Taglines: Survival is an instinct.
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.
Mighty Joe Young is a 1998 American adventure film based on the 1949 film of the same name. It was directed by Ron Underwood and stars Bill Paxton and Charlize Theron. In the newer film’s version, the ape is much larger than in the original. The film grossed $50.6 million in the United States against a production budget of $90 million.
Cinematographer Donald Peterman suffered head injuries, a broken leg and broken ribs due to a crane accident on the film set in 1997. His camera platform plummeted 18 feet (5.5 m) to the ground when the crane snapped. A cameraman was also injured in the accident.
For the majority of the film, Joe was portrayed by creature suit performer John Alexander who wore a radio-controlled animatronic gorilla mask and full body suit created by special makeup effects artist Rick Baker and his crew at Cinovation Studios. In order to achieve those scenes, Alexander would often act on miniature sets that were surrounded by blue screen in which visual effects house DreamQuest Images would composite him into footage that was shot before.
While in the beginning of the film when Joe was an infant he was performed by Verne Troyer. For certain scenes, the filmmakers used three full-sized animatronics (one in quadruped, one sitting down, and one in a dead position) also created by Baker’s crew. For the scenes where the digital Joe was used, visual effects houses DreamQuest Images and Industrial, Light, & Magic would work on different scenes using the same model provided by Baker. Many of these performances were achieved by key-frame animation, but when the digital Joe was running and jumping was motion capture data that they captured from an infant chimpanzee.
Mighty Joe Young (1998)
Directed by: Ron Underwood
Starring: Bill Paxton, Charlize Theron, Rade Šerbedžija, Naveen Andrews, Regina King, David Paymer, Linda Purl, Mika Boorem, Geoffrey Blake, Christian Clemenson
Screenplay by: Mark Rosenthal, Lawrence Konner
Production Design by: Michael Corenblith
Cinematography by: Donald Peterman, Oliver Wood
Film Editing by: Paul Hirsch
Costume Design by: Molly Maginnis
Set Decoration by: Merideth Boswell, Greg Wolfson
Art Direction by: Charlie Daboub, Tom Southwell, Dan Webster
Music by: James Horner
MPAA Rating: PG for some menacing action violence and mild language.
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures
Release Date: December 25, 1998
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