Customer Reviews

Mighty Joe Young

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

I've seen the movie 100 times. Yet watching it while listening to the commentary track was a brand new experience! Who knew half the interesting trivia associated with this gem! The other 2 bonus interviews with Ray are the things dreams are made of! Not only a super value for the money but so above and beyond my expectations its not funny. Did I mention I liked it?

Tacked onto a double-bill with 1933's "King Kong", "Mighty Joe Young" should be considered Stop-Motion Animation 101 for film collegiates and aspiring special-effects men. Though I viewed the films 2 nights apart, they are 16 years apart in their technological advances. And the advances are (forgive the pun) monstrous.

Since I've been going over the Golden Age of Stop-Motion recently with "7th Voyage of Sinbad", "Jason and the Argonauts", "Clash of the Titans", etc., to see the technique really bloom as it does in this sweet-but-mos-def-not-saccharine tale of a teenage white girl in Africa and the big ape lug she raised fom birth, is rather enlightening. I'm 25 years old, but I was firmly entertained by this effects showcase. It's a good one, I'm telling you.

I'll skim the plot for those who just want the gist: safari nightclub owner travels to Africa, lures Jill and her oversized simian pal Joseph Young to America to perform sideshow acts, human cruelty makes Joe go... apesh-t, Jill and her love interest intercept Joe and speed away back to Africa, but not before a noble pit stop...

No need to compare "Kong" and "Joe": same director, producer, writer, editor, and technical wizard -- Willis O'Brien. A little-known ace up "Joe"'s sleeve, however, is a young-but-bonafide budding genius named one Ray Harryhausen, credited as "First Technician" on the project. His precocious mastery (under O'Brien's supervision) is certainly evident and an all-around wondrous sight to gaze on. The SPFX techniques (rear projection, stop-motion blended with live-action) foreshadows what he would end up polishing in subsequent films, such as "Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers" and "It Came From Beneath The Sea". Joe is given mannerisms, playfulness, and a CHARACTER like "Kong". This 15-foot high (to scale) gorilla is one fleshed-out, emotive, angry, confused, but above all impressive creation.

And then they get him sloshed on 3 bottles of wine and burn his hand with a Zippo lighter (oops), which will lead him smack into the middle of two nightmarish set pieces (described in the editor's review). The results, even to these CGI-accustomed eyes, were truly awesome in Webster's definition of the word. Yeah, the film's black-and-white. Sure, the acting's fairly pantomime and wooden. But Mr. Joseph Young ensures that you will pardon all that, in case you have a bias on old films.

What is most endearing after it's all done is that the effects aid the relationship story BEFORE becoming an intense extravaganza. Lo, the days when filmmakers actually knew how to do that stuff. They called it "craft" back then... "Mighty Joe Young" should probably be considered a really offbeat buddy-movie with an occasional flaring temper. It's thoroughly entertaining, has a nice message to teach the kiddies, yet what happens in the story is distinctly adult, though less adult than "Kong". Might want to wait 'til the kid's 10 to show 'em this one. But this monkey's a real showstopper.

The 1998 remake: GOOD EFFECTS WORK, again. More syrup 'cause it's produced by Disney, more kid-oriented, but a very loveable leading man, nonetheless. Still inferior to the original, but worth a watch.

"Mighty Joe Young"(1949): 4.5 stars, but I'll round up for him. Joe's alright, like Argyle.

Well, for starters, I first heard about the above-mentioned movie, "Mighty Joe Young" when I was just a little kid growing in Cuba from a friend of the family who had seen it in the local movie theater. Incidentally, the aforesaid was dubbed in Spanish. Anyhow, then when I first came to America in 1965 and two years after we had all moved into our new house back in 1967 I had the opportunity to see "Mighty Joe Young" on television. Now let me tell you that was way back when they used to show the REALLY GOOD movies on television. Anyhow, since I was a kid I did indeed liked and enjoyed watching the movie and as a matter of fact, I even wrote a letter to our family friend to tell her that I had seen the movie. Now being a kid I was unable to grasp its meaning. Then around 1992 or 1993 I was able to see it again on video and I enjoyed twice, perhaps three times as much than when I was a kid. Now as far as my rating is concerned, well, I give it FIVE SOLID stars-as an amateur movie critic. And finally, as far as remakes go, well, they can have them! Because when it comes to the classics I like to see the REAL MacCoy! And believe me, there is aboslutely NOTHING like the ORIGINAL!

