mighty joe young ( 1998 film )
mighty joe youngmighty joe youngmighty joe youngmighty joe young it have closed caption and is very good, funny some .
the film was originally intended for a summer 1998 release before being pushed to the 1998 christmas season .
terry moore as elegant woman at party - moore starred as jill young in the original mighty joe young .
what dreams may come (1998) this oscar winner for best achievement in visual effects defeated the disaster film armageddon (1998) and mighty joe young (1998). it was one of the few films shot with fuji velvia film, known for its high levels of color saturation, and smooth finish .
ray harryhausen as gentleman at party - harryhausen was an animator for the original mighty joe young .
mighty joe young movie (vhs, 1999, clamshell case). disney. charlize theron .
mighty joe young received an academy award nomination for best visual effects, losing to what dreams may come .
the melody being played on the boardwalk is
beautiful dreamer ,
the favorite of joe in mighty joe young (1949) .
the film was released with the disney cartoon short skating the half pipe (1998) .
director ron underwood' s adventure film was a remake of the original 1949 film. there were a number of visual effects techniques for
mighty joe young
:
unfortunately, it catches fire. luckily, mighty joe young is there to ensure all the children are saved .
looking for movie tickets? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing mighty joe young near you .
mighty joe young tells the story of the title character, an abnormally large gorilla who is studied by dr. ruth young and her young daughter jill in the african... continue reading
soon there will be two mighty joe youngs... ... .
john alexander as mighty joe young - he is a big gorilla who is brought to california to be safe from poachers .
this film was one of two released in summer 1998 where the top of the chrysler building is destroyed and plummets to the street below. the other was armageddon (1998) .
a childhood favorite. absolutely love the chemistry by these characters, and this film is very well made for 1998 .
` mighty joe young
is a mighty big movie about a mighty big gorilla. and a lot of it is mighty bad - - unless you' re a devotee of high tech and low camp, elephantine effects and mouse - sized stories, politically correct nostalgia and / or charlize theron and bill paxton in jungle outfits .
i' ve never seen the original mighty joe young, i' m not even sure if it' s supposed to actually be good or, y' know, old harryhausen. it was apparently remembered as remakeable enough in 1998 .
( 1991). the film established a new back story for joe and jill. as a little girl, jill young (
charlize theron as jill young - she is a young woman who raised joe since he was a baby after their mothers were killed by poachers .
let’s talk remakes again. our series continues as we look at a remake which is just as good - - and maybe better - - than the original. cinelinx goes ape this week as we look at the 1998 remake of mighty joe young .
the indian in the cupboard & disney' s mighty j... the indian in the cupboard & disney' s mighty j ...
maybe that' s reason enough to remake
mighty joe young .
still, let' s hope no big - budget moguls get around to
bedtime for bonzo .
for shots where the action was simply too complicated to be handled by the full size or' miniature' joe, dream quest and ilm teamed up to create a fully computer generated joe. mighty joe young features some of the most advanced character animation and computer generated hair ever made .
ferris wheel of doom: the burning orphanage is replaced by a burning carnival in the 1998 remake, with a young boy trapped on the ferris wheel and joe going to save him before it collapses. the rescue is considered one of the most memorable scenes of the film .
mighty joe young is the name shared by a 1949 film and its 1998 remake. the original film combined live action and stop motion animation. the designs for the animation and effects are credited to willis o' brien, better known for king kong 1933. in practice, much of the actual animation was completed by his protege ray harryhausen. this was the first major film work of the younger animator. the remake used animatronic models and puppets, with some cgi animation .
schoedsack and cooper teamed up for 1949' s mighty joe young, another giant ape tale (with special effects by o’brien and a young ray harryhausen) that starred armstrong as a man who thinks gorillas should perform in nightclubs. (it was remade in 1998 .) but though mighty joe was certainly influenced by king kong... he wasn’t king kong. and neither was the beast in 1961' s konga, a british monster movie that blatantly rips off its biggest influence while also being kinda charmingly cheesy in its own right .
joe (as a young gorilla) attacks strasser and bites off his thumb and index finger (not graphically seen). another poacher then hits joe with his rifle butt .
the marketing campaign surrounding mighty joe young has been interesting. originally, when the film was planned for a summer release, it was being touted as a monster movie. wary of godzilla, however, disney shifted mighty joe young' s opening to the end of the year and, after godzilla tanked, the magic kingdom began advertising their film as family - suitable fare by playing up the cute aspects. although joe' s size makes him a monster, his disposition makes him cuddly. despite not being daring in style or story, mighty joe young is nevertheless a charming and enjoyable adventure, and a rare remake that' s better than the original. it may not have the box office punch to exceed the $ 100 million mark, but it' s good enough to entertain an audience .
