Mighty Joe Young

PG

Released Dec 25, 1998

1 hr. 54 min.

Kids & Family

Adventure

List

54%

54 Reviews

Tomatometer

40%

100,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

As a child living in Africa, Jill Young (Charlize Theron) saw her mother killed while protecting wild gorillas from poachers led by Andrei Strasser (Rade Serbedzija). Now an adult, Jill cares for an orphaned gorilla named Joe -- who, due to a genetic anomaly, is 15 feet tall. When Gregg O'Hara (Bill Paxton) arrives from California and sees the animal, he convinces Jill that Joe would be safest at his wildlife refuge. But Strasser follows them to the U.S., intent on capturing Joe for himself.

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Critics Consensus

Beguiling effects transcend a predictable plot.

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Blu B

This isn't broken or anything like that and on it's own it's a forgettable run of the mill family adventure. However, it does NOTHING better or adds anything worth the extra 30+ minute runtime from the 1949 classic. First off the acting is just ok. None of the characters are really that interesting and don't get much backstory besides Jill & Gregg. Paxton is probably the best thing in this being solid but he's not in it that much save the first half. The villian is as stock as they come with poaching and is almost cartoonish. Cinematography wise it's the same mediocre package. While the effects are half decent and the animtronic which is used omst of the time is well made it has several problems. First, the majoriy of the time I can't tell what Joe's emotions are compared to the 49' one where I always knew what Joe was thinking. Second, he's much slower in this and isn't as big (or the perception of his size) compared to the original. The CGI isn't bad though, and the Africa scenes are shot well. But after that it becomes very forgettable when they get to L.A. The action scenes feel very derivitive and aren't anything special either. also How you lose a 20 foot gorilla multiple times is beyond me. The music isn't bad a and a mix of African/Generic cinematic sounds which have there moments. but once we leave Africa it becomes much more forgettable. The editing also is just ok. It's actually pretty interesting at the start. But once it starts focusing more on the human characters like Jill, her relationship with Gregg, the poacher, the preserve workers, it becomes very boring because of how uninteresting they are. This also feels like it becomes more of a action movie at times than an Adventure as it starts out which doesn't fit that well. And this all leads to subpar pacing especially compared to the original. The extra 30 minutes really starts to kill things midway. What's weird also is this follows VERY closely the main plot structure of The Lost World which came out a year before especially the end rampage which feels very simliar to San Diego. Honestly, Skip This and watch the 1949 one.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/24

Full Review

azura r

Absolutely love this movie. Beginning makes me tear up, I like the villian, and the ending makes me tear up. Special effects are great, I really miss practical effects. Great movie and the best era for children's entertainment in my opinion

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/19/24

Full Review

Kyle F

This movie has some nostalgia for me, but the plot is pretty lackluster, however the affects are vary good for it's time.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Michael M

A Good Family Movie, Very Underrated. This Movie deserves more then a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A much better movie than I expected it to be, Mighty Joe Young has the cheesier moments that might be expected from what's basically a Disneyfied version of King Kong but the really good animatronic used to bring the titular gorilla to life (it's a bit obvious when they switch to CGI but it's understandable given some of the technological limitations at the time and it's not the worst example of spot-the-difference), incredibly committed performances, a great score from James Horner, a compelling story with decent writing and good direction, fun action sequences, pretty good cinematography even when we get to L.A. and even a few surprisingly dark moments for a late '90s live-action Disney film show there's more on this Kong knockoff's mind than "haha giant monke go ook ook".

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

kevin c

Giant gorilla is sent from his home in the jungle to a Californian animal sanctuary to avoid being poached by hunters with his hot friend Charlize Theron and Bill Paxton in tow. Crazy enough things don't go that smoothly in America either. Being a Disney movie, it's very weird done and does it's best to tug at your heart. Not one of their best efforts, but I do love Theron and Paxton.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Ron Underwood

Director

Charlize Theron

Jill Young

Bill Paxton

Gregg O'Hara

Rade Serbedzija

Andrei Strasser

Peter Firth

Garth

David Paymer

Harry Ruben

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Terry Lawson

Detroit Free Press

Though the film has been dutifully updated to reflect conservation consciousness, it's even sillier than the original, with dialogue that may make even small children groan and human characters that seem far more computerized than Joe.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 5, 2023

Full Review

Howard Cohen

Miami Herald

This modern Mighty Joe Young is mighty good fun.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 5, 2023

Full Review

Joe Morgenstern

Wall Street Journal

In a holiday movie season like this one, you take your pleasures where you find them.

Apr 2, 2019

Full Review

Sean P. Means

Salt Lake Tribune

The special effects, particularly the creature construction of famed makeup artist Rick Baker, are effective -- but who cares when the story is so idiotic?

Rated: 1/4

Jan 4, 2023

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a briskly-paced (yet undeniably overlong) adventure...

Rated: 2.5/4

Dec 30, 2021

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

At its best when it - pardon the pun - apes its predecessor and falters when it attempts to strike out on its own.

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 26, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

As a child living in Africa, Jill Young (Charlize Theron) saw her mother killed while protecting wild gorillas from poachers led by Andrei Strasser (Rade Serbedzija). Now an adult, Jill cares for an orphaned gorilla named Joe -- who, due to a genetic anomaly, is 15 feet tall. When Gregg O'Hara (Bill Paxton) arrives from California and sees the animal, he convinces Jill that Joe would be safest at his wildlife refuge. But Strasser follows them to the U.S., intent on capturing Joe for himself.

Director: Ron Underwood
Executive Producer: Gail Katz, Mark Lisson, Gary Stutman
Screenwriter: Merian C. Cooper, Ruth Rose, Mark Rosenthal, Lawrence Konner
Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co: Walt Disney Pictures, RKO Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Kids & Family, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 25, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 12, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $50.6M
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround

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