Mighty Joe Young

Director: Ron Underwood Ron Underwood

Overview

"Ron Underwood's gorilla movie comes to DVD with a widescreen transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. A closed-captioned English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1. There are no subtitles accessible on this release. Supplemental materials include a theatrical trailer and a production featurette. This family themed film underwhelmed at the box office and this DVD does little to change its fate in the home video market."

Product Details

Release Date:	03/23/1999
UPC:	0717951001641
Original Release:	1998
Rating:	PG
Source:	Walt Disney Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[stereo, Dolby Digital]
Language:	English
Time:	1:54:00
Sales rank:	4,858

Special Features

Dolby Digital 5.1 audio; Production featurette; Theatrical trailer; Chapter search

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bill Paxton	Gregg O'Hara
Charlize Theron	Jill Young
Rade Serbedzija	Strasser
Regina King	Cecily Banks
Peter Firth	Garth
Naveen Andrews	Pindi
David Paymer	Harry Ruben
Linda Purl	Dr. Ruth Young
Mika Boorem	Young Jill
Robert Wisdom	Kweli
Lawrence Pressman	Dr. Baker
Geoffrey Blake	Vern
Christian Clemenson	Jack
Cory Buck	Jason
Liz Georges	Jason's Mother
Richard Riehle	Commander Gorman
Cynthia Allison	News Reporter
Ken Taylor	News Reporter
Ray Harryhausen	Gentleman at Party
Terry Moore	Elegant Woman at Party
Judson Mills	Impatient Driver
Tony Genaro	Boxer Shorts Man
Flo Di Re	Bambi's Owners
Kaylan Romero	Street Kid
Hernan Ruiz	Street Kid
Jenilee Deal	Street Kid,Street Kid
Bethany Bassler	Cabriolet Girl
Vicki Davis	Cabriolet Girl
Deborah Kellner	Cabriolet Girl
Marguerite Moreau	Cabriolet Girl
Tracey Walter	Conservancy Girl
Larry Brandenburg	Animal Control Duty Officer
Damien Leake	Cop
Neal Kopit	Cop
Janet Eilber	Concerned Mother
Wiley Pickett	Police Sharpshooter
John T. Bower	Carjack Man
Hannah Swanson	Toddler
Laurie Kilpatrick	Toddler's Mom
Richard McGonagle	Panda Owner
Reno Wilson	Poacher
Theodore R. Hartley	Society Man
Dina Merrill	Society Woman
Lily Mariye	Ticket Clerk
John Alexander	Joe Young
James Horner	Composer

Technical Credits

Mark Rosenthal

Lawrence Konner

Holly Sloan

Ruth Rose

Ron Underwood	Director
Mark Rosenthal	Screenwriter
Lawrence Konner	Screenwriter
Gail Katz	Executive Producer
Allen Hall	Special Effects
Ted Hartley	Producer
Tom Jacobson	Producer
Terry Leonard	Stunts
Pam Dixon Mickelson	Casting
Jim Mitchell	Special Effects
Hoyt Yeatman	Special Effects
Gary Stutman	Executive Producer
Dream Quest Images	Special Effects
Mark Lisson	Executive Producer
Holly Sloan	Screenwriter
Industrial Light & Magic	Special Effects
Richard Bryce Goodman	Sound/Sound Designer
Ruth Rose	Screenwriter
Rick Baker	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

Ron Underwood's remake of the 1949 fantasy is a fine film for children without necessarily being too dull for their parents. As in the original, Joe is a sweet-natured gorilla, which shouldn't be too surprising since he's been reared in the jungle by Charlize Theron, who plays the daughter of a scientist murdered by poachers. Again, Joe travels to America, becoming the poster gorilla for a charitable organization, though much of the story focuses on Theron's efforts to keep poacher Rade Serbedzija and some greedy scientists from exploiting her surrogate son. Theron and her love interest, played by Bill Paxton, are adequate to the task, but in a film of this kind, the humans are not really the point. Most notable are the superb special effects, with Joe's animatronics a vast improvement over the simian animation of King Kong (1976). While there are one or two moments in the film that might be too intense for small children, it's basically a benign adventure story.