deleted scenes, trailers and TV spots, etc. To me, I think it is a wonderful movie for kids and adults to enjoy it. Of course, this is Disney's own "King Kong" but that doesn't make it a bad thing. I do love the original 1933 and the 2005 remake of "King Kong," while the 1976 remake with Jeff Bridges not so much. I thought the special effects in this movie are impressive for its combination of practical and CGI. I may have notice one bad effect, but that is just a minor nitpick. The design of Joe is very well crafted by Rick Baker. Ron Underwood does a fantastic job on directing the movie as what he did with his other great movie "Tremors." The story itself is beautifully well told, and I was deeply moved by it. The cast in this movie all did great, but I give most props to Charlize Theron and Bill Paxton as they both a great chemistry together. I do love James Horner's music, and I do admit that there are some parts of it where it make me think of another music that Horner did which is "Titanic." The set pieces in LA are very well done as well as the Ferris wheel part. The movie does have its sad moments like both Joe and Jill loosing their mothers, and most of all the ending; the ending really did make me cry as Joe risks his life to save a boy as the Ferris wheel was coming down. Of course, Joe doesn't die because everyone love Joe and deserves to live as he is the hero in this movie. So that is what I thought of this movie, and why it deserves a chance and give it the respect it deserves. I do hope that the movie doesn't make its official debut on Blu Ray, and releasing it on DVD again in the UK or anywhere else because it deserves to be release in the United States and around the globe. What I mean is that if it was release only in the UK, then it would be unfair because everyone may want a copy of this movie in the US. I understand that some people may have a region free DVD/Blu Ray player so they can order it from the UK or anywhere else, but I rather much prefer to be release in the US and around the globe. I don't know if a petition can be done to change Disney's mind so they can release it again on DVD and have an official release on Blu Ray, but if it can, then it is possible. I hope they don't use DNR like what Fox did to "Predator," which is one of the worst transfers that I have ever seen in my entire life. The movie should be remastered in 4K or something like that as long as they remain true on how the movie was filmed. Also, we should show Disney on why it needs to be release again on DVD and have an official Blu Ray release as we show them that we are fans of this movie. This isn't about the money or anything like that. It is how much we appreciate this movie, and why we will always be a fan of it. All other movies must have that. Not just the money so that studios can be so greedy about. With that said, "Mighty Joe Young" is a very moving and powerful film by Disney, and I give this a 10 out of 10.
I watched this film years ago and finally have come to comment on it. The film is a tale of a ape and a woman who decides after the death of Joes mother to take him back to the US. But Joe escapes and hysteria ensues.The film is a kids movie bringing the tale of King Kong back with a different kind of twist that works if you haven't watched King Kong; there are similarities but Joe has a softer quality almost a human touch to him that makes the audience connect.The CGI is quite convincing and the way the animal moves is brilliantly done..... A nice kids movie...
I watched this movie the year it came out in a cinema. It really stuck with me, for reasons the producers/writers and actors could never have guessed.I was only 10 years old, and went to watch the movie with a bunch of friends. It was the first time I had watched a movie in a cinema without my parents. It was fun, it was exciting, finding the cinema, asking directions taking the bus. All good fun.Too bad the movie was a real stinker. I remember we had two choices of movies to watch. Life is Beautiful (Currently ranked #82 best movie of all time) or this (ranked #45895890345829038 best movie of all time).Well my friends and I had a vote, Mighty Joe Young won 5 to 1, I was outvoted. They weren't interested in Life is Beautiful, it wasn't even in English.Mighty Joe Young is a TERRIBLE movie. It was sickeningly painful, I really hated it EVEN WHEN I WAS 10. I saw the middle parts of the movie recently and instantly recognised it and felt nostalgic, but was more overwhelmed in disgust for the movie and could not continue watching, no matter how much I wanted to remember my first movie outing.So thanks a lot Ron Underwood, for ruining my first movie outing. I'll never forget you.