The Mighty Kong
Encyclopedia
The Mighty Kong is a 1998 animated, musical adaptation of the classic King Kong
story. Jodi Benson
and Dudley Moore
(in his last role before his death) headed its cast of voice actors. It features original songs by the Sherman Brothers
.
There are currently no plans to release The Mighty Kong on DVD
.
, who offers her a job in a new movie. They board the Venture to leave for the film shoot. The monkey that lives on board causes trouble throughout the trip. They arrive on the island and the natives, who are friendly to the crew, ask that the crew leave Ann so they can sacrifice her. Ann is then sacrificed to the giant ape King Kong
who makes off with her into the jungle. Together they fight a dinosaur and are off the island in five minutes.
The film then follows Kong's rampage of New York City
. Kong takes Anne up on top of the Empire State Building
. The biplanes come and attack Kong with guns, but miss most of the time. When all the planes have been knocked down the army sends two blimps with a net in between them to catch Kong. They catch him successfully. Kong tries to get out of the net, but the net rips and when Kong reaches for Ann, he falls from the net. He bangs into a balcony and plummets to the ground. During his fall he is shown crying. Kong's "mightyness" ends when he slams into the streets of New York. However, Kong survives the fall to make a more family-friendly ending.
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
story. Jodi Benson
Jodi Benson
Jodi Marie Benson is an American actress, voice actress, soprano singer, and Disney Legend. She is best known for providing both the speaking and the singing voices of Disney's Princess Ariel in The Little Mermaid and its sequels. In 2002 and 2006, she reprised the role of Ariel in the English...
and Dudley Moore
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
(in his last role before his death) headed its cast of voice actors. It features original songs by the Sherman Brothers
Sherman Brothers
The Sherman Brothers are an American songwriting duo that specialize in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman ....
.
There are currently no plans to release The Mighty Kong on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
Plot summary
The film begins with Ann Darrow, a down-on-her-luck actress looking for work, meeting film director Carl DenhamCarl Denham
Carl Denham is a fictional film director in the films King Kong and Son of Kong , as well as in the 2005 remake of King Kong, and a 2004 illustrated-novel titled Kong: King of Skull Island. The role was played by Robert Armstrong in the 1933 films and by Jack Black in the 2005 remake...
, who offers her a job in a new movie. They board the Venture to leave for the film shoot. The monkey that lives on board causes trouble throughout the trip. They arrive on the island and the natives, who are friendly to the crew, ask that the crew leave Ann so they can sacrifice her. Ann is then sacrificed to the giant ape King Kong
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
who makes off with her into the jungle. Together they fight a dinosaur and are off the island in five minutes.
The film then follows Kong's rampage of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Kong takes Anne up on top of the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
. The biplanes come and attack Kong with guns, but miss most of the time. When all the planes have been knocked down the army sends two blimps with a net in between them to catch Kong. They catch him successfully. Kong tries to get out of the net, but the net rips and when Kong reaches for Ann, he falls from the net. He bangs into a balcony and plummets to the ground. During his fall he is shown crying. Kong's "mightyness" ends when he slams into the streets of New York. However, Kong survives the fall to make a more family-friendly ending.
Similarities and differences
- The film features the waterfall shower scene which was in the 1976 remakeRemakeA remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of King KongKing Kong (1976 film)King Kong is a 1976 American monster movie produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by John Guillermin. It is a remake of the 1933 classic film of the same name, about a giant ape that is captured and imported to New York City for exhibition....
. - Kong survives the fall from the Empire State BuildingEmpire State BuildingThe Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
to provide a more family friendly ending.
Critical reception
- The film was panned by critics and fans of the Kong franchise. The movie was an attempt to cash in on the release of the 1998 GodzillaGodzilla (1998 film)Godzilla is a 1998 science fiction monster disaster film film co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich. It is a loose remake of the 1954 giant monster classic Godzilla. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The film relates a tale of a nuclear incident...
film. It was also another of many attempts by major film studios to create an animation department to make features that could compete with the likes of PixarPixarPixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
and DreamWorksDreamWorks AnimationDreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television program and online virtual worlds...
. As the film was a dud Warner Bros. soon abandoned feature length animation.
Cast
- Dudley MooreDudley MooreDudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
...Carl DenhamCarl DenhamCarl Denham is a fictional film director in the films King Kong and Son of Kong , as well as in the 2005 remake of King Kong, and a 2004 illustrated-novel titled Kong: King of Skull Island. The role was played by Robert Armstrong in the 1933 films and by Jack Black in the 2005 remake...
& King KongKing KongKing Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films... - Jodi BensonJodi BensonJodi Marie Benson is an American actress, voice actress, soprano singer, and Disney Legend. She is best known for providing both the speaking and the singing voices of Disney's Princess Ariel in The Little Mermaid and its sequels. In 2002 and 2006, she reprised the role of Ariel in the English...
...Ann Darrow - Randy Hamilton...Jack DriscollJack DriscollJack Driscoll is a fictional character in the King Kong franchise. In the original 1933 film he was the first mate of the ship The Venture, while in its 2005 remake he was a playwright . He was played by Bruce Cabot in the original and by Adrien Brody in the remake...
- Jason Gray-Stanford...Ricky