King Kong Synopsis's

King Kong 1933

King Kong is perhaps the pinnacle movie that gave way to all the sci fi movies today's. A man named Carl Denham was a motion picture director, and a producer. Mr. Denham decides to take a mysterious trip to an uncharted island. He hires a crew and an actress for the boat trip to this island. The island that they have landed on was called Skull Island. The moment they have arrived on the island they all knew this island was special, but how special they had no clue. It is inhabited by natives who lived on this island with their rituals and their chants. The rituals that they chant were interrupted by the new visitors to the island. The chief of the tribe noticed this blonde beauty her name is Ann Darrow. The chief bargained with Denham for the blonde, but he refuses flatly.

That night the natives sneaked Ann off the ship back to the island where they precede to use her as a sacrifice for their god. One thing is very noticeable about the island where the islanders resided, and that is the great wall that stands about 50 feet high with a gate just as high. The natives tie Ann to this alter then suddenly the trees start cracking and crashing as if something gigantic was coming her way. What clears the tree lines is a 50 foot ape of gigantic proportions. Ann screams at the site of King Kong. He looks at Ann for the first time as if what is this. She was very to unique to Kong. Kong seems to like this girl very much. He grabs Ann and takes off into the jungle. Jack Driscoll is the ships first mate. Jack is particularly fond of Ann also. Jack with his crew go in to the jungle in search of Ann. All the while in the jungle Jack and the crew run constant danger. They eventually run into Kong himself. Leaving Kong to kill all but two of the crew. Kong runs into a serious fight with a T-Rex. This by far was the coolest fight scene Kong as gotten into so far. Jack manages to find Ann in Kong's lair while Kong is tangling with a tyranadon. Getting back to the beach where Carl Denham was waiting. He came up with the grandest scheme that would make him rich. Carl would capture Kong, and bring him back to New York City. Making King Kong the eighth wonder of the world.

They had Kong chained on a stand above the audience on a stage. Kong noticed Ann and photographers taking alot of pictures. Not knowing that Kong was getting angry because Kong thought that the photographers were harming Ann. He breaks out of his chains running amok in New York. He enters the streets of New York where eventually ends up at the Empire State building carry Ann in his hand. He climbs the building where he is met with a bunch of airplanes, or biplanes. A constant aerial attack is displayed on the weaken King of Skull Island. King Kong falls to his death slamming against the building falling to his death. The positive thing about this film is that it is near perfection. King Kong was released in 1933, and it has yet to be surpassed by anything in it's genre. If you are a true fan of King Kong this movie is the best of the best.

King Kong has a son in another movie, but he would die saving someone also. Then there is King Kong vs Godzilla which to alot of Godzilla fans like myself have eagerly waited for this to be released here in the United States. When it was released it was a bliss. Now this is not connected with King Kong 1933. It was release by the Toho Company with permission from RKO Pictures. Then in 1976 Dino Delaurentes released his version with alot of skeptism from true fans as being a cheap rendition of the real thing. I like Kong Kong I have to say that this version has its good points. A different twist to it. Dwan was her name and boy was she sweet looking. "yummy". Then they release the second part of King Kong with a heart transplant, now this movie was below average with alot cheesy parts, but not the worst of movies. King Kong 2005 hopefully will be the grandest of them all. It should be pretty cool with Peter Jackson behind the helm of King Kong. we will have to wait and see. There is strong following of King Kong with the fans, and movies. King Kong went through several name changes before getting the one it has now. The first it would be called The Beast , The Ape, King Ape, and Kong. Another piece of trivia is that the term Skull Island is usually referred by alot of people. It is not mentioned at all in the film King Kong 1933 and the Son of Kong. The confusion arose because of the main nature feature on the island is called Skull Mountain. The success of this film would keep RKO Pictures from going bankrupted. King Kong's official height in the original movie was 50 feet. Well that pretty much sums up this story.

Synopsis by Barney Buckley

Son of Kong

Ernest B. Schoedsack and Merian C. Cooper's King Kong (33) was not only one of the most successful films of it era, it became something of a phenomenon whose influence can be felt throughout popular culture, not just in films as diverse as Inoshiro Honda's Gojira (54) and Jim Sharman's The Rocky Horror Picture Show (75). Kong himself, much to the filmmakers' surprise, took on a life of his own as a cultural icon, with different societies conferring their own status and meaning onto the figure of the giant ape.

As the production was one of the few outright smash hits that RKO had during its turbulent existence, the studio were obviously very keen to exploit this success as quickly as possible and to this end reunited many of the cast and crew from the original production to quickly and cheaply (at $290,000, less than half the budget allocated to the earlier work) make a sequel. Astonishingly, despite the technical complexity of the project, The Son of Kong debuted a mere eight months after the premier of its parent.

The name for "Little Kong" was Kiko, though it was never used. After the widespread destruction caused by the giant ape, King Kong, on New York City, adventurer and showman Carl Denham finds himself under siege from process servers and journalists in his guest house room. A female reporter who manages to gain access to the man is told that he is being sued by almost everyone in the city and is wishes that he left Kong alone on his island. Just then the Chinese cook who sailed with Denham on the SS Venture arrives to tell him that the captain of the ship, Englehorn would like to see him. Denham manages to make an exit unseen from his lodgings and makes his way to the ship. There the skipper begins to make the showman a proposition, but is interrupted by a process server who has become very successful thanks to Denham who informs him that the Grand Jury are about to indict him and that he should quit town as soon as possible. Englehorm then reveals that his proposition involves Denham sailing to the Dutch East Indies with him to make a living as cargo shipping agents. Denham readily agrees. After some time at sea, the ship ends up at a remote port called Darkang, with very little to show for their efforts and an increasingly hostile crew. While discussing their plight, the skipper and Denham calculate that they are some 1700 miles from Kong's island. Searching the port for some trade, the partners decide to take in a musical show performed by an elderly expat, Petersen and his daughter Hilda.

After the show, which is treated with indifference by the native audience, the father goes drinking with another Westerner, Helstrom, despite the protestations of his daughter. Petersen and Helstrom soon get into a drunken argument over the mysterious sinking of the latter's last vessel, with Helstrom hitting his companion with a bottle. As he falls Petersen knock over a lamp and the tent where his act took place is soon ablaze. Helstrom flees and it is left to Hilda to pull her father from the inferno. Unfortunately the strain proves too much and he expires despite her efforts. The next morning the daughter meets Helstrom and tells him that she intends to give her version of the events surrounding her father's death to the visiting Dutch magistrate who is due to visit the port in the next few days. Helstrom then goes to a local bar where he is refused service due to lack of funds. He spies Denham across the bar and goes over to him. It turns out it was he who provided the showman with the map of Kong island. To obtain passage on the Venture, he concocts a story about hidden treasure on the island that Denham falls for and agrees to let Helstrom accompany him and his partner. That night Denham visits Hilda and gives her money to buy a place on the next ship out of port. She begs to be allowed to accompany him but he refuses as he is going well out of her way. The following day the ship is well into its voyage and the captain expresses concern that that Helstrom is having a bad influence on the crew. Then a stowaway is discovered. It is Hilda…

Synopsis by Barney Buckley

Mighty Joe Young 1949/98

Mighty Joe Young is a film made in 1949 by the same design team responsible for King Kong. Written by Merian C. Cooper (who provided the story) and Ruth Rose (screenplay), and directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, it tells the story of a young woman, 'Jill Young', played by Terry Moore, living on a wildlife preserve in Africa, who ends up bringing the title character — a giant ape (although not giant on a King Kong scale, but more along the lines of 10-12 feet tall) — to Hollywood, California. The movie co-star's Ben Johnson, as 'Gregg', in his first major role.

A 1998 remake starred Bill Paxton ('Gregg') and Charlize Theron ('Jill'), and was directed by Ron Underwood. In the remake, the ape is somewhat larger, and the pair again go to Hollywood, California instead of New York.

