The Mighty (1998)

[Kenneth Melniczek]

Whileliving with her mother, primatologist Dr. Ruth Young, near Mt. Pangani in Africa, little Jill Young becomes friends with Joe, a baby gorilla who's part of a band of mountain gorillas Ruth is studying and who appears to be growing much larger than he should be. One night, the gorillas are attacked by a group of poachers led by the ruthless Andrei Strasser, who kills Joe's mother while she tries to escape with him. He also tries to take Joe alive, but the baby gorilla attacks him, biting off his right thumb and index finger. Regardless, Strasser also fatally shoots Ruth when she arrives to save Joe, and after the poachers retreat, Jill comes across her dying mother in the jungle. Before she goes, Ruth has Jill promise to take care of Joe. Twelve years later, Gregg O'Hara, a biologist and conservationist, comes to the area, interested in the legend of N'gai Zamu, a massive creature said to be the guardian of Mt. Pangani. While searching the area and taking blood samples of the local wildlife, Gregg and his men learn just how real the legend is when they encounter Joe, who's now grown to an enormous size of fifteen feet tall. After attempting and failing to secure him long enough to get a sample of his blood, Gregg follows Joe into the jungle, but is nearly killed by the powerful gorilla, until the now adult Jill, who lives there with Joe, intervenes. Rather than being scared off, Gregg becomes determined to help Jill protect Joe, knowing he's in danger from poachers, and offers to relocate Joe to the preserve he works for in California. Jill, distrustful of Gregg and all outsiders, is initially hesitant to do so, but when Kweli, a friend of Ruth's, convinces her of the coming danger, she agrees, on the condition that she put made fully in charge of Joe. Upon arriving, Joe is initially unsure of his new surroundings, but he acclimates very quickly, to the point where he becomes downright playful with the staff there. However, his peaceful life doesn't last long, as the publicity surrounding his existence gets the attention of Strasser, who now runs a "preserve" in Botswana but actually sells animal body parts on the black market. Intent on both getting revenge for what Joe did to him and making a profit off his innards, Strasser decides to pay Joe a visit and ensure the mighty ape falls into his hands.

his right-hand man, Garth, Jill sees Strasser's missing fingers and, having overheard him mention what Joe did to him when she was a young girl, realizes who he is. She manages to escape the truck and, shortly afterward, Joe himself escapes and runs amok in Hollywood. Jill and Gregg meet up and try to find Joe, who's in danger of being killed by the local police, while Jill herself becomes a target of Strasser, who fears she might expose him. Eventually, they track Joe down to the Palisades Ocean Park, where Jill and Strasser have a final confrontation where he attempts to kill her. Joe, however, takes care of him, and Jill and Gregg then have to hold off the police, who've arrived in time to see Joe throw Strasser to his death. After Joe saves a young boy, Jason, from a burning Ferris wheel, there's a moment where it seems as though he died in the fall when it collapsed, devastating and almost emotionally crippling Jill. Fortunately, Joe is shown to have just been knocked unconscious and he awakens. Even better, the boy he saved, as well as the police and all the spectators, pitch in money to help open a reserve for him, which she does, finally succeeding in keeping her promise to her mother.

For much of the movie, Garth (Peter Firth), Strasser's right-hand man, is just as heartless and ruthless as his boss when it comes to animals, particularly in the first scene where he enrages Joe in his paddock with a poacher noisemaker, clearly taking delight in it, and dreams of what his body parts would be worth. He also drives the truck meant to transport Joe to the airport during the climax, but after both Jill and Joe escape them, Garth shows he's not quite as monstrous as Strasser. This is first hinted at in the opening, when he can be heard saying they should help Ruth Young, but it comes to a head when Strasser actively targets Jill during the climax. Appalled at this, Garth stops Strasser from shooting Jill, causing a misfire that eventually leads to the flames that burn down the Ferris wheel, and tells him, "You're not a hunter, you're a murderer, and I don't want any part of this." However, Strasser knocks Garth unconscious by hitting him in the face with the butt of his rifle before getting out to confront Jill face-to-face.

