Main Cast: Charlize Theron, Bill Paxton, Rade Serbedzija, Peter Firth, David Paymer
Release Year: 1998
Country: US
Run Time: 114 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
This 1998 version of Mighty Joe Young begins with a Gorillas in the Mist-type prologue and then jumps forward twelve years to find Bill Paxton leading a safari expedition to capture the legendary giant (two-ton) gorilla, the subject of the film's title. Paxton's intentions are admirable; he wants to remove the majestic beast from the imminent danger of poachers and set him up on a posh nature reserve in California. The x-factor comes in the form of Charlize Theron's beautiful jungle girl, Jill Young. Jill has been Joe's soul mate from birth and is the only human who can communicate with him. She is also the reason Paxton's maverick-on-the-run lingers at the reserve after his task is completed. From there, the plot is spurred on by the nefarious actions of a poacher with an Ahab complex and a battery of money hungry scientists who want to exploit Joe. Naturally, all of this puts a burr under the towering simian's skin, causing him to break free and go ape in L.A.'s concrete jungle. ~ Tom Meek, All Movie Guide
Review
Ron Underwood's remake of the 1949 fantasy is a fine film for children without necessarily being too dull for their parents. As in the original, Joe is a sweet-natured gorilla, which shouldn't be too surprising since he's been reared in the jungle by Charlize Theron, who plays the daughter of a scientist murdered by poachers. Again, Joe travels to America, becoming the poster gorilla for a charitable organization, though much of the story focuses on Theron's efforts to keep poacher Rade Serbedzija and some greedy scientists from exploiting her surrogate son. Theron and her love interest, played by Bill Paxton, are adequate to the task, but in a film of this kind, the humans are not really the point. Most notable are the superb special effects, with Joe's animatronics a vast improvement over the simian animation of King Kong (1976). While there are one or two moments in the film that might be too intense for small children, it's basically a benign adventure story. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
Charles Daboub, Jr. - Art Director, Dan Webster - Supervising Art Director, Jim Chory - Associate Producer, Jackie Rubin - Associate Producer, Pam Dixon - Casting, Michael Fottrell - Co-producer, Molly Maginnis - Costume Designer, Jim Chory - First Assistant Director, Ron Underwood - Director, Terry J. Leonard - Second Unit Director, Paul Hirsch - Editor, Gail Katz - Executive Producer, Mark Lisson - Executive Producer, Gary Stutman - Executive Producer, James Horner - Composer (Music Score), Michael Corenblith - Production Designer, Oliver Wood - Cinematographer, Don Peterman - Cinematographer, Ted Hartley - Producer, Tom Jacobson - Producer, Merideth Boswell - Set Designer, Dream Quest Images - Special Effects, Industrial Light & Magic - Special Effects, Richard Bryce Goodman - Sound/Sound Designer, Hoyt Yeatman - Special Effects Supervisor, Merian C. Cooper - Screen Story, Lawrence Konner - Screenwriter, Mark Rosenthal - Screenwriter, Holly Goldberg Sloan - Screenwriter, Keith Peterman - Second Unit Director Of Photography, John Johns - Video Assist
Charlize Theron plays Jill Young who as a child has witnessed the death of her mother and the mother of Joe, a baby ape, at the hands of poachers led by Andrei Strasser (Rade Šerbedžija). The poacher loses his thumb and trigger finger to the baby gorilla. Twelve years later, Jill has raised Joe (because of his size, the other gorillas won't accept him) and both are living in relative peace until a wildlife refuge director, Gregg O'Hara (Bill Paxton), convinces Jill that they would be safer from poachers if they relocated to the United States.
The pair go to Hollywood, California (as in the original film) and win the hearts of the refuge staff. There, Jill is approached by Strasser, who has seen a news report about Joe and wants revenge because of the damage done to his hand 12 years ago. Jill fails to recognize Strasser as the poacher who killed both her mother and Joe's. Strasser tries to persuade Jill that Joe would be better off in his wildlife refuge back in Africa. Later, during a gala, Strasser's henchman uses a poacher's noisemaker to scare Joe into a frenzy. Joe trashes the gala, recognizes Strasser and tries to attack him. Joe is tranquilized and placed in a concrete bunker. Before their departure, Greg has fallen in love with Jill and he kisses her goodbye. When Jill learns that Joe may be euthanized she decides to take Strasser's offer. She and the refuge staff smuggle Joe out in a truck but on the way to the airport, Jill notices Strasser's missing fingers. He makes a remark that makes her realize he is the poacher who killed her mother. She crashes the truck and Joe escapes. Meanwhile Greg has also realized the identity of the poacher and goes after Jill and Joe. He finds Jill and they locate Joe at a carnival. Strasser arrives and in attempting to shoot Jill starts a fire which causes the Ferris wheel to break down. Joe catches Strasser and tosses him onto some electrical wires where he is killed by electrocution. In a poignant scene at the Santa Monica Pier, while saving a child Joe falls from the collapsing Ferris wheel. The scene is reminiscent of King Kong falling from the Empire State Building. Joe survives the fall and is shipped back to Africa to run free on his own refuge funded by donations from his fans owned by Jill and Gregg who cuddle with each other in a warm embrace watching Joe happily run free.
Mighty Joe Young had a better critical reception than the other big monster remake of the year, Godzilla; however it was ultimately judged a disaster by some critics as being typically 'Disney' in plot and outcome. In May 2008, it had a freshness rating of 54 percent from Rotten Tomatoes.[1] The movie grossed $50,632,037 with a production budget of $90,000,000, thus a box office bomb. Over the years, the film has gained a cult following.
Production
A model of the trailer used in a scene from the film. The model is now used in an attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios
The ape was created through a combination of computer animation and an actor in a suit. John Alexander, famous for his work with animals, played the ape Joe,[citation needed] and Verne Troyer played the baby ape. This is one of very few recent films produced under the name of RKO Pictures.