“mighty joe young” is wholesome, well - crafted family fare like hollywood used to make. disney’s new version of the 1949 rko film about an oversized african gorilla out of his element in urban america makes the most of modern technology, adding color, computer graphics and impressive animatronics to a rather predictable storyline. positioned as the major live - action family adventure of the season, “mighty joe” ought to have no trouble finding its footing .
with: jill young... charlize theron gregg o' hara... bill paxton strasser... rade sherbedgia garth... peter firth harry ruben... david paymer cicily banks... regina king kweli... robert wisdom pindi... naveen andrews dr. baker... lawrence pressman dr. ruth young... linda purl young jill... mika boorem mighty joe young... john alexander
at the 1998 golden raspberry awards, the film was nominated for five razzies, including worst picture, worst director and worst screenplay. it took home two overall for maria pitillo as worst supporting actress and for the film as worst remake or sequel .
as a kid, i watched the old b & w; tv movies of mighty joe young. it was so great when this came out, and i found that i actually preferred many of the changes to make it timely .
in a 2014 interview for the british film magazine empire, roland emmerich admitted that he wanted to make a disaster movie about meteors rather than a godzilla flick. however, armageddon (1998) and deep impact (1998) had already been made by the time he was done directing this movie, which frustrated him as he wanted to make one first .
bill paxton stars in mighty joe young, ron underwood' s latest project. the remake of the 1949 film features live - action creature effects from rick baker' s cinovation studios, fresh off of their enormous duties on 1997' s men in black, with cg creature duties handled by dream quest and ilm .
the original film of mighty joe young, dating back to 1949. there are obvious differences when comparing to the later version, cgi, effects etc, but the general plot of the film remains the same. this version' s joe, does look a little' reet petit', but i still feel that was good for the year it was made. an interesting watch, if only to see the evolution of an animated creature .
with key people in the visual effects crews of mighty joe young, including dq vfx supervisor hoyt yeatman, dq' s digital effects supervisor dan deleeuw, dq' s animation supervisor chris bailey, and industrial light & magic' s animation supervisor daniel jeannette .
although what’s shocking to me is that given the unoriginality of the film might joe actually won an oscar in 1950, although that was special effects so maybe i shouldn’t be too surprised. in fact one of the better things about this film is that the special effects were mostly done by legendary ray harryhausen. this was the first film that his newly created stop - motion animation technique. and thus the film deserved an oscar for that work, however the film itself did very poorly at the box office. there were plans in 1950 to do a sequel which would have teamed up our gorilla with tarzan, but the bad reception for the first film killed that off (and maybe that’s not a bad thing ?). sadly disney would go on to remake mighty joe young in 1998 — but this time good taste prevailed and they were denied an oscar !
when mighty joe young first reached screens in 1949, nearly everyone recognized it as an attempt to re - create the magic and mystique of king kong. many of the same people were involved - - ernest b. schoedsack in the director' s chair, robert armstrong (carl denham in kong, max o' hara in joe young) in a leading role, a story by merian c. cooper, stop - motion animation by willis o' brien - - but lightning didn' t strike twice. mighty joe young received a lukewarm reception when it was first released, and, years later, few would label this particular monster movie a
classic .
terry moore, ray harryhausen: the star of the original mighty joe young (1949), and the legendary stop - motion animator (who did most of the animation on the 1949 film) appear as an elderly couple at the gala. looking at jill young, moore states ,
she reminds me of somebody, but i can' t think who .
harryhausen replies ,
you, when we first met .
“mighty joe young” is wholesome, well - crafted family fare like hollywood used to make. disney’s new version of the 1949 rko film about an oversized african gorilla out of his element in urban america makes the most of modern technology, adding color, computer graphics and impressive animatronics to a rather predictable storyline. positioned as the major [ … ]
this film breaks my heart every time i see it! it’s just so emotional. that song that a young jill and her mom sing is pure tears! i’m getting upset just thinking about it now! just a great film !
had succeeded, it was supposed to lead to a crossover with the tarzan franchise, creating a shared universe for both characters. sadly for joe, when the big ape fizzled at the box office, the idea was dropped. would “tarzan meets mighty joe young” have been any good or were we spared a cinematic disaster? we’ll never know .
james cameron' s film was the most expensive film ever made - up to its time, at approximately $ 200 million. and it was the first film to reach the billion - dollar threshold (worldwide) .
