Explore
 Lists  Reviews  Images  Update feed
Categories
MoviesTV ShowsMusicBooksGamesDVDs/Blu-RayPeopleArt & DesignPlacesWeb TV & PodcastsToys & CollectiblesComic Book SeriesBeautyAnimals   View more categories »
Listal logo
56 Views
0
vote

Mighty Joe Young

Sixteen years after King Kong frightened the masses, several of the primary players reteamed for this novelty, yet another film about a gigantic ape and the pretty young woman who can tame him. Whereas King Kong was all about scaring the daylights of its audience and sending them on a thrill-a-minute adventure story, Mighty Joe Young plays like a children’s film, a perfectly fine rainy weekend charmer that doesn’t have much ambition besides being a vessel for some impressive stop-motion effects work.

 

Dusting off his King Kong persona, Robert Armstrong once more ventures into the jungle to find animals to exploit for his own financial gains. This time around, he’s opening an African-themed nightclub and wants a piece of realism to engage the masses. While on expedition in the jungle, he comes across a young girl and her gigantic pet gorilla named Joe. It’s a strange mixture of cowboys, apes, studio-bound jungle sets, kitsch nightclubs, and several chase scenes.

 

The characters are barely written (Ben Johnson and Terry Moore engage in the limpest love story I’ve seen in a while), the actors are wooden, and the whole thing is rather inconsequential. The real reason to watch Mighty Joe Young is for the special effects. Willis O’Brien came up with the storyboards and techniques to make it all work effectively, but a majority of the animator was handed over to Ray Harryhausen. He manages to give Joe a lot of personality, more playful and sweet than King Kong. Hell, Joe even spits at his attackers during a car chase in the final stretch. Joe engages our deepest sympathies and empathy during scenes of his mistreatment while working as a nightclub act, literally becoming a performing monkey. He lacks the pathos and range of Kong, but he’s still a glorious artistic achievement.

 

Joe is clearly the strength and focus, look no further than the title but it’s a damn shame that the rest of the movie is so inadequate in comparison. O’Brien won an Oscar for his efforts, and they were richly deserving of the honor. Mighty Joe Young clearly lingers in the popular consciousness, as much as it does, more for historical value than its own merits. It’s the first major work from Harryhausen, even if he’s merely a hired-hand here, and a glimpse of the ensuring wit, charm, and individuality he would breathe into his future movie monsters. 

Avatar
Added by JxSxPx
7 years ago on 7 November 2016 01:01