{"id":1953,"date":"2010-12-21T13:57:14","date_gmt":"2010-12-21T18:57:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=1953"},"modified":"2010-12-21T13:57:14","modified_gmt":"2010-12-21T18:57:14","slug":"dvd-mighty-joe-young-1949","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=1953","title":{"rendered":"DVD: Mighty Joe Young (1949)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Return to: <\/strong>Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews<\/a> \/ <\/em>M<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Film: Very Good \/ DVD Transfer: Very Good\u00a0\/ DVD Extras: Excellent<\/p>\n

Label: Warner Home Video \/ Region: 1 (NTSC) \/\u00a0Released:\u00a0November 22, 2010<\/p>\n

Genre: Fantasy \/ Action<\/p>\n

Synopsis: A teen and her giant pet ape tour the U.S. and have second thoughts about fame, fortune, and designer clothes.<\/p>\n

Special Features:\u00a0Audio Commentary by Terry Moore and visual effects veterans Ray Harryhausen and Ken Ralston \/ 2 Featurettes: \u201cA Conversation with Ray Harryhausen and the Chiodo Brothers\u201d (22:49) + \u201cRay Harryhausen and Mighty Joe Young\u201d (11:54) \/ Theatrical Trailer<\/p>\n

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Review:<\/p>\n

If one examines the films (1925-1963) of producer Merian C. Cooper, there are obvious ongoing themes, such as nature being forcibly manhandled by civilization, only to see the wild element (rightly) rebel, and a climactic fight between the beast and the selfish efforts of people trying to tame the untamable.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s present in the original King Kong<\/strong> and its hastily conceived sequel, The Son of Kong<\/strong> (both 1933), but Mighty Joe Young<\/strong> [MJY] offers up a less tragic storyline where the wrongly exploited beast is given a second chance when it ultimately proves its goodness through several heroic acts.<\/p>\n

All three aforementioned Big Monkey films were penned in whole or in part by Ruth Rose who expanded Cooper\u2019s own story ideas, and they share the same premise of Great White Hunters on a journey to a wild land where they encounter a massive ape, and attempt to control the alluring creature.<\/p>\n

In Kong<\/strong>, the story involved outright capture, exploitation, and murder of an ape (because really, Kong\u2019s whole fate is due to the greed of one monster \u2013 Carl Denham), whereas in Son of Kong<\/strong>, the half-baked script ran out of story once Denham (now on a path to moral reformation) returned to Skull Island and encountered \u2018Little Kong.\u2019 What remained was a half-assed treasure hunt, clunky scene edits, and a ludicrous finale involving an earth tremor that suddenly morphs into a volcano blast akin to Krakatoa<\/a>. The only thing missing was a Martian ship and giant muffins.<\/p>\n

Worse is the characterization of Little Kong as a cartoonish figure who makes human gestures and ape noises akin to Scooby-Doo. It\u2019s a terribly disappointing sequel that never should\u2019ve been rushed into a 6-moth schedule, and Cooper seemed to have learned his lesson well, because while the live-action filming of MJY was accomplished in 3 months, the stop-motion animation effects ranged from 12-18 months.<\/p>\n

Rose\u2019s story was designed to be kid-friend \u2013 conceptually, it\u2019s fully G-rated \u2013 but Willis O\u2019Brien\u2019s supervising effects work and Ray Harryhausen\u2019s hands-on animation are much edgier, if not PG-lite.<\/p>\n

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Story Breakdown<\/strong><\/p>\n

Actor Robert Armstrong (who played Denham in the two Kong<\/strong> films) plays Max O\u2019Hara, a louder, blustering exploiter of anything that\u2019ll keep his name in the media. To fill his new African-themed nightclub (!), O\u2019Hara travels to Africa in search of wild beasts, and almost loses his men when they try to rope (!) a massive ape.<\/p>\n

