Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

metalrage666 The main problems I had with this is not Joe himself, but sadly, the overall story as well as the acting and effects. Despite the implausibility of a gorilla like Joe, he's the only character with any redeeming quality and he's not even real. The 1940's version with the Harryhousen effects are far better than this uninspired outing. The underlying message that this movie and others like it love to convey is 1- that animals are still on this earth solely for our amusement, regardless of the well meaning intentions of a few, and 2-never underestimate the blind stupidity of people in large groups.Basically an oversized ape is taken from the only habitat he's ever known and where he's felt safe all his life and thrown into a fake man-made enclosure on the other side of the world for tourists to gawk at and the media to milk until the next flavour of the month presents itself. During a gala event where Joe is to be displayed in front of high society types, things take a turn for the worse and as usual Joe, like any other wild animal, reacts violently,however as several people with more money than sense got hurt in the ensuing melee the typical consensus is to lock him away to be euthanized. To wrap up, Joe is freed from prison, the poachers trying to kill him are defeated, Joe redeems himself by saving a child from a fire and he ends up roaming free again back in Africa. It's a very syrupy and artificial and kids won't see that it's full of holes but this just isn't enjoyable on any level for anyone over 10 years old. There's lots of silly and deliberate attempts at generating cheap laughs whether it be a sports car getting trampled or a Mercedes getting trashed. It's all very obvious as is the teary premature death of Joe, which even blind Freddy could see coming. A box office bomb if ever there was and it's not hard to see why. A total miss.

Angelus2 I watched this film years ago and finally have come to comment on it. The film is a tale of a ape and a woman who decides after the death of Joes mother to take him back to the US. But Joe escapes and hysteria ensues.The film is a kids movie bringing the tale of King Kong back with a different kind of twist that works if you haven't watched King Kong; there are similarities but Joe has a softer quality almost a human touch to him that makes the audience connect.The CGI is quite convincing and the way the animal moves is brilliantly done..... A nice kids movie...

Dingataca I haven't seen the original, but this one is certainly a lovely and heartwarming story of friendship and unconditional love.I thought Mighty Joe Young was very well executed. The animation of Joe was realistic and they also gave him a personality that screamed "loveable"! Joe creates a space for himself in everyone's hearts and I think it is the way he has been portrayed, as a heart of gold in a scary exterior, that will endear him to you.A very sweet tale full of highs and lows, twists, turns, laughter and tears. Good for families - kids and adults alike will enjoy it.

John T. Ryan Imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery! When someone in Hollywood commits to doing a remake, whether or not it is wholly or moderately successful,or not at all is no matter to one truth, at least. Somebody saw something worthwhile in remaking or at least attempting to do so.When a remake comes down the pike, it's immediately up for instant comparison. How much is it like the original? How are they dissimilar? Has the storyline been kept close to the original, or has it been allowed to wander too far astray? Well all things considered, and being 49 years after the 1st MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, it does appear that just about the right balance was struck. The original overall concept was kept, albeit in a multi-faceted upgrading or 'modernizing', conducted on several fronts. Filming in Color, Dolby Sound, Digital Photography and Computer Generated Special Effects all kicked in to give a "more modern" look to this "more modern" film.All the years couldn't have passed without some tweaking of the basics of the storyline, or at least giving them a little vitamin therapy. As such, the more modern terms and concerns like, "ecology", "endangered or threatened" species designations are introduced into the story and are done so in a low-key, soft sell. Rather than any heavy-handed preaching or finger pointing about "our"(Mankind's)misuse of the natural world;utilizing a veritable encyclopedia of self-righteous, patronizing 'junk science'.One little addition to the original story is found in there is never any explanation offered to explain Joe's "being the biggest one in his class." This new 1998 version not only makes up an explanation, but also makes sense at the same time!The shifting of the back-drop of the Entertainment Industry with the Science Community is a major move, if not exactly not a change. The presence over the years of people like Frank Buck, Martin & Osa Johnson, Ivan T. Sanserson,Marlin Perkins,The Late Steve Irwin(The Crocodile Hunter) and folks like today's Jack Hannah, all are examples of Science crossing over into Show Business.At any rate, the one thing that all King Kong/Mighty Joe Young films have in common is an unflattering caricature of "the Public." Hey, that's us!And in demonstration of the changing scene, we offer the following: In the original MIGHTY JOE YOUNG movie's year of release, 1949, Walt Disney Pictures released thru RKO Radio Pictures. In the year of the MIGHTY JOE YOUNG remake, it is listed as an RKO Production released by Disney's Buena-Vista Distribution Company. The wheel has spun afull!