Rick Baker insisted to the filmmakers that Ray Harryhausen have an appearance in the movie and, sure enough, Harryhausen does appear, along with Terry Moore, the original Jill Young, in the scene at the gala, billed in the credits as "gentleman at party" and "elegant woman at party." Watching Charlize Theron, Moore says, "She reminds me of somebody, but I can't think who it is," to which Harryhausen responds, "You, when we first met." It has a clever double meaning: in the context of the movie, this old couple is reminiscing on when they first met, but it also alludes to when Harryhausen and Moore worked on the original Mighty Joe Young. Although, I'm ashamed to say that I didn't catch these cameos when I first watched the DVD; I must have been zoned out or something, as I definitely know who they both are.

gallery, a hall of mirrors, and, of course, the Ferris wheel that serves as the centerpiece for the sequence. Like the exterior, the inside of Strasser's home is just as big and elegant, with his massive office and small living area off to the side of it, but on the opposite side of the spectrum is the room in the basement, where the body parts of animals are prepared for the black market. The same can also

him, like maybe some annoying people aggravating and pushing him to his limit, kind of like what happened in the original but without Joe getting drunk. That in and of itself would reinforce the notion that this place is no better or safer for a wild animal as large as Joe, and could lead to them having to smuggle Joe out and attempt to get him to some place like a secluded place nearby, only for him to get loose, run amok, and eventually perform the heroic act that ensures his life will be spared.

trapped atop the burning Ferris wheel, and takes it upon himself to climb up to save him. This, along with the pleas of Jason's mother, convinces the men to lower their weapons, and while Joe is able to retrieve Jason from his car and shield him with his body when the wheel collapses, forcing him to jump, he seemingly dies in the process. Of course, he merely knocked himself unconscious, and when he awakens, Jason and his mother, the other bystanders, and even the police, recognizing his heroism, donate money for a preserve in Africa for him to live. When it's set up, Joe is finally able to free.

his men and the wide shots of him climbing the Ferris wheel, and given the state of CGI at that point, it looks pretty damn good. On that subject, by the way, re-watching this movie was a truly bittersweet experience, knowing they would not even attempt this mixture of suits, miniatures, animatronics, and CGI nowadays, and would just do everything digitally, which is one of the reasons why Baker eventually retired from the industry altogether. That's why 90's creature features and monster movies like this hold a particularly special place in my heart.

and she does. Ruth embraces Jill and, knowing she's dying, prompts her to start singing Windsong with her, while Joe watches on. The camera slowly pulls out from a wide shot and, in a simple but effectively emotional edit, it dissolves to a shot of the moon in the sky, with Jill's voice now the only one that can be heard singing. It dissolves to Ruth's grave-marker, as Jill is seen standing among the natives, who pay their last respects to her mother. Joe is revealed to be watching from the edge of the jungle, when Jill suddenly runs over to him, ignoring Kweli's calling her, and embraces him. The two of them then walk off into the jungle.

look at Jill, albeit an upside down view. Gregg asks her if she could get Joe to put him down and Jill says, "Joe, drop him." Joe does as she says and drops Gregg, who hits the ground very roughly, enough to make Jill wince. Gregg immediately faints as a result.

prove how trustworthiness, she asks Gregg to make a pact by enduring the bite of a Makiki spider, which would cause him to have hallucinations and say whatever he truly thinks. Gregg, in turn, calls her on this, calling it a load of crap and she says he's not such a fool. Seeing and hearing the poachers getting worked up by shooting their rifles into the air, Gregg tells her to get her things together, as they're leaving immediately. After that comes a tender moment where Jill tells Joe that she just wants him to be safe, and the two of them have one last look at the only home they've known for many, many years.

away, hooting and grunting in a happy manner, before walking into some nearby reeds. Jill walks over to Harry and tells him Joe's playing hide-and-seek with him. They look over at Joe, who tries to duck down into the reeds, and Jill demonstrates by running over to him, acting like she can't find him, only to run up to and embrace him. Harry ducks out of the habitat, as Gregg jokes to him, "Good thing Joe didn't wanna play 'doctor.'"

mentions how Joe was raised by Jill, the daughter of Ruth Young, he puts two and two together and realizes he's the gorilla that maimed him years ago. Looking at his right hand, Strasser tells Garth, "I'm always amazed how, if you wait long enough, the opportunity for justice finally comes. Garth, book us two tickets to America. We are going to a pay visit to this incredible animal. I think I know how to convince his current owners to part with him."

turns to look at him and responds by closing his hand around his, indicating he's finally accepted and trusts him. Meanwhile, Harry breaks it to Jill that it's been decided Joe will have to stay in the bunker until a decision is made, despite Jill's warning he'll die from depression if he stays. Harry, in turn, tells her he's now a public relations nightmare, that no zoo will take him, and unless she's got a lot of money for a place, he doesn't have anywhere to go. After he leaves, Jill comes to a decision and tells Gregg she needs his help.

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