Just as O\u2019Hara is about to become a human rag dog, teenage Jill Young appears, and O\u2019Hara sees she controls the mighty beast (named Joe) whom she considers her best friend.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Hara takes advantage of Jill\u2019s green brain and convinces her to sign a contract where she and Joe will become stars. Once in the U.S., she realizes the deal isn\u2019t that beneficial, and although she seems to enjoy the promised nice clothes, fame, and relative freedom, Joe must return to a cage in the basement.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Hara lies about ending their contract when she has second thoughts and wants to return to Africa, and when Joe rebels against an abusive audience on night, he\u2019s hunted down by the police with shoot-to-kill orders.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Hara realizes he\u2019s been (quite frankly) an asshole, and like Denham in Son of Kong<\/strong>, he seeks to make a big wrong a better right, and helps Jill and Joe escape to a boat chartered for Africa. En route to the docks, they stop to help a burning orphanage (amazing stroke of karma!), and when the police witness Joe\u2019s valiant rescues, he\u2019s off Death Row and is able to return to the Dark Continent, where he can run free on the plantation Jill was dumb enough to leave in the first place (but presumable still held the deed).<\/p>\n

Early in the film, O\u2019Hara\u2019s lead roper Gregg Johnson suggests Jill reconsider signing the contract since she has no reason to leave a massive plantation \/ farm for a pipe dream. Her decision to put pen to paper actually puts the blame for Joe\u2019s misery and near-death not on O\u2019Hara, but Jill<\/em> \u2013 a na\u00efve, doe-eyed dimwit who sets in motion a lot of trauma for an innocent animal.<\/p>\n

As a family film, MGY works (well, in a vintage forties mentality), but it\u2019s got such a weak heroine that the only character for whom one feels sympathy is Joe, whose increasingly tragic predicament is goosed by crazy sequences in O\u2019Hara\u2019s huge nightclub.<\/p>\n

Among the film\u2019s most memorable sequences is Joe rising from the stage holding a circular platform upon which Jill plays Joe\u2019s favourite song, \u201cBeautiful Dreamer,\u201d on piano, but there are other aspects of the club that make the jaw drop: the lengthy bar, which overlooks a large display of a pack of lions; a wild African dance number with a long-necked woman; and several bizarre presentations concocted by O\u2019Hara meant to illustrate Joe\u2019s power.<\/p>\n

Joe winning a tug-of-war with wrestling champions is a highlight, but the most surreal has Jill playing a hurdy-gurdy while Joe begs for money with his cap. The audience has been given \u2018big money\u2019 coins for \u2018the big monkey\u2019 and are told to toss it at the two performers to win free booze. The scene \u2013 which sets Joe into crazy mode when a bottle conks Joe on the head \u2013 is meant to be the highpoint of O\u2019Hara\u2019s increasingly cruel concepts and a bored, sadistic audience, but the real target deserving full hate is Jill, who stands there like a tree, watching her best friend humiliated in another elaborate fashion.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the toughest aspect of MJY: an exotic scenario hampered by a central human character that\u2019s utterly unsympathetic. Terry Moore was cast for her ing\u00e9nue qualities, but in terms of a performance, it\u2019s as though Moore decided to replicate the performance of actress Lora Lee Michel who plays Jill as a child, and play the young adult Jill with a ten years old\u2019s emotional range, as well a sticking to three facial expressions: Happy! Sad! and Oh No!<\/p>\n

Rose\u2019s dialogue \u2013 fun when O\u2019Hara belts loud, crass sentences \u2013 is interminable whenever Jill opens her mouth, often uttering Joe\u2019s name in grating multiples.<\/p>\n

Love interest Gregg (Ben Johnson) is an all-around nice guy, but he\u2019s also too subservient to O\u2019Hara, and his own acceptance of Jill and Joe\u2019s lousy contractual obligations makes him complicit in the pair\u2019s unhappiness. Actor Johnson, a genuine champion roper, made his leading man debut in MJY partly through the machinations of co-producer John Ford, and while he has some screen charisma, it\u2019s a neutral role that only gets interesting when Johnson attempts to rope Joe at the film\u2019s beginning, or near the end when he helps rescue Jill from the disintegrating orphanage before Joe climbs to the top to help.<\/p>\n

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Creative Standards<\/strong><\/p>\n