O’Brien was the greatest of all stop-motion artists because he had the ability to really invest his creations with sympathy and personality. Each of O’Brien’s set-pieces here is absolutely dazzling - the sequence where the cowboys attempt to lasso Joe as he is throwing boulders at a cowboy cowering against a cliff; or the scene where Joe takes on a group of strongmen on stage, which angrily turns into a punch-up with the last one. The scene where Joe appears out of an orchestra pit and lifts Terry Moore above his shoulders as she play Beautiful Dreamer on the piano is one image in the film that is truly magical. Although the scene where Joe wrecks the theatre is surely one of the most exciting stop-motion animated sequences ever created - he tearing apart support pillars and burying people in rubble, swinging across the room on a rope (where the camera gets in and follows behind him during the swing), and best of all the scenes where he smashes the lions out of the cage and then starts jumping on them, body slamming them into the floor and then pinning them down and punching them out cold. (The scenes with real lions being dumped from heights and skidded across the floor make this not exactly a film that is guaranteed to be recommended by the SPCA). The orphanage climax with the amazing scenes of Joe fleeing up a burning tree carrying a baby, or escaping down it with Moore on his back is also exceedingly beautiful. There is a certain cute cuddliness to Joe that there never was to Kong but this is otherwise a stop-motion masterpiece.

Without a doubt Rick Baker’s animatronics and the CGI effects work on the remake are exceptional. As in the original Joe lives and breathes and demonstrates a range of expressions on screen. It’s just that the rest of the film falls flat. For the most part the remake adheres to the general plot path of the original quite closely.

Synopsis Joe 49

Joe is a large Gorilla who was raised from a baby after Jill purchased him from slavery from two Native African Africans for the price of her father's Flashlight. She said to them " have fine things...you trade with me for that...(meaning Joe)" Jill was lonely. Her mother had died and her father was a busy man. Jill said of Joe: "he's better than a doll I can play with him". Jill hid Joe, as a surprise, in her father's bed. He almost killed Joe with his gun when he found him there. Jill's father eventually took to the young Joe and said of him "how the little fellow loves his milk". Jill brought up Joe to be a sober and upright citizen who was very obedient to Jill . Jill taught him to calm down and sleep to the tune of Beautiful Dreamer.
Mr. Young protected Jill and had a natural suspicion of mankind - especially men with horses and guns, (he also did not like Lions, nor fire) that is until Jill introduced him to the businessman-Max O'Hara and his friends. While O'Hara was never really comfortable around Joe, Gregg Johnson, the famous cowboy (one of O'Hara's associates) did develop a comfortable relationship with the lovable primate. (he once said: "I can control him as much as she ( Jill) can".) Gregg was introduced to Max by a letter from Tex Woods. Gregg was a champion roper from Oklahoma. His act had just closed at Madison Square Garden. Max employed him (though late for a dentist appointment and in a hurry) and his friends to rope lions. One of Max's associates told a secretary: "Who do you think is going to get the worst of this- Maxie or Africa...?

One day 12 years later Jill met the New York /Hollywood businessman- Max O'Hara (Mr. O'Hara's office was located in room number 1012 of a building in New York which appears to be somewhere near Times Square) who convinced Jill to sign a contract which would bring both Jill and Mr. Young to Hollywood to appear in an extravagant nightclub act- one with an African theme which was to include live lions and strongmen.

O'Hara and Johnson along with their safari party met Joe on Jill's property while they were gathering lions. It is at this time when we first see Joe become angry. He was carefully examining a lion in a cage when his hand got a bit too close and the lion bit him.
This angered our Joe who broke the cage and then chased the lion. Johnson and other cowboys first tried to rope Joe but this turned out to be impossible. Joe pulled riders off horses and snapped ropes. Johnson grabbed a big log and started to beat Joe with it. This outrage caused Joe to become ever- more violent and to grab Mr. O'Hara. Johnson helps Jill to think more closely about the contract. She notes that her father had died months ago. She agrees to go with O'Hara (who claims he is a: "streight shooter") and Johnson to Hollywood.

Mr. O'Hara's Club was known as "Max O'Hara's Golden Safari". Large lights were set up advertising: "Max O'Hara's Golden Safari Staring Mr. Joseph Young of Africa". Jill was billed as "The Jungle Queen". Joe became famous for lifting up Jill while she played his favorite song on the piano.

He clearly did not enjoy doing this. While in Hollywood Jill developed a close friendship with cowboy performer -Gregg Johnson -who she had met and had protected from Joe when he came to Africa Max.

Joe and Jill found great success at the Hollywood nightclub. Jill had always wanted to become famous and she was mobbed for autographs and free passes when walking the streets.
Joe however, became very sad as a result of being confined in a cell with bars. He went off his food and pushed his bowl away when served. His cage was dismal -in a basement with the only window looking out over the garbage cans in the alley.
It was 10 weeks ( the billboard read"10th Mammoth week") into the show when Jill, Joe, and Gregg concluded that it was indeed time to go back to Africa, however Max convinced Jill to stay on. Weeks went by and Joe continued the unhappy business of performing in the nightclub. His act was extended to include a degrading appearance as an organ grinder' s monkey. Jill at one time said: "a week feels like 10 years..." None the less Joe maintained his composure and good nature- a model of tolerance.

After Joe was forced to act as a large monkey while Jill acted as organ grinder while patrons of the night club threw big coins at him (one said: "big coins for the big monkey..." -the coins if picked up by Joe would win a bottle of champagne) both Jill and Gregg resolved to quit and take Joe back to Africa. They both regretted bringing Joe to the U.S.A.. Joe, they said, had become a clown. (Gregg had noted earlier that Jill was under age and could not be held by her contract) While they were discussing this at a Chinese eatery (its window marked "Chopseuy") the two fell in love ("Great day in the morning...." -a RKO film title- said Gregg when realizing that he was in love!) A waiter was about to deliver the check when he stumbled upon this historic tender moment - he blushed and moved back-(Who played that waiter?- a nice touch!)
Gregg said: "listen Jill you can't go around asking guys to go to Africa with you..." but Gregg then resolved to come to Africa with Jill and help Joe get out too. This occured sometime around the "17th Colossal Week" as the nightclub sign read.

One night several drunken patrons of the nightclub who had been irritated by Mr. O'Hara (he had forced them to pay for a cigarette girl's wares after they had poured their drink into her tray). visited Mr. Young. These men brought Joe liquor (four quarts) and taught him how to drink it. One said: "give him a drink...make him feel good like us..." . Another said: "try it -it will grow hair on your chest...". Another said: "can you imagine the size of his hangover..." Earlier one of these men had thrown a bottle at Joe which hit him and caused him to become enraged at which point the show was shut down. They taunted him as he became drunk. One man took out a cigarette lighter and burned Joe. Mr. Young could not take any more of this abuse and, understandably, flew into a rage. His anger was so great that he destroyed his cage and chased the men who ran into the nightclub. The men came on to the set from behind the scenes and Joe crashed through the set through a tree on stage right.

Following this outrage the drunken Joe continued to rampage through the nightclub breaking down the sets, sending the musicians who had rushed to the swinging rope bridge, crashing to the ground and releasing the lions some of which he killed. Joe threw the piano and a Bass down onto the crowd before swinging across the hall. Joe lands at one point on a roofed side box and seems to burp! Joe manages to throw a number of lions around killing perhaps 3. He actually saved his tormentor from a lion (but the drunken man claims that Joe attacked him on his exit from the club!). Eventually a group of lions gang up on Joe jumping on his back. Joe is then knocked on the head and trapped within the rubble. Jill finds her way into the club and goes to Joe's side. Meanwhile Max and Gregg lock the club doors and fell a large tree to block the entrance. As the destruction continued the police were summoned .The police make it into the club and shots are heard- we wonder about Joe's safety! Note that Joe does not rampage through the town. He agrees to be peacefully lead back to his cage by Jill and Gregg.

Next we find the principals at a trial where a court order is issued which commands the police to shoot Joe. He has been placed in a much stronger cage under armed police guard. Sometime after 8 o'clock one night four policemen set out to shoot Joe. Jill worries - police officer encourages her not to stay around for the disturbing shooting. She then joins Gregg and Max who have a plan. Max feels his heavy responsibility for getting Mr. Young into all of this. They have to get Joe to a freighter in the harbor which will sail at 6 A.M..

Max pretends to visit Joe for the last time. "I should have left you in Africa where you belong.." he says. He fakes a heart attack and is taken by the policeman to his office to recover. Jill then sneaks in to visit Joe and opens the cage with the key- she has trouble with this and barely gets it done in time. Meanwhile the policemen finally arrive with the court order and enter O'Hara's office. As they are in a hurry Max can not delay them (one of the officers has a date).The officers head down to shoot Joe. Max then cuts the telephone line and drops a map on the floor in order to throw the police off. It is a map of Los Vegas. Gregg backs up a moving and storage truck to the building to pick up Joe ( Great Western No. 338 Great Western Van and Storage"Nationwide Moving and Storage").