( cameo) terry moore, ray harryhausen: the star of the original mighty joe young (1949), and the legendary stop - motion animator (who did most of the animation on the 1949 film) appear as an elderly couple at the gala. looking at jill young, moore states ,
she reminds me of somebody, but i can' t think who .
harryhausen replies ,
you, when we first met .
see more »
many people believe that the failure of this movie single - handedly ruined the giant monster genre for several years, but another reimagining of a classic creature - feature that came out the same year, mighty joe young (1998), bombed much worse and made american audiences turn away from the genre. many foreign markets, where the movie actually was a success, continued fruitlessly waiting for the never - produced sequel, confused as to why none ever came .
who cares? the wizardry involved in making joe look like an actual rampaging but kind - hearted monster seems utterly wasted. why throw around money like this unless you have some good ideas? or at least some spectacular bad ones? frankly, the' 49
mighty joe young
was so mostly mediocre that this swollen remake only improves your opinion of the first .
.. vfx hq produced by todd vaziri. . urltoken. . e - mail: tvaziri @ urltoken. . all text copyright © 1998 todd vaziri, unless otherwise noted
tomoyuki tanaka had produced all of the japanese godzilla movies, died only a month before this film began actual production. this film is dedicated to him .
ungrateful bastard: in the original film, joe saves one of the men who harassed him from a lion. when he runs into gregg, jill, and max later on he claims that joe tried to kill him .
this old - fashioned feeling film will undoubtably do much better than the last gorilla picture to hit the big screen (
buddy
), but it' s unlikely it will ever emerge from the shadow of its more famous ancestor who appeared in a much better film some sixty years ago. good enough for what it' s trying to accomplish ,
mighty joe young
will entertain the kids and won' t bore the parents who' ve been brought along to see it. we give the film a 6 out of 10 .
as cinematic simians go, joe young is not as well remembered as king kong or caesar from the planet of the apes films, but the original 1948 film has enough of a cult following to rate a remake, which came out exactly 50 years later .
an animated series called godzilla: the series (1998) was made which continued the storyline of the film. in the series, tatopoulos accidentally discovers the egg that survived the destruction of the nest. the creature hatches and imprints on nick as its parent .
an old - fashioned adventure film that ranks with the best of the genre .
a moderate amount of suspenseful and action - oriented music occurs during the film .
the movie poster that is briefly seen at grauman' s chinese theater is wagon master (1950), a john ford / merian c. cooper production, starring ben johnson. all three were involved in the original mighty joe young (1949). ford and cooper as producers, and johnson as the lead .
two more of dream quest' s cg joe shots. in all, dream quest completed 35 all - cg joe shots, while ilm completed 18 .
cut to a few months later and joe is being used in a demeaning way on stage by night while living in a cage by day. jill realizes her mistake and wants to go home but o’hara stalls her. while she is romanced by cowboy greg, joe is sulking in his cage. when some random drunks walk unhindered to joe’s unguarded cage, they torment the big ape and burn him with cigarettes. joe breaks out of his cage and goes berserk. after he is recaptured, joe is sentenced to death. o’hara has a change of heart and helps jill and her cowboy boyfriend rescue joe. after spiriting joe away in a truck and being chased by a police, they pass the corniest of clichés—an orphanage on fire! with some help from joe, jill and the cowboy rescue the kids, although joe is almost killed in the process. due to this, the authorities allow joe to live and jill returns to africa with mighty joe and her cowboy boy - toy in tow .
peterman was injured in 1997 during filming of
mighty joe young
when a crane holding a platform 18 feet off the ground snapped, sending it crashing to the ground. peterman, who was on the platform, suffered a broken leg, broken ribs and head injuries, his wife said. a camera operator also was injured .
animal lovers will be charmed by joe, a giant but gentle gorilla. in an attempt to show how endangered some species really are, mighty joe young includes a couple of hard - hitting sequences, but it remains thrilling family fun. there are times when you just have to shake your head at hollywood' s desire to remake a classic. this is not one of those times. the 1949 rko version of mighty joe young is a tired monster film of the ape - runs - amuck variety that tried (unsuccessfully) to cash in on the popularity of king kong. in contrast, this disney version has plenty to offer a young audience. with a nod to the more adult gorillas in the mist, the movie centers on the daughter of a dian fossey - like primatologist. as jill follows in her mom' s footsteps, this environmentally - friendly story provides serious food for thought. it also provides plenty of comic relief .