The real star of MJY is the character of Joe (billed by O\u2019Hara as \u201cMr. Joseph Young\u201d), if not the superior filmmaking techniques that inspired kids to become stop-motion animators. This was Harryhausen\u2019s feature film debut, and with O\u2019Brien\u2019s supervision, Ted Cheeseman\u2019s sharp editing, and J. Roy Hunt\u2019s cinematography, Joe\u2019s scenes are still amazing.<\/p>\n

As crazy as it sounds, the roping of Joe is a highlight (and the concept of cowboys catching a massive beast was later transposed from roping an ape to a T-Rex in Harryhausen\u2019s The Valley of Gwangi<\/strong> in 1969). The multiple angles, point-of-views, fast action, and Joe\u2019s beautifully animated movements are textbook examples of how to craft a kinetic action sequence, and the sequence feels stylistically modern.<\/p>\n

The same applies to Joe\u2019s rampage in O\u2019Hara\u2019s nightclub, where Joe smashes the lion displays, fights the lions, and escapes. Harryhausen again blended footage of live actors with stop-motion miniatures, as well as the club\u2019s own African-styled sets that Joe destroys either from tossing lions against makeshift huts, or people. (The only aspect animal lovers might take issue with are a few cutaways that show lions doing stunts few would attempt today.)<\/p>\n

The fiery finale is equally impressive the way the orphanage gradually crumbles, and Joe at one point rescues a child and climbs a tree while fire licks upward at an incredible speed.<\/p>\n

MJY is a remarkable achievement in stop-motion animation, and it deserved the Oscar for Best Special Effects, but there\u2019s also a tongue-in-cheek quality that makes the weaker characters less damaging. O\u2019Hara, patterned after Cooper, is a bit of a cook and a media whore, and during Joe\u2019s stage debut O\u2019Hara is amusing when he walks out with a cartoon-sized hunting helmet \u2013 a nice touch that shows a little man with a big ego trying to look grand in front of much taller, meaner audience members.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a great punchline to a visual gag where O\u2019Hara scurries off the stage once Joe appears for the tug-of-war, because Joe recognizes O\u2019Hara as the ass he almost dropped back in Africa had Jill not come to his rescue.<\/p>\n

Roy Webb\u2019s score appropriately veers from thematic renditions of \u201cBeautiful Dreamer\u201d and his own MJY theme to orchestral chaos that almost comes close to cartoon music, but maintains a dark edge, turning the film\u2019s action sequences where Joe must defend himself into moments of genuine desperation where a wild creature is being abused by humans.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tough to say whether the makers of the 1998 remake could have effectively wrestled and solved the original script\u2019s problems, but Ron Underwood\u2019s film lacks the charm and sympathy that\u2019s central to Joe\u2019s likeability, and O\u2019Brien and Harryhausen\u2019s stop-motion animation is much more consistent in style and tone than the CGI effects of the remake. Moreover, whereas the original film\u2019s action sequences are filled with rich kinetics, in the \u201998 version they\u2019re often bombastic.<\/p>\n

Getting past the \u201949 version\u2019s flaws is somewhat managed by the generous extras in Warner Home Video\u2019s DVD which features a gorgeous print transfer, as well as the tinting of the orphanage fire sequence (which, according to Harryhausen, was reportedly sepia-toned, but tinted red for the laserdisc and DVD transfers).<\/p>\n

Harryhausen, Moore, and effects veteran Ken Ralston (also on the King Kong<\/strong> DVD and Blu-ray commentary tracks) speak the length of the film, and their dialogue covers the film\u2019s production, the careers of the film\u2019s main creative participants, and dissections of many effects.<\/p>\n

Ralston is clearly in awe of Harryhausen (rightly so), and Moore offers some amusing memories of Cooper, director Ernest B. Schoedsack (who was nearly blind at the time, and directed the film using surrounding sounds and the help of an aid), and the real-life wrestlers who appeared in the tug-of-war sequence.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a relief to hear Harryhausen point out the severe flaws in Son of Kong<\/strong>, and his own determination to return to O\u2019Brien\u2019s more pure ape characterization by giving Joe a blend of gorilla and chimpanzee behaviour. (The only exception is Joe\u2019s weird razzing and finger gestures as he\u2019s being whisked away in a van by Gregg and Jill \u2013 perhaps material demanded by the filmmakers to sustain a few humorous elements before the dire orphanage sequence.)<\/p>\n