Police are locked in the basement by Max. The police car driver policeman is tricked to go into Max's office. Meanwhile Max's assistant opens the hood and disables the car. Max gets into the car and heads to meet up with the van,

The Police break out of the basement and out of the front door which Max had locked and find the car disabled- they call for transportation. Max and his driver meanwhile meet the van with Joe, Jill' and Gregg at a cross street. While both vehicles are moving Max crosses from his car to the van and hops into the cab. Meanwhile the police join the chase-they do not fall for Max's ploy and head after the
van . Gregg notes that the van needs air in a front tire. Over the radio an advisory is heard - shoot on sight is ordered. While van is getting air a hobo tries to open the back and hitch a ride but is instead frightened by Joe. (The Gas station is marked:"Calthane Gas" sp?).

The hobo raises the alarm at a local police station to which he is brought by an Irish policeman who takes him for drunk and suggests he may have seen the banshee. The officer at the desk recognizes his "old man's lingo" and states:"this is the real thing" and collects details. The radio broadcast then indicates the position of the van at "Twain and Tilden...going south" (?)

While the van is on its way a truck is encountered parked across the road blocking traffic. After a fight with the driver Gregg eventually knocks him out. The driver is placed in the moving van and Joe is placed into the driver's truck. Max takes the van in one direction while Gregg and Jill proceed with Joe in the truck, in an other. Joe waves defiantly out of the tarp door covering the back of the truck as it proceeds along the back way to the harbor. The police follow Max in the van and Max is pulled over. Max holds them back as best as he can but the police prevail, open the van, and train their guns on the driver who is waking up and says: "hey where's my truck...somebody stole my truck..."
Max pretends to have a heart attack- the police tell him to get in and have it in the police car.

Meanwhile Gregg and Jill in the truck carrying Joe pass a hamburger stand and run toward a bridge which is out and under construction. Diverting around the bridge to the left they run into loose dirt and get stuck. Joe is ordered out to help but he strains to no avail to free the truck. Meanwhile police are told by folks in the hamburger stand of the direction of the truck. Just as they are catching up Joe frees the truck and jumps in just as they get off a few shots. The police too are stuck in the dirt and shoot several more times. Max gets out to try to stop them- Max declines to help the officers free the car. They are left putting branches under the tires and pushing their car while we follow the truck with Jill and Gregg driving away toward a burning building.

Jill tells Gregg to drive in and they see children in nightgowns heading out of a large Victorian , multistoried structure with towers. The film at this point is tinted red (a special techincolor two negative tinting and toning process) to highlight the flames and build atmosphere. The sign above the door reads faintly: "Blaodit (Sp?) Children's Home" A woman shouts out that 2 more children are left upstairs. Jill makes it in and up the stairs while Gregg is stopped by the collapsing burning stairway. He turns instead to climb up a rope outside of the structure. Gregg enters the building and meets up with Jill who finds two children in the closet of a nursery room. They head to the roof to safety but can not get out because the shutters are fastened. Joe arrives climbing up a tree and bashes through the shutters and lets them out onto the ledge. Gregg nearly falls backwards off the corner of the roof. He wraps the children up in a blanket and lowers them down a rope on the outside of the building. Meanwhile, Joe grabs Jill and heads down the tree once slipping, once dropping Jill into the branches. He picks her up and then heads down the tree as the children are lowered to the ground.
Gregg slides down to safety along his rope.

Just as everyone was thinking that the rescue was over a little child climbed out of the burning building teetering onto a ledge at the very top. Joe tried climbing the big tree. Gregg tried climbing his rope. Unfortunately the rope was burning and could not hold his weight. Joe went up the tree but it caught on fire and the flames would not let him down. Once at the top of the tree Joe reached out and grabbed the child but could not bring it to safety because the flames were coming up the tree at him. Joe went higher and higher up the tree with the child. The police car arrives and the policemen begin to try to shoot Joe. Max pushes their guns down just then a chunk of the building falls on and burns the police cars .Eventually Joe's tree fell stopping just short of the ground carrying Joe and the child. While it seemed that the child was safe just at that moment a large portion of the burning building collapsed and Joe, using all of his strength and endurance pushed the child to safety while he himself is partially covered with debris.

Then... next to the slumped and perhaps dying Joe, Max says that no one would shoot at Joe now.

The next scene shifts to later in time at the New York offices of the Nightclub owner-Max O'Hara (Room 1012) The door reads: "Max O'Hara Super Productions 1012".
He is planning a new show involving swimming girls. His partner -Windy has a movie projector and screen set up in the office and turns it on. The movie (taken by Max's safari guide Crawford) shows Jill , Gregg and Joe greeting the Max from Africa. Max is still frightened of Joe even in the movie! The Gregg lassoes Jill and Joe eats a Banana.

Synopsis Joe 98

This 1998 version of Mighty Joe Young begins with a Gorillas in the Mist-type prologue and then jumps forward twelve years to find Bill Paxton leading a safari expedition to capture the legendary giant (two-ton) gorilla, the subject of the film's title. Paxton's intentions are admirable; he wants to remove the majestic beast from the imminent danger of poachers and set him up on a posh nature reserve in California. The x-factor comes in the form of Charlize Theron's beautiful jungle girl, Jill Young. Jill has been Joe's soul mate from birth and is the only human who can communicate with him. She is also the reason Paxton's maverick-on-the-run lingers at the reserve after his task is completed. From there, the plot is spurred on by the nefarious actions of a poacher with an Ahab complex and a battery of money hungry scientists who want to exploit Joe. Naturally, all of this puts a burr under the towering simian's skin, causing him to break free and go ape in L.A.'s concrete jungle.

King Kong Escapes

Kingukongu no Gyakushu (or King Kong Escapes is a 1967 Japanese movie produced by Toho and Rankin/Bass. It was a movie adaptation of episodes of the King Kong cartoon series.

The storyline of King Kong Escapes changes tack from the usual Toho fare. Rather than alien invasions, or nature gone wild post human atomic tests, King Kong Escapes offers a neat little story about a crazed Bond-villain-esque Dr. Who (I actually believe this is meant to be spelled as "Hu" as to avoid confusion with the British TV character… but I usually see it spelled out as Who… So there you go.) the leader of a vast army of nameless, faceless, henchmen in orange jumpsuits hidden far north in a massive artic lair. Who quests for super mineral "Element-X" buried deep beneath the ice. Once he harvested, Who intends to sell large quantities of Element-X to the mysterious "Madame X", representative of a government never made clear in the film.

The problem is, Element-X is so radioactive that neither men nor their mining equipment can get near the stuff. Dr. Who needs muscle. Dr. Who needs someone or something to dig. Dr. Who needs Kong.

But, Kong is all the way south on Skull Island, beyond his reach, so he's done the next best thing. He convinced Madame X to finance the construction of a 1-to-1 scale mechanical King Kong Robot to complete the Element-X mining.

Yep… A mechanical King Kong.

Okay, well to make a long and convoluted story short Carl Nelson; commander of a United Nations submarine (don't ask…) knows where the real Kong is and how to get to him.

On Skull Island, while Carl Nelson and his bestest friend ever, Jiro Nomura, scout the Island leaving Susan Watson to guard their personal hovercraft. Kong appears, whomps good on one of Toho's best designed monsters (Gorosaurus) and takes and immediate fancy to the blonde and astoundingly cute Susan.

Before you can say interspecies lovemaking, Kong is doing what Susan tells him to do.

Who eventually steals Kong from Skull Island when Mecha-Kong breaks down upon reaching a vein of Element-X, captured Nelson and the others, and we are set for a monster fest of epic proportions.

Well, maybe not.

But, the film is incredibly enjoyable nonetheless. Tsubaraya's Mecha-Kong is a marvel of "suitmation" though the King Kong suit for this film is even sillier than the one from King Kong Vs. Godzilla. Visible zippers, bulges of fake fur, and an obviously rubber face don't live up to the Willis O'brien Kong of 1933.

But, if you can get past that, King Kong Escapes is easily one of the better kaiju of the early 60's period. I think freeing himself from the established mythos of the Godzilla universe helped Honda create a wonderfully deep, and supremely entertaining giant monster film without all the heavy trappings associated with the genre.

Rhodes Reason does a pretty good job with the acting, but he is outshone by the surprisingly talented Linda Miller and the always fun Akira Takarada. The real star of the show, though, is Mecha Kong and his insane creator Dr. Who.