animal nemesis: joe is this to strasser after having bite his fingers off .
like king kong, the 1948 mighty joe young was done by the technique of stop - motion, invented by willis o’brien for the lost world (1925) and made famous in king kong (and later improved upon in the 1950s by harryhausen with films like jason & the argonauts and 20 million miles to earth). in the 1998 version, mighty joe was done by a man in a radio controlled animatronic gorilla suit created by legendary make - up artist rick baker (who did the creature make - up for star wars) although in a few scenes, joe was completely digitized by the fx crew. for their respective eras, both films had excellent fx and both were nominated for sfx oscars. (the 1948 version won that year .) the newer one, however, had a better story than the original .
peterman' s last film was
how the grinch stole christmas
in 2000 .
it combined the experience of watching a fully cgi film with polarized / anaglyphic glasses .
there was enough paint used on the film to paint the entire golden gate bridge .
if the plot of
mighty joe young
sounds familiar, it' s probably not just because it' s a remake of the 1949 rko film of the same name that' s best known for jump starting the career of legendary special effects wizard ray harryhausen. no, it' s because it bears a striking resemblance to the most famous ape movie of all time, 1933' s
king kong .
mighty joe young ,
the story of a well - meaning gorilla pitted against the evil human forces of greed and exploitation, is wholesome, well - crafted family fare like hollywood used to make. disney' s new version of the 1949 rko film about an oversized african gorilla out of his element in urban america makes the most of modern technology, adding color, computer graphics and impressive animatronics to a rather predictable storyline .
having both been orphaned on the same night, the girl and the baby gorilla have only each other. the most disturbing sequence of the film, the double killing might be too upsetting for young viewers .
scientist dr. ruth young (linda purl) and her young daughter jill (mika boorem) are studying the behavior of a family of apes in tanzania. among the gorillas is young joe, whose rare genetic mutation makes him grow faster than his peers. playing up the innocence and harmony of a natural world at peace, the early scenes make a fitting counterpoint to the violence and devastation that ensue when deadly poachers arrive on the scene .
while congenial, this tale about a girl and her ape lacks the excitement and the lively characters that kids have come to expect of animal adventure movies. years after the phenomenal popularity of king kong, rko brought out mighty joe young, a film with a similar plot but a happier ending. it seems clunky by contemporary standards, but the special effects won an oscar in 1949 and were considered the best feature of the film. thus the story that ties together the many gorilla sequences is definitely second priority, and it shows .
joe purposefully flicks gregg with his large finger, knocking the man to the ground .
every film that has ever been nominated for an academy award in any category. enjoy !
deep in the jungles of africa, dr. ruth young (linda purl) and her young daughter, jill (mika boorem) are living amongst a family of gorillas, including one they' ve named joe, who despite his young age, is already huge due to a rare genetic disorder. with the help of kweli (robert wisdom), a local guide, the youngs hope to protect the apes, but when a group of poachers led by the ruthless strasser (rade sherbedgia) arrive, both jill and joe' s mothers end up dead .
this hungarian film is a careful, compassionate and beautifully acted character drama with a social conscience .
this 12 minute warner bros. film was the first computer - animated cg film that was to be viewed with 3 - d glasses. it was a composition of two different art forms :
it was the first animated feature film to use major hollywood stars in all the voice parts .
kb toys dubbed itself
godzilla headquarters
around the time of the film' s release .
charlize theron is great as is bill paxton in this movie about a giant gorilla. nice price and a good family film, though some kids might be scared by joe going ape .
after seeing that joe is playing hide - n - seek with harry, gregg jokes ,
it' s a good thing joe didn' t want to play doctor .
after formulating the gorilla' s dimensions, the materials to be used, and the mechanics for operating joe, designers spent about a year creating the animal. three big joes were created in three different postures - - quadruped joe (on all fours), sitting joe, and sleeping joe. | the jungles and mountains of oahu' s kualoa valley doubled for the pangani mountains in tanzania, africa, where the early scenes of the film are set .
one positive aspect is the film' s relative civility. so many special - effects movies seem angry and aggressive; smaller kids are blown out of the theater by the force of the noise and special effects .
mighty joe young
is not meek and harmless; it' s a full - blooded action picture, all right, but with a certain warmth and humor instead of a scorched - earth approach. you feel good at the end, instead of merely relieved .
