{"id":24523,"date":"2017-03-02T16:54:43","date_gmt":"2017-03-02T21:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=24523"},"modified":"2017-03-02T16:57:00","modified_gmt":"2017-03-02T21:57:00","slug":"mighty-joe-young-1998","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/02\/mighty-joe-young-1998\/","title":{"rendered":"Mighty Joe Young (1998)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It\u2019s really hard to stack up to the original \u201cMighty Joe Young\u201d which itself was kind of a simpler take on the giant ape tale. While the original remains untouched, it\u2019s really hard not to enjoy the 1998 remake by Disney and director Ron Underwood. While it can occasionally be silly, it\u2019s still a strong new take on the original film with a great cast, great direction and still very good special effects. This new version from director Ron Underwood strays from the original which was kind of a \u201cKing Kong\u201d riff, and transforms it more in to a tale of a woman who watches over a humongous ape named Joe. The writers aim to tackle themes about poaching and wildlife preservation within the fun adventure tale, and most times it allows for an engaging tale of friendship and love.<\/p>\n

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If you remember the nineties, there were a lot of movies based around preserving or restoring wild life (man there were a lot of animal based movies in the nineties), and \u201cMighty Joe Young\u201d is put in to the sub-genre despite its fantasy base. Charlize Theron, in one of her earlier career roles, is striking as Joe\u2019s protector Jill, a passionate lover of the wildlife who does everything to keep Joe a secret. But when wildlife enthusiast Professor Gregg O\u2019Hara gains an interest in learning how Joe became so humongous, he discovers Joe hiding in the jungles of Africa. Forming an uneasy pact with Jill, Gregg convinces Jill to put Joe in to a massive preserve, especially as poaching begins to increase around Jill\u2019s village. The late great Bill Paxton is very good as the hero Gregg O\u2019Hara who seeks to learn about Joe\u2019s genetic traits, but gains a fondness for him, especially as by the second half of the movie, Joe finds himself misplaced in the big city.<\/p>\n

To make matters even worse, two murderous poachers from Jill\u2019s past are hell bent on finding Joe and killing him. \u201cMighty Joe Young\u201d packs in a lot of plot and characters, but otherwise remains a very entertaining and sweet tale about a woman\u2019s bond with a giant ape, and how they both grow over the course of the movie. That said, the movie tends to meander, especially down the middle portion when Joe is introduced to civilization. Otherwise, though, \u201cMighty Joe Young\u201d is a worthwhile companion to the original stop motion classic, as Underwood maintains much of the initial bond, and even alters the climactic feat by Joe, taking it from a burning orphanage to a blazing Carousel in the middle of a carnival.<\/p>\n

Despite the fantastic premise, the writers do display a lot of interesting plot twists that circles around to the action packed finale, filled with classic \u201cmonster rampaging,\u201d and a heartfelt finale in the spirit of the original 1949 gem. Even for 1998, Joe still looks remarkable on-screen, and the film creates a sweet and empathetic new iteration of the Harryhausen and O\u2019Brien creation. Folks that appreciated the wide eyed simplicity of the original \u201cMighty Joe Young\u201d might not like how the remake is given so much more of a narrative and handed much more complex ideas; but while the 1998 remake from Disney is a bit long in the tooth, it\u2019s still a very good modern iteration on the original classic film about an overgrown ape with a heart of gold.<\/p>\n