Synopsis by Barney Buckley

The King Kong Show

The King Kong Show is an American/Japanese children's animated television series produced in 1966 by Rankin/Bass & Videocraft of the USA, and Japan's Toei Animation, and is the first anime series produced in Japan for an American company (not counting Rankin/Bass' previous Animagic stop motion specials, also animated in Japan).

This series is an animated adaptation of the famous movie monster, King Kong. In this series, the giant ape befriends the Bond Family, with whom he goes on various adventures, saving the world from monsters, robots, aliens, mad scientists and other threats.

Included is a comical cartoon show called Tom of T.H.U.M.B., about a 6-inch secret agent named Tom and his Oriental sidekick Swinging Jack, who foil the plots of evil organizations such as M.A.D.

This series was successful enough for Rankin/Bass to extend the Kong franchise to another Japanese company, Toho (which already produced the hit King Kong vs. Godzilla in 1962). This resulted in Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (originally intended as a Kong film) and King Kong Escapes, which was based on The King Kong Show.

On November 15, 2005, Sony Wonder released 8 episodes (two King Kong cartoons separated by a Tom of T.H.U.M.B. cartoon) on two DVD releases. The pilot episode was included, in two parts, between the two DVDs.

Characters

King Kong 1976

King Kong (also known as King Kong: The Legend Reborn) is a 1976 American motion picture produced by Dino de Laurentiis and directed by John Guillermin. It is a remake of the 1933 classic King Kong, about how a giant ape is captured and imported to New York City for exhibition.

The remake differs from the original in several major story details. Instead of a film production crew, King Kong's world is invaded by a petroleum corporation’s exploratory team. Fred Wilson (Grodin), an executive of the Petrox Oil Company, forms the expedition based on infrared imagery which reveals a previously undiscovered South Pacific island hidden by a permanent cloud bank; Wilson believes the island has a huge depository of oil, and has promised his bosses he will come back with “the big one.” Jack Prescott (Bridges), a primate paleontologist, sneaks onto the expedition’s enormous vessel en route and attempts to warn the team against completing its mission, citing an ominous final message about "the roar of the greatest beast" from previous doomed explorers. Wilson orders Prescott locked up, claiming that he is really a spy from a rival corporation. However, while being led below deck, Prescott spots a small life raft in the ocean and convinces members of the crew to search the raft. On board is the beautiful Dwan (Lange). Prescott’s medical experience enables him to perform a cursory exam of Dwan, who, after awakening, tells Prescott that she is an actress who was aboard a rich man’s yacht which suddenly exploded, apparently killing everybody except for her. During the ship’s ongoing voyage, Prescott and Dwan become attracted to each other.

Once arriving at the island, the team quickly finds that there is no oil and discovers instead a primitive tribe of natives who live within the confines of a gigantic wall, built to protect them from a mysterious god known as Kong. The natives kidnap Dwan and attempt to use her as a sacrifice to Kong, tying her to an altar outside of their walled village and chanting ominously the word “Kong” over and over again. The captive woman begins to scream in horror as something gigantic slowly approaches, crashing loudly through the jungle trees until it reveals itself as a monumental ape standing triumphantly over her. Kong grabs Dwan and departs back into the jungle. Although an awesome and terrifying sight, the soft hearted Kong quickly becomes tamed by Dwan, whose babbling sweet talk calms and fascinates the monstrous beast. Meanwhile, Prescott and the ship’s crew mount a search mission and manage to both rescue Dwan and capture Kong. Sans any of the promised new oil, Wilson decides to bring Kong back to America as a promotional gimmick for his company.

In New York, Kong is extremely unhappy, pining for the innocent, carefree days back on his island. He eventually goes berserk, terrorizing the city in an orgy of destruction. Kong recaptures Dwan and begins to make his way to the World Trade Center, with Jack and the military in hot pursuit…

In the climax, instead of climbing the Empire State Building, King Kong climbs one of the towers of the World Trade Center. After being attacked by men with flame throwers whilst standing on the roof of the South Tower, Kong flees by leaping across to the North Tower. Later, after he is attacked by helicopters, the fatally injured Kong falls from the roof to the World Trade Center forecourt where he dies from his injuries. (The posters of the movie notoriously showed a savage ape with one foot on each of the two Twin Towers, swatting at fighter jets. In the actual movie, the ape was much smaller than this, and could not have stood on both towers at once. Of course, the 1933 version also had similar "misleading" publicity stills suggesting the ape's size as being much larger than it really was in that film.)

The film has several subplots, including ones that focus on Prescott's naturalist, borderline-hippie ways. The film is also extremely critical of big business and the U.S. military.

Although the film is often inaccurately described as being a financial flop, King Kong was in fact commercially successful, earning Paramount back almost triple its budget. The film ended up at #5 on Variety's chart of the top domestic (U.S.) moneymakers of 1977. (The film was released in December, 1976 and therefore earned the majority of its money during the early part of 1977.)

While the film received mostly mixed responses from critics, especially from fans of the original King Kong, it did receive extremely positive reviews from several prominent mainstream critics. Pauline Kael in The New Yorker, Richard Schickel in Time, Charles Champlin in the Los Angeles Times, and 'Murf' in Variety, among others, responded favorably to the film's pathos and (often campy) sense of humor. Kael, in particular, truly loved the film, noting "I don't think I've ever before seen a movie that was a comic-strip great romance in the way this one is -- it's a joke that can make you cry." The performances by Bridges and Grodin were generally well regarded, and even the film's most ardent detractors noted that Richard H. Kline's Academy Award-nominated cinematography and John Barry's thunderous musical score were first class.

King Kong found new and sustained life on television. NBC bought the rights to air the movie and it was a rating success. This led De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (with distribution by Paramount) to make a sequel called King Kong Lives (1986), starring Linda Hamilton. Unlike the first film, the sequel was a commercial failure, but found cult success on video.

When King Kong made its network TV debut on NBC in 1982, a number of scenes deleted from the theatrical version were reinstated to make the film longer. Most fans of the remake agree that the extended version of the film works much better than the original truncated release. The newly added sequences included:

1. Jack drugs one of the Petrox Explorer's crew in a bar in Surabaya and steals his uniform.
2. The sailors playing cards on deck when Captain Ross calls them to the meeting with Fred Wilson and Roy Bagley.
3. A scene showing Jack, shirtless, in the brig of the Petrox Explorer.
4. Timmons and Garcia spy on Dwan showering, and are caught by Jack who causes Garcia to fall overboard into the sea.
5. When Kong escapes from Shea Stadium, a Petrox Corp. representative yells at Wilson for his incompetence.
6. After Kong steps on Wilson there is an extra shot of Wilson's crushed hat.
7. Kong picks up a Cadillac Fleetwood and throws it into the side of a building, where it explodes.
8. A plan by the military to send jets after Kong is scrapped and they decide on helicopters instead.
9. Jack tries, without success, to hotwire a Chevrolet Corvette while he and Dwan are fleeing.
10. An extra sequence showing Kong walking down the street with Dwan in his hand.

King Kong Lives

Ten years after being shot down in New York, the giant ape Kong lies comatose at the Atlanta Institute in Georgia. Surgeon Amy Franklin (Linda Hamilton) warns her colleagues that the ape will die without a blood transfusion. In Borneo, adventurer Hank Mitchell (Brian Kerwin) discovers a second giant ape, a female. Trying to cash in, Mitchell offers his ape to the Institute. While Dr Ingersoll (Peter Michael Goetz) is eager to accept, to prevent rival institutes having the creature, Amy argues that they cannot risk having a female around Kong. She is overruled. When Mitchell arrives, Lady Kong is taken to the Institute and has blood taken. Kong then undergoes surgery, and an artificial heart installed in place of his damaged real one. The operation is pronounced a success. Mitchell attends the Institute’s celebration, but notices Amy’s absence. He is told she is with Kong. In the gigantic operating theatre, Kong regains consciousness. Almost immediately, he scents the female ape, who is being kept temporarily in a warehouse a mile away. As Kong becomes agitated, Amy sedates him to prevent strain on his heart. She then confronts Ingersoll at the party, demanding that the facility intended to house Lady Kong be completed as soon as possible. Moving the female ape proves extremely difficult. As she roars and struggles against the netting, Kong hears her, and tears his way out of his own enclosure. As he breaks into the warehouse, armed guards try to shoot him, but Mitchell rams his car into theirs. Kong picks up the female ape and carries her away…. The army is called in to deal with the situation, and the officer in charge, Colonel Nevitt (John Ashton), warns that any civilians entering the search area will be shot. Nevertheless, both Amy and Mitchell set out to search for the animals, the two eventually joining forces. Meeting an army roadblock, Amy turns her 4WD into the woods. When the track becomes impassable, she and Mitchell get out and hike. Disaster nearly strikes when a wooden bridge gives way, but Mitchell grabs Amy before she can be swept away. Amy, however, is more concerned over the equipment she is carrying, including a unit that can monitor and adjust Kong’s heart. At that moment, the two hear the apes and track them down. Amy checks Kong’s heart: it is fine. As night falls, Amy and Mitchell make camp, ultimately sharing a sleeping-bag. When they wake the next morning, there is no sign of Kong. Suddenly, Nevitt’s forces appear. Lady Kong is gassed and falls unconscious. Kong is located and pursued, eventually being trapped atop a cliff. As Nevitt moves in for the kill, Kong leaps into the river below and is swept away. As Amy and Mitchell watch in horror, Kong strikes a jagged rock head-first. Blood fills the water, and Kong sinks beneath the surface. Amy checks the monitor: there is no sign of a heartbeat….

