Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Mighty Joe Young is a safer, more family friendly version of King Kong (which is a masterpiece and one of the best action/adventure movies of all time).Mr. Joe Young is a more likeable and heroic character than the original King Kong. Yes, we feel sorry when Kong is shot to death at the end, but we never doubt that it was the right thing to do. He's a dangerous animal. It's just like the real-life killing of the gorilla Harambe. From beginning to end, King Kong is killing people left and right. Joe Young on the other hand is a more gentle gorilla. The special effects are so good you almost forget it's a stop motion puppet, it's like you're watching a real gorilla get abused. It could make a grown man cry.King Kong is a violent movie. Full of people getting killed scary dinosaurs. Kong stomps people to death. The only violence in Mighty Joe Young is against stop motion lions, and it's all pretty mild.While there's no nudity or sex scenes in King Kong, the scene where King Kong tears off pieces of Fay Wray's dress is a bit uncomfortable. You can oftentimes smell the unmistakeable pervy pre-code stench. Mighty Joe Young has none of that.It's like Mighty Joe Young was Merian C. Cooper "anti-King Kong" movie:1. We have to wait a long time before Kong appears. Joe Young is there right at the beginning.2. King Kong is a stereotypical, wild and horny gorilla who kidnaps women. Joe Young is the female characters pet.3. The male lead in King Kong is a chauvinistic "girls drool" character. The one in Mighty Joe Young is polite and chivalrous.4. King Kong is put in chains. Joe Young performs without chains.5. King Kong kidnaps a human and climbs up a building with her. Joe Young climbs up a building to save a human.6. King Kong dies. Joe Young lives.And while it's a lighter movie than King Kong, the big action scene at the Children's Home at the end of the movie is breath-taking, and feels more real than anything I've seen in a modern CGI movie. The only negative thing about this movie is that the girl says "Joe" a lot. It's a bit like the movie "Shane", where the main character's name is mentioned almost every minute.Mighty Joe Young isn't as good as King Kong from 1933, but it's a better choice if your kids want to watch a movie about giant primates.

I want to start by saying that this movie came to my attention because of Ray Harryhausen, not because of the 90s remake.I didn't even know about the remake until after I discovered this. Anyway, I had to try three times before I could make it past the first scene.It's so unrealistic and filled with bad acting that I kept rewinding and couldn't make it any further.For some reason a little white girl lives in the African jungle and her father leaves her alone all day, already off to a bad start.Of course the girl doesn't have a mother, children in old movies never do.Two savages walk past the house carrying a small basket on a large stick.The basket contains a monkey but that doesn't even matter.Why would it take two of them to carry the basket?It could have easily been carried in one hand.And why do they wear diapers?So the girl runs out to stop them and see what they have and here's where any sign of reality goes out the window.She wants to buy the monkey and runs back in the house to get jewels. Even though they don't speak English, they seem to understand everything she says.They turn down the deal of jewels for the monkey and turnaround, heading back in the direction they came from.WHAT??!?!?Then she adds a flashlight to the deal and they immediately agree!WHAT??!?!I guess they know where to get batteries in the 1940s jungle.But the real shocker is that the savages don't rape, murder or kidnap the little girl.Which is mind blowing.I don't see how anyone could ever watch this movie.

If you suspend some disbelief, and just sit back and enjoy, you're in for a good time.I'm going to concentrate on the special effects, because they're so outstanding, and are an essential part of the film.POSSIBLE SPOILERS: The amount of detail in this stop-action is beyond astonishing. Little things, like Joe tapping his fingers, are everywhere. A wide array of facial expressions that help give Joe a personality. The continuity of fast action sequences like the wrangling scene, and specifically when Joe plucks a rider out of the saddle while the horse is at full gallop. It is still believable when viewed in slow motion, with Joe's fingers grabbing the guy's shirt. WHAT you say? Yes, you read that right. The line between live-action and stop-action sometimes disappears.This same continuity exists in the chaos scene when Joe tosses lions. Joe picks one up, does a windup with it and then tosses it, left to right. The next thing you see is REAL lion, obviously having been really thrown by something, hitting a floor at about 15 mph and sliding/scrambling about 30 or more feet in abject terror.And the list goes on and on.....

This is the conclusion of what I like to call, "The Great Apes" Trilogy, which consists of King Kong, Son of Kong, and Mighty Joe Young. The three films involve Merian C Cooper, Ernest B Shoedsack, Ruth Rose, Willis O'brien, and Robert Armstrong. For most people, including myself, King Kong is the best of these three films, while Son of Kong is the weakest. Mighty Joe Young is in between. The gorilla effects are well-done, and even eliminated the ruffling of the rabbit fur King Kong had in 1933. Joe is an amalgamation of the King himself, and his son; containing childlike qualities, as well as the fact that Joe could potentially do some damage. There is one sequence which is simply marvelous involving the nightclub that steals the show. The performances are good for a movie of this type, and ends up being a happier film than the previous installments. Also, Willis O'brien's unmatched talents were finally recognized, with an Oscar for his work on this very film. Highly recommended.