Further admiration of Harryhausen\u2019s artistry is extended by the Chiodo Brothers (Team America: World Police<\/strong>) in a Q&A featurette that provides the kind of career overview that should\u2019ve been done in WHV\u2019s Clash of the Titans<\/strong> (1981) DVD & BR; perhaps the label\u2019s thinking was to use MJY for the main featurette, since Harryhausen\u2019s primary work was for Columbia.<\/p>\n

The Chiodo Brothers also join Harryhausen at their studio where the veteran animator discusses the various Mighty Joe models created for the film while handling one of the rare surviving Joe armatures designed for the film. The tone sometimes gets a bit too reverent, but the respect the Chiodos and Ralston have for one of the premiere stop-motion pioneers is understandable \u2013 this is one of the men who directly inspired them.<\/p>\n

MJY was previously released on laserdisc (a 1985 Image edition<\/a> includes a different commentary track), but this 2006 DVD offer up a solid combination of extras. The film transfer is very clean, but a future BR release would eliminate some compression issues, as the disc includes lengthy making-of and interview featurettes.<\/p>\n

This title is available separately or as part of a boxed set that includes King Kong<\/strong> and The Son of Kong<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Postscript<\/strong><\/p>\n

Interestingly, actress Terry Moore also appeared in The Great Rupert<\/strong> (1950), another stop-motion animation film produced by Harryhausen\u2019s former mention, George Pal (Destination Moon<\/strong>). Her more notable roles as a mature adult include Come Back, Little Sheba<\/strong> in 1952 for Paramount (for which she earned an Oscar Nomination), followed by several Fox films: Man on a Tightrope<\/strong>, Beneath the 12-Mile Reef<\/strong> and King of the Khyber Rifles<\/strong> (all in 1953), and the deliciously sleazy Peyton Place<\/strong> (1957).<\/p>\n

Both screenwriter Rose and director Schoedsack retired from feature films (although the latter directed bits of This is Cinerama<\/strong> in 1952), whereas Cooper continued to produce several of John Ford\u2019s films, ending with The Searchers<\/strong> (1956).<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien\u2019s final film credit is The Black Scorpion<\/strong> (1957), whereas Harryhausen moved on as an effects supervisor, starting with The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms<\/strong> (1953) and It Came from Beneath the Sea<\/strong> (1955) for producer Charles H. Schneer (1958-1981) before the two shored up a rewarding production partnership, and crafted the fantasy classic The 7th Voyage of Sinbad<\/strong> (1958).<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 2010 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

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Related links:<\/em><\/p>\n

DVD \/ Film: \u00a0King Kong<\/a><\/strong> (1933) — Son of Kong<\/a><\/strong> (1933)<\/p>\n

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Related external links (MAIN SITE):<\/em><\/p>\n

DVD \/ Film: \u00a0Clash of the Titans<\/a><\/strong> <\/strong>(1981)<\/p>\n

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External References<\/em>:<\/p>\n

IMDB <\/a>— Soundtrack Album<\/a> — Composer Filmography<\/a><\/p>\n

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Buy from:<\/em><\/p>\n

Amazon.com<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0Mighty Joe Young<\/a><\/p>\n

Amazon.ca<\/strong> –\u00a0Mighty Joe Young<\/a><\/p>\n

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Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews<\/a> <\/em><\/em><\/em>\/\u00a0M<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Return to: Home \/\u00a0Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews \/ M . Film: Very Good \/ DVD Transfer: Very Good\u00a0\/ DVD Extras: Excellent Label: Warner Home Video \/ Region: 1 (NTSC) \/\u00a0Released:\u00a0November 22, 2010 Genre: Fantasy \/ Action Synopsis: A teen and her giant pet ape tour the U.S. and have second thoughts about fame, fortune, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[18],"tags":[206,205,229,209,230,207],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-vv","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1953"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1953"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1956,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1953\/revisions\/1956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}