Comments: Strange what stature tragedy can lend to the most trivial of things. A couple of weeks ago, a group of us were discussing what we didn’t expect to see on our television screens for quite some time, given recent events. The usual suspects were tossed around: plane crash, or hijacking films; any of the Die Hard films; The Towering Inferno (which, oddly enough, was on TV here only a few weeks ago); the episode of The Simpsons where they go to New York. Then I suggested, "King Kong."

They looked at me, puzzled. (They’re a mainstream-y bunch.) "The re-make of King Kong," I repeated, "where instead of climbing the Empire State Building, Kong climbs the Twin Towers."

There was a silence you could have cut with a knife. I doubt that any mention of Dino de Laurentiis’s hubristic venture had ever before been received with such respect. Or ever will again.

I had seen King Kong Lives before, and recalled it as one of those films that simply stagger you with the sheer idiocy of their premise. What I didn’t remember was that it opened with the final five minutes of the previous film, which was not something I really needed to see again just now. But after those few moments of squirmy discomfort, the sequel settles into its routine, displaying those qualities that simultaneously make it such a hoot and such a chore to watch. As with its predecessor, the main problem with King Kong Lives is that it is unable to settle on a tone. Some of it is played out deadly seriously, some of it for laughs. Unfortunately, in both cases the writers got their wires crossed. The "serious" parts of the film are hilariously funny; while the "comedy" is just painful.

The opening scene – the real opening scene – is an absolute riot, as we realize that the film asks us to believe that since his fall to the streets of New York, Kong has been in a coma; and has been kept alive on life support at the "Atlanta Institute", Georgia, by a team of doctors and scientists led by surgeon Amy Franklin. (I put "Atlanta Institute" in inverted commas because, if you listen closely, you will hear every character in the film call it the Atlantic Institute.) Kong is kept in a huge, presumably sterile operating theatre, with all of the equipment the usual stuff reproduced in super-size. (That they have these things after ten years is, I suppose, credible, but I would like to know how they treated Kong when they first got hold of him.) But things are looking bleak for Kong, as we learn from Dr Franklin herself. Enter Linda Hamilton, in easily the film’s most embarrassing role, as she is required to react to everything with a dead straight face. When we first see Amy, she is gowned and masked, leaving only her eyes exposed. This proves to be highly appropriate, as most of Hamilton’s "performance" consists almost entirely of eye-acting: she is by turns wide-eyed, starry-eyed and teary-eyed, with occasional instances of her eyes flashing angrily. Right now she’s teary-eyed, as her star patient has taken a turn for the worse. Amy reports this to her colleagues, Dr Benson Hughes, Chief of Primate Research, and Dr Ingersoll. Ingersoll’s position is never identified, but he is clearly the - boo, hiss! - Institute’s book-juggler, the one who wants Kong revived not for science, or love, but for money. Boo, hiss! Gradually, the film’s astonishing premise is revealed: Kong is to be revived by the installation of a gigantic artificial heart!

Okay – I’ve got to say this sometime, so I might as well say it now: (i) who is paying for this work? – and (ii) what is the point? If the writers of films like this knew anything about how difficult it can be to get even practical, worthwhile research funded, perhaps they’d be a bit less casual about what gets funded onscreen. At least they could have written in a line about the work being paid for by a rich eccentric with a thing for monkeys.

Oh, well, excuse me. The work does have a point after all! It is to "establish the scientific pre-eminence of the Atlantic Institute" and to prove it "the equal of Harvard or Yale". Hell, yeah! Who needs academic excellence when you’ve got a giant gorilla with a plastic ticker? But these plans – and ten years’ work and expenditure – seem about to come to nothing, as Amy announces that the operation cannot go ahead without Kong receiving a transfusion – and that there is no other species whose blood is compatible. Another of the surgical team chips in here, explaining that Kong has been comatose too long, and that his "blood line" [sic.? – try as I might, I couldn’t figure out what was said here – it sounded like "blood vine"] is tainted. Ingersoll goes ballistic, and Hughes (who obviously has a thing for Amy) has to intervene. Amy tears up again, and we get the groan-worthy "Kong needs a miracle" exchange quoted above. Unbelievably, Amy’s colleagues treat her platitudinous announcement with the utmost solemnity.

But, after all, this is Da Movies, where miracles are a dime a dozen. We cut now to an unidentified jungle, where professional adventurer Hank Mitchell is dragging a nervous team of mules through some undergrowth. The Mitchell character is a ridiculously anachronistic stereotype. At one point, Amy scornfully refers to him as "Indiana Jones", but what he really is, is a cut-price Han Solo - a hard-bitten cynic redeemed by love and a cause to fight for. When we meet him, Mitchell’s whereabouts are a bit of a mystery. Firstly, he reassures his mules by telling them that "it’s so hot, even the jaguars are asleep". His next move is to clear a reticulated python from his path. As events transpire, this latter geographical marker proves fairly accurate, as Mitchell is supposed to be in Borneo. Deciding against battling the heat, our hero beds down in some bushes, but no sooner has he got comfortable than those bushes start to move – and he finds himself evading the grasp of a gigantic female ape. Proving either that he is really short-sighted, or really, really bad at biology, Mitchell exclaims, "Whoa, boy! Whoa, big fella!" as he runs through the jungle. Just as it seems that he will be caught, a group of "natives" with blow pipes rise up from the bushes (!) and fill Lady Kong (as she will soon be known) full of darts. Mitchell intervenes, not wanting her killed, and the ape falls unconscious. Cut to Mitchell on the line to the Institute, and playing that establishment off against Harvard. Incredibly, Ingersoll falls for this transparent ploy, and is about to close the deal when Amy, overhearing the word "her", objects that they cannot risk having a female ape around Kong, not with his heart condition, and all. We then get this film’s most unforgettable line, as Amy further asserts, "We’re not lancing a haemorrhoid here, we’re transplanting a heart!" Amazingly, Ingersoll is unswayed by this powerful argument, and closes the deal with Mitchell. The next thing we know, Mitchell and Lady Kong are landing in Atlanta. All of the Kong films tend to skip lightly over such matters as quarantine restrictions, and how an ape that size is actually moved, but King Kong Lives is unique inasmuch as having done the skipping, it then goes out of its way to draw attention to the fact. Met at the airport by the Institute hierarchy and a swarm of reporters, Mitchell responds to the question, "How did you get the ape from the jungle?" with "I left a trail of bananas". Amy and Mitchell are introduced and greet each other coolly, she resenting his "publicity seeking", he that she just wants Lady Kong for her blood. From this we understand (i) that Mitchell’s reformation has commenced; and (ii) that Amy and Mitchell will probably be making hot monkey love before very much longer – if you’ll pardon the expression.

The film’s comic highlight follows: Kong’s operation. I’ve said it before, but I feel it’s necessary to reiterate here that this entire sequence is played out with utter, utter seriousness. (Watching, you can’t help but wonder – what were those poor actors thinking while they were doing this!?) Amy leads her team into the operating theatre. They are gloved, gowned and masked but, incredibly, not goggled! The operation starts as Amy swings a gigantic buzzsaw over Kong’s chest and makes "the incision". We now see why she didn’t bother to wear goggles: though generously splashed with blood (and bone, you’d think) on her gown and mask, not the tiniest drop touches her exposed skin. Most orthopaedic surgeons should be so lucky. Then we get a shot of the various medical types scrabbling in Kong’s chest cavity, muttering the usual words and phrases (no-one says "STAT!", though). A giant crane then swings into position, and lifts Kong’s heart out of his chest. A second crane swings the artificial heart into position. Just at the very last moment, a cable snaps and the heart swings around dangerously. The team steadies it, and then there’s a medical crisis as a clamp slips. More cries of "Clamp! Clamp!" and "Suction!" fill the air, and finally the heart is lowered into position. Instead of watching the installation, we get a pan shot of the people watching. Mitchell’s there, of course, and we understand from his expression that he’s reassessing his opinion of Amy.

