My Movie Review on Mighty Joe Young (1998) · 4:37pm May 15th, 2020
Greetings, my friends.
This is your friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Today, I'm gonna give you guys my take of Disney's "Mighty Joe Young".
Here's the rundown of it:
As a child living in Africa, Jill Young and a baby gorilla named Joe were orphaned after their mothers were killed by poachers, lead by the malicious Andrei Strasser.
12 years later, Jill and Joe are discovered by a zoologist from California named Gregory "Gregg" O'Hara while he's on a research mission. The incredible thing about Joe is that he's grown up to 15 feet tall and weighs 2,000 pounds because of a rare form of gigantism.
Realizing that it'd be impossible for Jill to protect Joe out in the wild forever, Professor Gregory convinces Jill that Joe would be safer at the United States preserve he works at.
However, Andrei Strasser has also become aware of Joe's existence, and he wants revenge on the gorilla for biting off two of his fingers 12 years earlier.
Will Jill and Greg ever keep Joe safe? Or will Strasser have his revenge?
In all seriousness, this movie is something I fondly remember watching as a child. I had a VHS tape of it and later got a copy of the film on DVD, so it's a film that's been with me in more ways than one. I was inspired to review it after having dreams revolving around it not too long ago.
Even now, this movie is one that I find to be an absolute gem.
For instance, the direction by Ron Underwood, and the story by Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner, were fantastic. I mean, admittedly the film was pretty straightforward and simple in some ways, but yet...it hardly mattered because it had an undeniable charm and heart that made it so compelling. The amount of emotion in the film was strong enough to tug at the soul, and the way the filmmakers tackled the "Man & Beast Friendship" concept was in a way that was fresh, complex, and different. And, while the humorous side of the film may not be muscular enough for it to be considered a comedy, the jokes were entertaining and nicely-done. A prime example came from when Joe was trying to figure out how to get a car's sirens to stop while he was wandering around in the city.
The performances of the cast, casting, characters, and character development were terrific. Accompanied by creative dialogue, the cast portrayed their characters with undeniably genuine strength, emotion, and personality, and each of the characters featured in the movie had marvelous development that helped them be real. Out of all the human-visible cast members and characters, the ones I enjoyed the most were Charlize Theron as Jill Young, Bill Paxton as Gregory O'Hara, and Rade Serbedzija as Andrei Strasser.
I'm not gonna lie, Joe himself was the one that I found to be the heart and soul of the movie. For a film of the late 1990s, the effects and props teams made Joe look so real one could hardly tell he wasn't an actual gorilla. His displays of emotion and personality truly resonated onto me and pulled at my soul, and as an animal who merely wanted to be left in peace and survive instead of some psychotic movie monster, Joe was absolutely lovable.
Finally, James Horner's music score was perhaps some of his very best work. In the moments taking place in Africa, I couldn't help but note that its melodies were like an African tribe performing in a broadway theater, and it was amazing. Along with that, Horner's material throughout the movie was so powerful, cinematic, and emotional that it helped the film be all-the-more alive.
In conclusion, "Mighty Joe Young" is a treasure that I'm proud to have come back to and analyzed. Everything about it is worthwhile and fun, and it's the perfect movie for encouraging gorilla conservation and protection. Especially because gorillas really do need help due to their very existence being threatened by poachers and habitat loss.
So, I rate "Mighty Joe Young" five out of five stars.
I grew up watching and loving this film!
What makes this even more enjoyable is that the titular character is understanding, curious, and selfless to all people apart from those who wish to harm. Examples are him comforting Greg and saving the boy from the burning ferris wheel.
One of the best animal films ever made
Man! I haven't seen the film for a long time.
It sure sounds like a movie I would enjoy