as long as the green - lighters of hollywood present keep monkeying around with the b - movie icons of hollywood past, it was inevitable they' d finally get around to
mighty joe young ,
that big gorilla who swooned to terry moore' s piano rendition of
beautiful dreamer
before running amok in a hollywood night club and getting chased around an earlier l. a .
a legendary fifteen - foot tall mountain gorilla named joe is taken to an animal sanctuary in california by a zoologist and a young woman whom he grew up with. a poacher from the past returns to seek vengeance on him .
a legendary fifteen - foot tall mountain gorilla named joe is taken to an animal sanctuary in california by a zoologist and a young woman whom he grew up with. a poacher from the past returns... see more »
after the service, he started working at the hal roach studios as a film loader. peterman' s first feature film credit as director of photography was
when a stranger calls
in 1979 .
obviously strasser, garth and the other poachers / animal traders that appear in the film have both .
the film contained in its opening a continuous single digital fx shot, reportedly the longest ever created at the time. it was inspired by the short documentary film, powers of ten (1977) .
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. the movie holds a rating of 51% from rotten tomatoes. the movie grossed $ 50, 632, 037 with a production budget of $ 90 million thus a box office bomb .
run time: 1: 50 u. s. release date: 1998 - 12 - 25 mpaa rating :
pg
( violence, profanity) genre: adventure subtitles: none theatrical aspect ratio: 1. 85: 1
if the story of a kindly 15 - foot ape struggling to find his place in a modern world feels like an anachronism, it’s because films of the last few years have seen a succession of giant, destructive forces attacking the planet, ranging from gargantuan lizards to aliens and asteroids. “mighty joe young, ” by contrast, pits a well - meaning gorilla against the evil human forces of greed and exploitation .
charlize theron plays a woman who' s grown up with and cared for joe, the giant ape, since she was a little girl. throughout the film, he' s her continual interest .
plot - wise, there' s not much going on here. mighty joe young is like a low - rent king kong with a little more emphasis on the humanity of the primate. in fact, a great deal of effort is undertaken to make joe a likable character (as opposed to a walking special effect, a la godzilla) - - he is shown to be intelligent, childlike, and gentle (except when provoked). the movie contains elements of comedy and romance (between gregg and jill, although joe is jealous), but the silliest aspects of the original have been eliminated .
things seem to be going well in the sanctuary until strasser shows up, harboring an ahab - like grudge because joe bit off his finger when they last met 15 years earlier. strasser gets joe—who recognizes him—to go on a rampage. after being tranquilized, joe is sentenced to death. joe gets loose and is chased across the city by the cops. he is reunited with jill in an amusement park. strasser shows up to kill joe and accidently starts a fire before getting killed himself. when the ferris wheel catches fire, it’s up to joe to rescue the kids. joe is given a pardon and the public—inspired by some random little boy who offers a dollar—donates money to jill to take joe to a bigger, nicer preserve back in africa, where he can live safely .
the sense of place is as pervasive as a character in “moss, ” a film by daniel peddle .
film of the same name. in this version, the ape is much larger than in the original .
. the film starts somewhere in africa. a little girl, jill young (lora lee michel), asks her father to buy her a baby gorilla. he does so, against his better judgment. jill names her new pet
joe
and treats him like any other baby, feeding him milk from a bottle and singing him to sleep .
after being discovered in the african outback, a twenty foot ape and his young woman companion escape to los angeles where the become an instant sensation .
it is all very hollywood, but a watchable film none - the - less. a remake of the old black and white classic and a landmark of how far film effects have come during that length of time .
charlize theron plays jill young, a woman whose mother is a famed gorilla expert of the
gorillas in the mist
variety. jill is raised with joe, who even as a baby is big for his size. they grow up together, and joe just keeps on growing, until you can tell he' s approaching because the treetops shake .
the climactic chase winds up at a carnival, and in one of the film’s most emotionally manipulative yet undeniably effective moments, joe performs a feat of heroism and self - sacrifice that may leave him for dead .
the disney remake of
mighty joe young
is an excellent film, but nothing beats the charm of the original film. having said that, i think both versions are worth owning. there is a common thread that runs through both the original and this remake, and both share a somewhat similar climatic ending. but there are enough differences to make the two films unique and quite interesting in side - by - side comparisons. of course with disney' s version you have state - of - the art cgi. joe looks so real, it will blow your mind! a sweet tearjerker that the whole family will enjoy. the remake mjy was filmed in color and widescreen. with the original
mighty joe young
you don' t get the state - of - the - art special effects of the remake, but what you do get is a much better story which tugs at all your emotions. the climax of the film is very exciting, and so touching that it brings tears to the eyes. i won' t give it away as to not spoil it. the original mjy was filmed in black & white and full screen. great news, this film is finally being released in november 2005 along with the original
king kong
and
son of kong
as a special collection. it most likely will be available as a single dvd as well. it should be a winner !