As the operation is pronounced a success, wild celebrations break out across the campus, as the students enjoy the fact that they now attend an institution that is the equal of Harvard or Yale, without any of them having to do a lick more work. (One of the students carries a sign reading "You Kong, Me Fay" – odd considering that in this universe, Fay Wray presumably doesn’t exist.) At the faculty party, a tuxedoed Mitchell is explaining his theory that Borneo and Kong Island were originally parts of the same land mass. Which is fine, except that Kong Island was small, and permanently wreathed in fog, and consequently not on the maps, while Borneo is the third largest island in the world with a population of over a million, and you’d really think that someone would have noticed a fifty-foot ape wandering around before now. Mitchell sees Hughes, and bounds across to ask him where Amy is. She, dedicated doctor that she is, is still with her patient, who at just that moment begins to stir. His eyes meet Amy’s, and hers of course fill with tears. "Welcome back, Kong!" Kong, however, isn’t too interested in making small-talk. He’s already scented the female ape, who is being kept temporarily in a converted warehouse about a mile away. Kong immediately starts jumping up and down and trying to get out, then stops and clutches his chest. Amy’s colleague warns her "He’s occluding!" and she has him pumped full of sedatives (ah, the ape, not the colleague). She then storms out of the facility, and storms into the party. There, Mitchell is regaling Hughes and Ingersoll with a "humorous" anecdote, of which we (thankfully) only hear the punchline: "What it turned out was, that’s their word for ‘mule’!" Hahahahaha!! (Or as Jack Thompson would say: "Now we can all get some sleep!") Ignoring Mitchell’s presence, Amy confronts Ingersoll and tells him that the female must be moved ASAP. He agrees to have the work on her permanent enclosure expedited. Amy then storms out again, and Mitchell goes after her, and after some "Aw, shucks"-ing, he tells her how great he thought she did during the operation. This induces "gooey-eyes" rather than "flashing-eyes" in the good doctor, and she drives off mollified.

Lady Kong’s enclosure is completed, but the attempt to move her is disastrously handled (chiefly because she won’t eat her drugged food, and Amy won’t let them shoot her with a tranquiliser dart. Why? IITS.) In the operating theatre, Kong comes out of his own sedation, and immediately escapes. (He stands bolt upright in the process, and we get our first reminder of how horribly un-apelike the Kong suit is.) As Lady Kong howls and struggles with the net in which she has been trapped, Kong smashes his way into the warehouse. He and Lady Kong freeze. The film’s "love theme" swells on the soundtrack. The apes’ eyes meet across the crowded room. They smile at one another….

And no, I am not making this up.

A panic ensues, with lotsa car crashes and explosions. Some army guys are there (why?), and they start shooting at Kong (why?). Mitchell runs a car into their jeep, sending them all flying through the air (an action that has no later repercussions). Kong tears Lady Kong free, sweeps her up into his arms, and carries her off into the sunset.

And no, I am not making this up.

Believe it or not, it is at this point that King Kong Lives gets really dumb – and irritating – and boring. The problem of the apes on the loose (although why they’re considered such a problem is never explained; they’re not hurting anything or anyone) is handed over to the army. And in charge is Colonel Nevitt – who proves to be a total raving psychotic. Surprise!

Look, what is this, anyway? Why are these guys always depicted as slavering, sociopathic morons? And is there any lazier, more overworked cinematic cliché than this? Anyway…. Naturally, Nevitt’s first action is to threaten to shoot any civilian who "crosses my perimeter". This is of course the cue for Amy and Mitchell to cross it. The two set out independently, but soon join forces. The apes, we learn, are inhabiting an area of land known as "Honeymoon Ridge" (and no, I’m not making that up either), and we get an extended sequence that is just plain embarrassing, as Kong and Lady Kong go through a "courtship" ritual consisting of such well-known ape behaviours as winking, simpering, fluttering eyelashes, and the ever-popular "pretend to yawn and stretch so I can put my arm around you". (I can only wonder once again - what were those poor actors thinking while they were doing this!?) Meanwhile, Amy and Mitchell run into an army roadblock. Amy pulls her 4WD off the road as the soldiers fire – and they are not aiming at the tyres. (Um – is this legal?) They drive as far as they can, then prepare to hike. Amy stuffs a large metal case into her backpack, prompting the inquiry "That your makeup kit?" from Mitchell. (He’s lucky she’s distracted, or she might have treated that with the contempt it deserves – i.e. a lifted knee.) The case is, Amy explains gravely, a "cardiac monitoring unit", which will allow her to assess Kong’s new heart and, if necessary, adjust its function – but only (as we learn later) if she can get up close and personal. The two set out, crossing one of the most artistically devised "rickety bridges" I have ever seen: one very obviously constructed of good quality wood, but with lots of "gaps". Mitchell crosses safely, but the railing "gives way" under Amy’s weight and she is nearly swept away. Mitchell hauls her up and, after she assures herself of the cardiac unit’s safety, she treats the gash on his arm, giving the two of them a chance to exchange "significant glances". (Gee, just like the apes!) Soaked and cold, Amy announces her intention of changing clothes – and strips off her jumper without another word, proving to be naked beneath it. (Don’t get your hopes up: she has her back to both Mitchell and the camera. Although if you have very, very good eyesight, or a very, very good pause button, you can get a brief glimpse of Linda’s boobs a bit later on. Or you could just watch The Terminator again.) The two of them (Amy and Mitchell, I mean, not….) then hear the apes and track them down. Amy checks Kong’s heart and announces, "Incredible! After all that exertion, his heart is actually stronger!" Watching the apes, Amy gets all teary-eyed. Mitchell starts speculating about a reserve in the Borneo highlands, where the apes could live, safely and happily – which turns Amy starry-eyed instead. The two then make camp. It transpires that only Mitchell brought a sleeping-bag, and the next time we see them, Amy is warmly bundled up, and Mitchell is freezing his butt off at a respectful distance.

Look, I’m sorry, but I’m not having this. First of all, in my book, if Amy didn’t have enough sense to bring a sleeping-bag, then Amy gets to freeze her butt off. Secondly – it is freezing – so just share the damn thing, will you? But no. This way, you see, Mitchell gets to prove what a gentleman he is beneath that rough exterior, while Amy gets to prove that she is not only a doctor, she is also a woman by inviting him in. "You sure about this?" he inquires as he slides in with her. "We’re primates, too," Amy offers (yeah, but some of us are more primate-ive than others) and there is the inevitable Fade To Black.

When Mitchell wakes the next morning, Kong has gone. He tells Amy, who leaps out of the sleeping-bag (Boob Alert!). Nevitt’s forces then show up (and where have they been all this time?) and start dropping gas bombs on Lady Kong. (Great gas: no sooner has it hit than Nevitt and his men all pull their gas masks off!) At the same time, they start attacking Kong with bullets and grenades and flame-throwers. Why? Why are they capturing one ape and trying to kill the other? (We never get an explanation, but they spend the rest of the film doing it.) Amy and Mitchell try to escape here, but are finally rounded up. (Not shot? I’m disappointed), while Nevitt starts screaming hysterically at his men to "Kill that hairy son of a bitch!" (Even by the usual standards, this guy is nuts.) Kong is finally driven up the side of a cliff, and hurls himself off the edge to escape his pursuers. Landing in the river, he is swept along by the current and finally goes head-first into a large boulder. He sinks, and the water turns red. Amy grabs her cardiac unit, and sees the signal stop…. She goes teary-eyed.

