The_Mighty_Kong

The Mighty Kong

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.

Plot Summary

The film begins with Ann Darrow, a down on her luck actress looking for work, meeting film director Carl Denham 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 the boat causes trouble throughout the trip. They arrive on the island and the natives, who are friendly to the crew, ask that 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 Anne, 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.

Similarities and Differences

The film features the waterfall shower scene which was in the remake King Kong (1976 film).
There is no violence in this movie at all.
Kong survives the fall from the Empire State Building to provide a more family friendly ending.

Critical Reception

The film was panned by critics and fans of the Kong films. The movie was an attempt to cash in on the release of Godzilla (1998 film). The film was a dud resulting in low sales, but has developed a cult following.