Mighty Joe Young (1998)

A legendary fifteen-foot tall mountain gorilla named Joe is taken to an animal sanctuary in California by zoologist Gregg O'Hara (Bill Paxton) and Jill Young (Charlize Theron), with whom he grew up. Poacher Strasser (Rade Serbedzija) returns from the past to seek vengeance on Joe.

Director:

Ron Underwood

Writers:

Merian C. Cooper (story), Ruth Rose (earlier screenplay)

Stars:

Bill Paxton, Charlize Theron, Rade Serbedzija

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlize Theron	...	Jill Young
Bill Paxton	...	Gregg O'Hara
Rade Serbedzija	...	Strasser
Peter Firth	...	Garth
David Paymer	...	Harry Ruben
Regina King	...	Cecily Banks
Robert Wisdom	...	Kweli
Naveen Andrews	...	Pindi
Lawrence Pressman	...	Dr. Baker
Linda Purl	...	Dr. Ruth Young
Mika Boorem	...	Young Jill Young
Geoffrey Blake	...	Vern
Christian Clemenson	...	Jack
Cory Buck	...	Jason
Liz Georges	...	Jason's Mother

Storyline

The baby gorilla left in her care grows up to become a hugely tall and broad specimen by the name of Joe, living in the mountains as a mostly unseen legend amongst the people who live there. Along comes eco-minded emissary Gregg O'Hara (Bill Paxton), who is from a California sanctuary, and who talks jungle girl Jill Young (Charlize Theron) into providing a safe haven for Joe at the Los Angeles facility. The transition is not without discomfort, but everything is aggravated via a conspiracy of poachers to get Joe into their own greedy hands.

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Plot Keywords:

leopard | hide and seek | wildlife preserve | animal sanctuary | animal conservation | 

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Taglines:

Survival is an instinct.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some menacing action violence and mild language

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie's trailer used music from Stargate (1994) and Stargate SG-1 (1997).

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Goofs

The gorilla is supposed to be 12 ft tall. Yet in all scenes he has to be at least 20 to 30 feet tall, and certainly isn't 2000 lbs. One of his legs alone would have to weigh that much.

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Quotes

Andrei Strasser: [points a gun at Jill's face with intent to kill her] Goodbye, Jill. Meet your mother... in Hell.
Jill Young: [stares back at him very calmly, even a slight hint of a smile on her face] Goodbye.
[Strasser turns around and sees Joe towering over him]

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Alternate Versions

German video and DVD versions are edited for violence (capturing of the gorilla, transport of the gorilla in the city, escape of the gorilla, explosion of the ferris wheel) to get a more family friendly "Not under 6" rating. The uncut version (rated "Not under 12") was shown several times on pay-TV channel Premiere World (now Sky Germany).

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Connections

Featured in Troldspejlet: Episode #21.11 (1999)

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Soundtracks

Imam Assani Cisse
Written and Performed by Chuck Jonkey

User Reviews

Fantasic effects that are very realistic

This update of "Mighty Joe Young" features incredible visual effects. They are so seemlessly blended into the picture that Joe seems more than real.

Bill Paxton is great as usual. In fact, most of the cast is pretty good. Charlize Theron is both tough and sexy. She worked better with Paxton than the contrived relationship he had with Helen Hunt in "Twister".

I watched this movie with my kids and they loved it too. Definately a thumbs-up as a family movie. I recommend it.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Swahili

Release Date:

25 December 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mighty Joe Young

Filming Locations:

Hawaii, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,602,042, 27 December 1998

Gross USA:

$50,632,037

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$50,632,037

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1