he also wrote and directed with his life partner, hunter hill, the 2008 film
lake city .
the film' s trailer used music from stargate (1994) and stargate sg - 1 (1997) .
in the newsroom early in the movie, a tv is showing barney, a kid' s dinosaur film .
that movie, made by the much of the team behind 1933' s
king kong ,
is a weak, pinched echo of
kong .
enjoyable to watch ,
mighty joe young
lacks
kong' s
tremendous mythic power and energy. it' s a cheap little production, mostly written and acted on a saturday afternoon serial level. a classic? no way. the effects are what make it fun .
bill paxton as professor gregory
gregg
o' hara - he is a wildlife teacher who comes to africa to study animals and befriends jill young .
what is this one about? a legendary fifteen - foot tall mountain gorilla named joe is taken to an animal sanctuary in california by a zoologist and a young woman whom he grew up with. a poacher from the past returns to seek vengeance on him .
while joe isn' t exactly kong, jr. (that character appeared in
son of kong
that hurriedly arrived in 1933 hoping to make some quick bucks), the people behind the first
mighty joe
- - writer merian c. cooper and stop motion pioneer willis h. o' brien - - were also responsible for the more well - known ape and his legendary movie .
according to guinness, pleasantville had the most computer generated effects in a film to date - 1, 700 digital visual effect shots, compared to the average hollywood film which had 50 at the time. the next film to have a larger number of digital effects shots was star wars: episode i - the phantom menace (1999) .
jill young (charlize theron) makes a promise to her dying mom: she will protect joe, an infant gorilla. this turns out to be a tricky promise to keep when joe grows to astounding proportions, making him the target of wildlife poachers everywhere. when zoologist gregg o' hara (bill paxton) offers joe sanctuary at a los angeles preserve, jill packs up her 2000 pound gorilla and heads for hollywood. just as she and joe are warming up to life in california, trouble hits. the poacher who orphaned them both 12 years earlier comes back to finish the job. joe escapes through downtown los angeles and faces off with the evil strasser at an amusement park .
after shooting the film entirely in color, it was scanned, processed, and recorded digitally. most of the effects in this time - travel fable involved selectively de - saturating the color film, and digitally adjusting the contrast .
the two films seem to come at the material from different angles. the new film has a definite message with its environmental awareness plot - points, unlike the 1948 film which seemed more interested in reviving the old ‘giant creature on the loose’ plots that willis o’brien had worked on previously, like king kong and the lost world. original joe didn’t seem to even like other animals very much because he repeatedly pounds on lions. in the new version, he rescues them. depending on how you feel about political messages in films, this is either a good or bad thing for the 1998 version .
jill young, as a child, witnesses the death of her mother, ruth young, and the mother of joe, a baby gorilla, at the hands of poachers led by andrei strasser. strasser loses his right thumb and trigger finger to joe, and swears revenge on joe for the damage. before she dies, ruth tells jill to take care of joe, to which jill agrees. twelve years later, jill has raised joe (who, because of a rare genetic anomaly, has grown to the size of 15 feet (4. 6 meters) and weighs 2000 pounds (910 kilograms); as a result, the other gorillas won' t accept him) and both are living in relative peace until a wildlife refuge director, gregg o' hara, convinces jill that they would be safer from poachers if they relocate to the united states .
a family film about the heroics of a gorilla trying to stay alive in the face of human greed and violence .
this was the first film with 2d all - cgi backgrounds (digitized virtual sets) before which live actors performed .
bullying a dragon: the original film has a trio of drunkards give the titular giant gorilla alcohol — enough to inebriate him. this clears them out of booze and in retaliation, one of them burns his hand as joe begs for more. joe then bursts out of his cage for a drunken roaring rampage of revenge through a nightclub .
but, monkey business aside, the movie itself is one more example of movie remake bloat. spending many times the budget of the 1949 rko original, this
mighty joe young
team simply gets a big, silly ape jape. not all the best efforts of theron as heroine jill young, the enthusiastic paxton as hero gregg o' hara, and the scurvy villainy of rade sherbedgia as the evil poacher strasser, can goose it up. here is a movie about a huge ape running around hollywood, clambering over movie marquees and squashing cars, that often makes you wonder if there are any good parties anywhere else .
