Mighty Joe Young
Mighty Joe Young is a 1998 American adventure film based on the 1949 film of the same name about a giant mountain gorilla brought to a wildlife preserve in Los Angeles by a young woman who raised him, and a zoologist, to protect him from the threat of poachers until one seeks Joe out in order to take his revenge. It was directed by Ron Underwood and stars Bill Paxton, Charlize Theron, and creature suit actor John Alexander as the title character. In this version, the ape is much larger than in the original. The film grossed $50.6million in the United States against a production budget of $90million.
Plot
As a child, Jill Young (Charlize Theron) witnesses the death of her mother, primatologist Ruth Young (Linda Purl), and the mother of Joe, an infant mountain gorilla, at the hands of poachers led by Andrei Strasser (Rade Šerbedžija), who loses his right thumb and trigger finger to Joe, swearing revenge.
Awards
Cast
- Bill Paxton
- Charlize Theron
- Christian Clemenson
- David Paymer
- Debbie Lee Carrington
- Dina Merrill
- Geoffrey Blake
- Judson Mills
- Larry Brandenburg
- Lawrence Pressman
- Lily Mariye
- Linda Purl
- Marguerite Moreau
- Mika Boorem
- Naveen Andrews
- Peter Firth
- Rade Šerbedžija
- Ray Harryhausen
- Regina King
- Richard Riehle
- Rick Cramer
- Robert Wisdom
- Scarlett Pomers
- Terry Moore
- Tony Genaro
- Tracey Walter
- Verne Troyer
- Vicki Davis
More details
author | Lawrence Konner Mark Rosenthal |
---|---|
award | Genesis Award |
contentLocation | Africa |
director | Ron Underwood |
editor | Paul Hirsch |
genre | adventure drama |
keywords | black market botswana burn capture clean conservancy euthanized ferris wheel hear hollywood boulevard los angeles mountain gorilla news report noisemaker poacher power line primatologist primatology santa monica santa monica pier swear transformer uganda young boy |
musicBy | James Horner |
nomination | Academy Award for Best Visual Effects |
producer | Ted Hartley |
productionCompany | RKO Pictures Walt Disney Pictures |
publisher | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
recordedAt | Hawaii |
theme | monster movie |