The original Mighty Joe Young may not be as visually astounding as the new one,but it has much more heart. After all, there is nothing like an original.

This film was Ray Harryhausen's break into the big time. Willis O'Brian may have been overseeing the effects, but it was Ray Harryhausen doing most of the animation.

I really liked this as a kid and it still holds up for me now. I know Ray was a huge fan of King Kong and it was the film that inspired him to get into the business. The Stop Motion effects in this film are superb, but in this ape story we get a happy ending!...at least for the ape!

Great transfer to DVD and some very interesting extras. If your a fan of the great monkey movies of yesteryear then buy the King Kong box set as it includes King Kong and Son of Kong along with this great adventure film. Three great giant monkey movies at a very fair price.

This doesn't approach the status of "King Kong" but there is alot to like about "Mighty Joe Young". The creature effects are excellent but that goes without saying because Willis O'Brien ("King Kong") and Ray Harryhausen were the principal designers. Memorable setpieces include Joe trying to elude capture by cowboys on horseback, Joe's trashing of an elaborate safari themed nightclub, and Joe's rescuing children from their burning orphange(Aw!!!). I liked Robert Armstrong's reprise of his Carl Denham character from the original "Kong" in the person of impressario Max O'Brien. Armstrong played this character type straight to the vest in "Kong" but here he mines some laughs out of it. A young Ben Johnson contributes acting heft to a cowboy sympathetic to Joe's plight. Terry Moore is fetching as Jill Young, Joe's owner. In a nutshell, amiable entertainment that still enthralls almost sixty years since it's initial release.

Yes, this something like is King Kong on a smaller scale, with a happier ending, but that's not the whole story. Joe is a huge, but not impossibly so, Gorilla, who along with his owner (or I could say, best friend) is brought out of Africa to star in a nightclub. If you think you've seen it before, you haven't, though.

This is less a monster picture than an animal-buddy film, along the lines of Old Yeller, or Turner and Hooch. Joe's more believable fifteen feet or so is a good choice by the film's designers and director. Joe doesn't stomp people to death or knock over skyscrapers. It's a get-out-the-handkerchief film that King Kong never could have been, with its monstrous title character.

But most importantly, this film has a place in cinema history for it's brilliant stop-motion animation. Willis O'Brien invented stop-motion for The Lost World (an old 1922 silent, not the sequel to Jurassic Park), polished it up in King Kong, and perfected it in Mighty Joe Young. Joe the gorilla is so real, there's no need to suspend your disbelief-- there is no disbelief. Only computerized graphic imaging has been able to equal Joe's realism. The gorilla has facial expressions that are beautiful to see; he is like a little kid in his expressions of love and wonder, and fear, a comparison that couldn't be made but for the perfect animation.

While this is a great "family film," g-rated, and simply plotted, it's a grown-up movie. No people of any age will be able to tear their eyes from the screen.

To begin with, when I first heard of the movie "Mighty Joe Young" I was only six or seven years old at which time I was living in the "Little Old Island of Cuba" located 90 miles from here and during that time our maid spoke to me about the movie in question. Then when my family and I immigrated to America in 1965 I all but forgot all about the movie. Then in 1967 when I was twelve years old and the local TV station showed movies at seven o'clock in the evening-when the local networks used to show movies-and I mean good movies-and not the garbage that they are showing nowadays-when I turned on the TV set, lo and behold they were showing "Mighty Joe Young" and let me tell you that I really enjoyed seeing it for the first time. Naturally, I could have recorded it, but unfortunately VCRs were not yet invented in 1967-let alone dreamed of and I had to be happy with getting the chance to see the movie. Well, as time marched on, in 1990 I had tha chance to see it again on VHS. And seeing it again really brought back some wonderful memories of my childhood. Now as far as the movie itself is concerned, well, let me say that it ranks right up there with the best of them. The latter being: "King Kong" and "Konga." Finally, suffice it to say that my mother does not like to watch horror movies and that is why I tell her that in my opinion those old horror flicks from the 1950s and 1960s-especially their special effects alone are worth their weight in gold! Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to say, Thank You, Amazon.com for bringing back the best years of my life!

The Disney remake of "Mighty Joe Young" is excellent, but nothing beats the charm of the original film. 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. 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!