years pass, and the adult jill (charlize theron) and joe live in peace and seclusion on their mountain. joe has become local folklore, and few believe that he actually exists, until scientist gregg o’hara (bill paxton) arrives and, in the course of his research, stumbles onto evidence of joe. word spreads quickly, and gregg’s discovery inadvertently prompts the poachers’ return. believing joe is no longer safe on the mountain, gregg persuades a reluctant jill to move the gorilla to a california wildlife preserve, where she will remain joe’s caretaker .
strasser shoots joe' s mother and then does the same to jill' s mother (both die) .
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 .
joe is a masterpiece of special effects wizardry, looking more real than any giant primate ever to walk across the silver screen. by combining animatronics, computer - generated images, and a man in a costume, mighty joe young creates a compelling illusion. hollywood monkeyman rick baker (who was responsible for, among others, the ape in the' 76 king kong and the gorillas in gorillas in the mist) is in top form here, and he' s helped out by actors who don' t have difficulty performing opposite a giant puppet or an
x
on the floor .
beauty brings down the beast again in this remake of the 1949 girl and her monkey movie. stunning jill young (charlize theron), the daughter of a dian fossey - like primatologist (linda purl), has dedicated her life to protecting
joe ,
a mutant gorilla
joe is more curious george than king kong. his favorite pastime is hide and seek, yet he doesn' t seem to realize that at 15 feet tall, he is a bit too big to hide behind a bush. joe is a feat of technical wizardry; he' s so life - like that it' s hard to believe he' s a composite of animatronic and digital effects. children will warm to him, especially since joe is particularly sweet to kids. they will also enjoy theron' s and paxton' s engaging performances, and applaud (as an 8 year - old viewer did) when this couple inevitably gets together. if the climactic sequence is too intense for small children, it certainly ends happily. mighty joe young turns out to be a heart - warming experience with an environmental message .
so shouldn' t the new
mighty joe young ,
with an effects budget that dwarfs the original, be just as good or better? not with as blah - blah and perfunctory a script as this. this new movie has several dozen cliches and one interesting character: naveen andrews as gregg' s hipster indian guide, pindi. but the rest of it is strictly connect - the - dots screenwriting, with a
cut - to - the - chase
refrain .
( though one eventually proves slightly less bad than the other). joe' s los angeles rampage is more elaborate than the one at the end of the lost world: jurassic park (and nicer as well - - joe doesn' t eat any doggies), but the sight of joe pounding his chest atop graumann' s chinese theater is
rade šerbedžija as andrei strasser - he is the poacher who killed both joe' s and jill' s mothers .
regina king as cecily banks - she is a doctor at the animal preserve in california where joe is brought to .
chekhov' s skill: joe playing hide and seek in the' 98 version helps him to evade police copters .
bill paxton plays a zoologist who discovers joe and persuades jill into bringing the ape back to the u. s .
rade sherbedgia plays a poacher who illegally sells exotic animal parts and wishes to acquire joe to make himself even richer .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans. it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
it was the first computer - animated film to receive a pg rating, and the first computer - animated feature film to use computer software to create and simulate the properties of water - - hence, digital water, especially in its flood sequence .
. the picture ends with the words ,
goodbye from joe young .
in the onscreen credits, set dresser james altwies' name is incorrectly spelled as
george altwils .
arko, inc. was formed to make this picture by rko and argosy pictures, a production company owned by presenters john ford and merian c. cooper. cooper also produced and co - directed rko' s 1933 hit film
when joe loses his temper and wreaks havoc on a black - tie benefit, preserve chairman dr. baker (lawrence pressman) has the ape sedated and incarcerated. trusting strasser’s invitation, jill arranges for a truck to take joe away. but jill soon realizes strasser has set her up. fighting him off, she engineers a traffic accident that enables joe to escape, setting off a chaotic series of events in which joe roams through hollywood, inadvertently terrorizing dumbstruck throngs .
a little girl named jill young is living on her father’s ranch in africa and decides to buy herself a baby ape to keep her company. cut to 12 years later and 20 year old jill (terry moore) has inherited her late father’s ranch and the ape, named joe, is now 15 feet tall. when theatrical producer max o’hara (armstrong) and his young cowboy sidekick gregg (ben johnson) arrive to collect animals for a strange nightclub act that o’hara is planning, they spot giant - sized joe and try to capture him. jill comes to break up the confrontation. o’hara convinces jill to come to new york and experience fame and fortune by displaying joe as an attraction .