Time passes in leaps and bounds now. We learn that Lady Kong is being kept in an underground pen at the army’s "Primate Holding Division". (Hmm….does that get a lot of use, I wonder? Or maybe it’s where the army keeps all of its psycho officers, when they’re not out frothing at the mouth and getting bad screenwriters out of various sticky situations.) The question of why Lady Kong is under army guard remains unanswered. Isn’t she the Institute’s problem? And didn’t they just finish building a proper enclosure for her? So why are no less that 104 soldiers stuck with looking after her? And if she’s at the bottom of a well-like pen, what are those 104 soldiers actually doing? (Oh, yeah: and if, as we’re told, "no-one ever goes near her", why hasn’t she drowned in her own faeces by now? [I’m sorry. I’m a biologist. My mind always works in those channels.]) It transpires that Amy and her colleagues have spent the preceding months trying to get permission to see her, and finally get an order signed by "the Secretary of Defense himself!" A sight of this piece of paper sends Nevitt into the usual frenzy, but he is obliged to let Amy and Hughes in. They find Lady Kong hunched in a corner, moaning softly. "Why the hell is that monkey crying?" Nevitt snarls. "I’ll tell you why," Amy says. "For Kong!" "She’s grieving," Hughes offers, but Amy disagrees. "No. She senses something. Kong’s alive." The others – barely – refrain from laughing in her face. Amy then insists, "I feel it, too!" (Oh, great. Not content with giving Lady Kong "feminine intuition", they’ve got Amy having "feminine intuition" about the ape’s "feminine intuition"!) Nevitt then chucks the visitors out (and who can blame him?), and Hughes tries to convince Amy that Kong must be dead, as he couldn’t possibly be meeting his daily protein requirements. But Amy remains stubborn, chiefly in view of the absence of a corpse. And where is Kong? He’s down on the bayou – chasin’ down a hoodoo there…. Well, not really. Mostly what he’s doing is munching on alligators (the sudden depletion in the population of which, you’d think someone would have noticed).

After some more time passes, Mitchell arrives back from Borneo, where he has been negotiating the Institute’s purchase of a highland reserve for the apes – "for only a million three". Amy then breaks the news about Lady Kong: that’s no-one’s been near her for months. Mitchell flips out and tries to break into the "Primate Holding Division", only to have the stuffing beaten out of him by two good ol’ boy soldiers (who, naturally, sport the film’s first southern accents, despite its setting). Meanwhile, Kong’s wanderings have taken him close enough to Lady Kong to hear her moans. Deciding that that’s all he can stands, he can’t stands no more, Kong comes out of hiding and heads for her prison. The next sequence is played primarily for laughs [sic.], so with your permission, I’ll be brief. Kong stomps a sportscar, from which two wanky teenagers just escape. "My dad’s gunna kill me!" Kong strides across a golf-course and gets bonked with a ball. Kong peers through a window as a boy is complimenting his girlfriend on having "the biggest, brownest eyes". Kong generally bothers the inhabitants of a small town, and much car-crash and shotgun humour ensues. Nevitt and his goon squad finally show up, only to find hoards of drunken rednecks pouring into the woods in search of the ape. ("Those guns loaded?" a soldier demands obtusely of one redneck. "Yup, an’ so’re we!" is the inevitable response. Yuck, yuck, yuck!) One group of hunters does manage to find Kong, and dynamites some rocks to trap him. They then torture him with a burning piece of wood from their fire. (I don’t think I can do better than to quote the illustrious Dr Freex here: under what circumstances would this be deemed a good idea?) Kong pulls himself free and some major disarrangement of the rednecks follows. One is torn in half, another swallowed whole. Amy and Mitchell finally catch up with Kong (how do they always manage to get there before the army? - oh, yeah – feminine intuition), and find the remains of the hunters. Mitchell surmises how they trapped the ape, adding, as he picks up a bit of burnt wood, "And then they had their fun with him!" (Which I guess is an example of masculine intuition.) Amy tries to monitor Kong’s heart. The news ain’t good – and it gets worse as Kong strides towards her and stomps the cardiac unit before Amy has time to "adjust" his heart. Now, Amy announces (going teary-eyed) "he won’t last a day".

We then waste an irritating amount of time with Nevitt’s screaming and Things That Go Bang. When night falls, Amy and Mitchell break into the Primate Holding Division again, knocking out the two soldiers left on guard. (I guess the other 102 were busy.) They approach Lady Kong, and Mitchell gapes in horror at her distended belly. "What have they done to her?’ he demands. (Well, I told you he was bad at biology.) "They haven’t done anything!" announces Amy, going both teary-eyed and starry-eyed. "She’s pregnant!" They then set about getting her out of there. However, one of the soldiers regains consciousness and throws a spanner in the works (almost literally). But just as failure seems inevitable, Kong arrives – and tears open the roof of Lady Kong’s pen. As Kong reaches in to lift his mate out, Lady Kong snatches up Mitchell, and he too is carried away. (This is kind of interesting. Obviously, Brian Kerwin was made so very blond for this film to re-work the standard Kong mythology. However, while the blonde white woman/black male ape situation seems fraught with all sorts of sexual and cultural implications, once the sexes are reversed, the situation ends up being treated as entirely comedic.) Lady Kong does eventually put Mitchell down, chiefly because she’s got other things on her mind – or at least abdomen. The two apes invade a barn-dance/family reunion (allowing one hick to say to another, "You never know who’s gunna show up at these things!"), and Lady Kong collapses on a barn, moaning and clutching her belly. Suddenly Nevitt et al. show up and start blasting away again. Kong shields his mate, and cops a barrage in the chest (a nasty scene recalling the end of King Kong). He remains standing long enough to pulverise all the attacking soldiers – and takes particular care with his disposal of Nevitt, lining him up and then smashing him with one clenched fist. (Actually, this "effect" is badly done, as Kong’s fist doesn’t land precisely where Nevitt was.) His vengeance complete, Kong keels over – not from the bullets, but from a heart attack. We then cut back and forth between Lady Kong’s labour pains and Kong’s death throes.

As Amy and Mitchell invade the scene, we see the Kongs’ offspring – which in defiance of all ape biology is immediately active and self-sufficient. (And clean. And dry. And lacking an umbilical cord.) The humans, both teary-eyed, urge Lady Kong to show Kong his son, which she does. In a scene meant to be endlessly moving (but which instead is merely endless), Kong makes contact with his son – then dies….

In the film’s final scene (which again dodges the whole transport issue), we see Lady Kong and Kong Junior in their Borneo reserve. Lady Kong is still mournful, but Kong Junior frolics lightheartedly, swinging through the trees on vines.

King Kong 2005

The movie starts out with scenes showing poor economic times going on in America. Though there have been hard times, there are some things still progressing such as theatre and performing arts. Carl Denham is having footage of his film work done on safari reviewed by company executives. Carl is hoping that his film footage will be a hit to the corporate critics. However, what ensues behind closed doors could seal the end of Denham's film career. Denham who had been eavesdropping out in the lobby, goes to Preston and tells him that he is going to do his movie. They quickly leave the building before the corporate execs can give the negative news to Denham. Denham and Preston have zipped through the building and out in the street area, narrowly getting into a cab before the execs can get to Denham. Denham wants to find an actress to star in his film. Some actresses' names are tossed around hypothetically as prospects.

Even Mae West is mentioned, but because of the generous curves of Mae, they decide she won't fit the size dress that is to be worn by the lead actress. Denham talks of his movie being done in a new island location. Meanwhile Ann Darrow who had been a performer in a theatre goes to work as usual one day only to find it closed due to drop off in patrons. Due to financial hard times, competition if fierce. Ann goes out looking for work but can't find any. She rejects the notion to turn to being a x-rated "showgirl". She comes across a fruit stand where the infamous scene is introduced where Denham meets Darrow. Denham pays for the apple Ms. Darrow attempted to steal. The scene shifts to the restaurant where Denham is having dinner with Darrow. Memorable classic lines like "I'm on the level here, no funny stuff" is tossed around giving it a faithful honor to the original classic. Needless to say Darrow down on hard times elects to go with Denham on his safari voyage.

Back on the Venture boat, Carl Driscoll (played by Brody) is on board to deliver a partial comedy script. During a somewhat witty dialogue of Denham, Driscoll is stalled so that the Venture ship can depart from shore. It is an illegal departure, as Denham is being given the boot, and has now seized control of company property. It had to depart from shore rather quickly as the execs called the police to have Denham picked up. Keep in mind in this film Driscoll is like a playwright and not a crew member under Captain Englehorn.

They are off...

Denham has his actress, he has stalled and succeded in having Drischoll a part of the journey, he has a crew looking for work, and he has a secret map. But to where?! To an island believed to be never found by modern man. Skull Island. While at sea, Englehorn gets a message (via telegraph) that Denham is wanted by the police and his ship is to return to port. Englehorn decides to go to Rangoon. However a storm blows the ship off course and is thrown about on a rough ocean to the outerskirts of Skull Island (unbeknown to Englehorn and crew). Much frenzied energy is being projected by the boat crew to keep the Venture from being destroyed by the rocks and shallowing of the ocean water. Despite their best efforts to preserve the ship's safety and stability, they are run broadside against a tall pillar rock. The ship is wedged close to the island shore. Denham and a small landing party (including Drischoll and Darrow) take off in a little row boat to see the island.