strasser poses as an enviromentalist who is interested in returning joe back to africa. he has henchmen of his use a noisemaker to have joe go on a rampage. in the process, joe recognizes strasser and attacks him. for attacking a human, the authorities condemn joe to death. jill wants to smuggle him out of the country and assigns strasser with the mission. she realizes too late who strasser actually is. joe and jill have to fight their way out of strasser' s hands while gregg searches for them - partially out for their safety, partially out of falling for jill .
patrick tatopoulos, the godzilla designer and supervisor, created a mechanically operated suit for the monster as well as scale models, but in a 1998 interview, volker engel, the visual effects supervisor, estimated that less than ten percent of the effects shots featuring godzilla used prosthetic and mechanical effects .
was released in the united states. i grew up with this film because it was always paired up as the double feature with
the original plans called for two sequels to be produced. these plans were scrapped due to the poor reception of this film .
the lead role was written specifically for matthew broderick. indeed, the actor committed to the film without reading a finished screenplay .
terry :
doesn' t that beautiful young lady remind you of anyone, dear ?
ray :
yes... you when you were her age !
mighty joe young
is an energetic, robust adventure tale: not too cynical, violent or fragmented for kids, not too tame for adults. after all the calculation behind
godzilla
or
armageddon ,
it has a kind of innocence. it' s not about a monster but about a very big, well - meaning gorilla that just wants to be left in peace. and about a woman who treasures the gorilla. and about a zoologist who loves the woman. all that stuff .
gentle giant: joe is a very docile giant gorilla, unless you give him a reason to be mad at you .
deconstruction: the 1998 version is arguably a deconstruction of king kong. the ape isn' t an island - dwelling monster, but an otherwise normal african gorilla with extreme giantism. the female lead has more in common with jane goodall than the screaming damsel in distress of kong. and when joe finally does go on his
rampage
it' s because he' s confronted with the poacher that killed his mother .
the next time we meet joe and jill (now played by charlize theron), it' s 12 years later. poachers are threatening joe' s existence and gregg o' hara (bill paxton), an adventurous zoologist who works for the california animal conservatory, has arrived with an offer of sanctuary for joe if jill is willing to bring him to a preserve in america. reluctantly, she agrees. soon, joe is acclimating to his new home, but all is not well. the conservatory, anxious to use their new attraction as a fund - raising tool, has put joe in the media spotlight, and strasser is eager to capture him. eventually and inevitably, joe escapes from the preserve and begins romping around hollywood .
2. 4 million gallons (~ 321, 000 cubic feet), of water were used to create rain for the film .
enough non - toxic smoke was created on the film to completely fill the los angeles coliseum 24 hours a day for one week .
as the human leads, mighty joe young features one established actor and one rising star. bill paxton, who has already been in a quintet of box office blockbusters (aliens, true lies, apollo 13, twister, titanic) brings his affable personality to this movie in a try for number six. opposite paxton is blond bombshell charlize theron, who is best remembered for her part in two days in the valley (her feature debut), and who recently appeared in woody allen' s celebrity. it' s in large part because of paxton and theron' s performances that we accept joe as more than a clever construct of modern technology .
king kong has had quite the run of animated renderings ever since, including a recent appearance in the lego batman movie. other kid - friendly cartoon kongs: 1998 musical the mighty kong, which has the voices of dudley moore and the little mermaid ’s jodi benson; kong: the animated series, which spawned a few straight - to - dvd movies and aired on fox kids in the early 2000s; and current netflix series kong: king of the apes, which is set in the year 2050 and features evil robotic dinosaurs.
mighty joe young is a 1998 american adventure film based on the 1949 film of the same name . it was directed by ron underwood and stars bill paxton and charlize theron . in the newer film 's version , the ape is much larger than in the original . the film grossed $ 50.6 million in the united states against a production budget of $ 90 million . 
mighty joe young is a 1998 american adventure film based on the 1949 film of the same name. it was directed by ron underwood and stars bill paxton and charlize theron. in the newer film's version, the ape is much larger than in the original. the film grossed $ 50.6 million in the united states against a production budget of $ 90 million.
mighty joe young is a 1998 american adventure film based on the 1949 film of the same name. it was directed by ron underwood and stars bill paxton and charlize theron. in the newer film's version, the ape is much larger than in the original. the film grossed $ 50.6 million in the united states against a production budget of $ 90 million.