While there, Denham is filming the landscape. They come to the wall section of the island. They happen upon a little child and the native islanders attack the landing party. A crew member dies by head whack from a native. Drischoll is knocked unconcious. Denham is horrified at whats happening and how fast things have gone bad. They are saved by a larger landing party from the Venture who fires shots and kills some natives. The crew reuinites and escapes back to the Venture. The islanders having seen Ann are determined to get their prize offering to Kong. The natives work their way to the ship later that night by hopping rocks using a long pole staff to allow them to pogo to the Venture under the guise of darkness. Drischoll notices on the boat that a necklace from an islander was lying on deck. Drischoll goes looking for Ann and can not find any trace of her.

Jack alerts the crew to turn the ship back. As you know from the 1933 film Ann is offered up to Kong who bounds through the trees. Differences here are at the wall, there is a fire liquid flowing down and atop the wall of the natives. The altar is not a step-up pillar platform as seen in the 1933 and 1976 films. Its a long draw bridge that levels over to the other side. There is a medium sized gulf between the wall door and the opposite side. Looking to be about 45 to 60 feet across in distance. Kong shows up and takes Ann. The landing party does arrive and Denham sees Kong through a hole in the main door. Denham is astounded. Ann is taken off into the night, and this Kong is moving in the same manner a real gorilla would move, on all fours and on his knuckles.

Ann is tossed around in the fast paced movement. Finally Kong makes it to a drop off ravine where most of his victims have met their end. Ann uses the long sharp points in her native necklace to stab Kong on his fingers. Kong drops his captive on the ground in front of him, and there is a standoff of wits between the two. Kong does get Ann secured again and takes her off to a secluded high place in the jungle.

In the following daybreak morning, Kong is feeding, and Ann attempts to escape. Good imagery here by Jackson to show how Kong is moving around in a natural manner and even has some toying fun with Ann. Ann sneaks off and ends up being pursued by Wetasaurus dinos who are feeding on a prey dino carcass. One Weta is killed by the female V-Rex. The V-Rex walks around trying to get Ann, but can't seem to release its prize of the Wetasaurus from its mouth. It looses track of the distressed damsel. However Ann happens upon the Bull V-Rex. The behomeths pursue Ann. Kong does get to the scence and has a stand-off with the two adult V-Rexes and a juvenile. The juvenile is easily killed. The adults end up struggling viciously against Kong. Kong never leaving Ann despite a threat to his own safety and life.

Kong ends up falling over a cliff and the entanglement of jungle vines breaks their falls and hold the V-Rexes momentarily from getting to Ann. Kong fights the female V-Rex and seems to knock her unconcious. It does not appear that the pounding Kong did killed the dino. The Bull V-Rex and Ann fall down below due to pressure and weight on the vines. The Rex tries to pursue Ann on the ground, but Kong intervenes. A nice fight, but not long though. Kong ends up having his victory roar and escapes off into the brush with Ann on his shoulder (which his grab up and toss over antics excites the crowd to comedial laughs).

Little Ann and Mighty Kong have started to show signs of a bond. Kong makes it up to a cliff area where it appears to have also been a large gorilla graveyard of prior giant ape family members. Ann and Kong appreciate a beautiful sunset. Though one thing will disrupt ths time of mutal appreciation in the morning. Jack Driscoll. Jack has caught up with them. Kong had earlier intercepted the retrieval party lead by Hayes and dealt with the humans at the fallen tree trunk bridge. The humans that survived had to fight killer bugs before being saved by Englehorn and the actor turned safari hunter Bruce Baxter. So many eye graphic visuals leading up to their deliverance, like avoiding being trampled by a Brontosaurus herd while being hunted by a pack of raptors at the same time.

Well going back to the ledge where Kong is asleep with Ann in his hand, Jack is attempting to get Ann to get out of Kong's hand. Kong awakens with a cold hazel colored pupil gaze and then would have assaulted Jack, but the giant cave bats swarm Kong in his rage and Kong is distracted in a fight. Jack and Ann attempt to get away by using a vine to drop below, but as prior film history merits the lead character, Kong grabs the vine and starts pulling up. Jack and Ann are locked in a terrifying decision of what to do. A few of the large bats fly by and Jack grabs one of them as it flies with Ann holding to Jack. They grapple ride the bat down to the river and drop off, swimming away. Kong is furious and will be hot on their heels. The pursuit ends up at the wall where the team is waiting to apprehend Kong. Kong leaps the gulf and does break through the main gate. The Venture party attempt to subdue the creature, but Kong is really just too awesome. The chlorophorm brought aboard the Venture does not do enough to stop Kong with 2 uses of the potent chemical bomb. The party ends up retreating to the sea, but Denham uses another chlorophorm bottle bomb to subdue Kong. Kong is knocked out with Ann mystified and seemingly in a strange trance of her friend being brought under human control.

Kong ends up in New York on display at a theatre. Denham introduces the 8th Wonder of the World to a shocked audience. Kong is somewhat drugged, but alert enough to show he is really alive. There is a throwback to the theme music for the Skull Island natives of the original film. Good nostalgic scoring. When Baxter the movie star is introduced, he is brought on stage as the one who saved Ann, when it actually was Drischoll. Drischoll ended up going to a comedy theatre that evening of Kong's debut on stage. He walked his way into the premiere to see what is happening. Though the music changes and Ann is brought up out of the floor by life elevator, Kong looks at the figure clothed in white with blonde hair, screaming to the top of her voice. However its not Ann Darrow, but a stand-in. The real Ann is working in a Follies show as a singer/dancer, but is in a strange trance about Kong. She leaves the performance and is trying to sort herself. Kong enraged by the thought of where the real Ann is, breaks free and checks out the stand in. The audience flees as we all know.Kong goes on a rampage in the theatre and comes upon Drischoll in the high loft balcony. Kong remembers that it was Drischoll who stole Ann on Skull Island and is furious as he wants revenge. Kong attempts to get his hands on him. A good evade scene ensues here and looks highly believable. Better than the cab evade scene of Broderick & Reno in Godzilla 1998. Kong escapes the theatre and New York City is shocked to see the beast, and the beast is shocked to see New York City. It's been snowing and Kong has a slippery time trying to capture Jack. Cars, buses and trolleys are laid to waste in the attack of the giant 25 foot beast. Ann mysteriously finds Kong and the two are reunited in a touching moment of recognition. They happen into Central park and what ensues is pure magic. Kong is rolling around on the ice of the frozen pond in the park like its Walt Disney magic. A real treat by Jackson. However the moment of bliss in interrupted by the military firing ammunition into the park causing the ice to crack and crumble. Kong is evading the military and leaping around from roof top to roof top. Eventually making his way to the ominous and unbelievably tall Empire State building. Kong makes it almost to the top and takes a break. Clutching Ann for the last time. Both are so high up, its unbelievable.

Seeing the height and the spin around of the camera will make you have a sinking feeling in your legs and stomach. Ann and Kong enjoy the morning sunrise. Ann saying "beautiful". Though the peace is about to end as 6 bi-planes arrive to deal with Kong. Kong sets Ann down and climbs up higher to the very top. Kong faces the planes there. Kong is quite athletic and does a jump up slam that looks like something straight out of the NBA finals. The plane pilots have to be more mindful about their proximity to Kong. The shots pour down, though a lot of them miss as this Kong doesn't just stay on top getting hit as the 1933 and 1976 Kong did (even what happened with Peking Man). Kong moves around by dropping down and using sides of the top tower to deflect shots. Ann climbs up to get to Kong to see if perhaps her presence will stop the onslaught. Its a temporary thing though. Kong does grab a plane as it flys by and shows his great agility once again by swinging it like a spin top. Sending it hurtling into its doom & disaster.

Kong though is wounded from machine gun fire. He collapses on the top of the tower with a horrified Ann looking at her beloved beastly friend. Another plane bears down on Kong and shoots him with a barrage of machine gun fire that seals the fate of Kong. Kong lovingly gazes upon Ann a last time.........and falls...:sulk: Falling to the street below. And you know the ending famous line is said by Carl Denham. "It was beauty that killed the beast (originally desired by Jackson to be said by the late Fay Ray). The End.