Produced by -------------- Ted Hartley, Tom Jacobson 
Executive producer ------- Gail Katz 
Co-executive producers --- Mark Lisson, Gary Stutman 
Coproducer --------------- Michael Fottrell 
Directed by --------------- Ron Underwood 
Screenplay --------------- Mark Rosenthal, Lawrence Konner 
Based on a screenplay by Ruth Rose and a story by Merian C. Cooper 
Camera ----------------- Don Peterman, Oliver Wood 
Editor ------------------- Paul Hirsch 
Music ------------------- James Horner 
Production designer ----- Michael Corenblith 
Supervising art director -- Dan Webster 
Art director ------------- Charlie Daboub 
Set decorator ----------- Merideth Boswell 
Costume designer ------- Molly Maginnis 
Mighty Joe Young creature designed and produced by -- Rick Baker 
Visual effects supervisor -------------------------------- Hoyt Yeatman 
Visual effects and computer generated gorilla by -------- Dreamquest Images 
Special visual effects and animation --------------------- Industrial Light & Magic 
Sound ------------------ Richard Bryce Goodman 
Associate producers ---- Jackie Rubin Levine, Jim Chory 
Assistant director ------- Chory 
Second unit director ---- Terry Leonard 
Second unit camera ----- Keith Peterman 
Casting ----------------- Pam Dixon Mickelson 
MPAA rating: PG for some menacing action violence and mild language. 
Running time: 114 min 
 

Comments

"Mighty Joe Young", this family movie is a remake of the 1949 classic black and white movie Mighty Joe Young. Zoologist Gregg O'Hara comes across the 15 foot gorilla, Joe, while in the remote Pangani Mountains in Central Africa. There he meets Jill Young who raised the gorilla. Gregg and Jill bring Joe to California for safety reasons but Joe doesn't stay safe for young. Joe escapes and is loose in Hollywood. 

Check out the computer generated mountain gorilla nclosely where each hair has been assigned movement and reflectivity by the computer. Realistic hair is an extremely difficult task for computer animation. 

Vid - The video will be released on 23 March 1999. It is priced at $24.99 for VHS and $34.99 in DVD. As reported 29 Jan 1999. 
 

Related Items 

 

"Mighty Joe Young : Junior Novel"  by Carolyn Otto  Reading level: Ages 9-12  Paperback - 96 pages (December 1998)  Disney Pr (Juv Pap); ISBN: 0786841370  Dimensions (in inches): 0.33 x 7.60 x 5.28
"Mighty Joe Young : Look-Look Book"  by Matt Mitter, Che Rudko  Reading level: Ages 4-8  Paperback - 24 pages (November 1998)  Golden Books Pub Co Inc; ISBN: 0307131831  Dimensions (in inches): 0.26 x 8.04 x 8.01
"Mighty Joe Young Original Soundtrack"  Audio CD (December 8, 1998)  Number of Discs: 1  Pgd/Hollywood; ASIN: B00000G3X1  Track Listings  1. Sacred Guardian Of The Mountain  2. Poachers  3. Attempted Capture  4. Trees, The  5. Our Last Chance - A New World  6. Broken Promise, A  7. Leaving By Night  8. Hollywood Boulevard  9. Freeway Crossing  10. Carnival, The  11. Burning Ferris Wheel, The  12. Dedication And Windsong

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Fan Comments 

1 Jan 99 - The local rag had a tag line for this film: Mighty Bad Script. Well, I thought it was adequate enough, and did not detract from what was a highly entertaining film. I'm not sure, but I think in the original, Joe is killed. In this movie, Disney does both ways, sort of. You think Joe is dead, then he revives after you shed a few tears, which I did. Yes, I was a sucker on this one! For once, the gorilla was totally believable (as opposed to the King Kong remake, for example), and (obviously, since I wept at the end) you really do care for the big guy. After finding faults, and being disappointed, with "The Prince of Egypt," this was a very pleasant surprise. Because I'd read in advance that Joe is mostly computer animated, I figured it might fall prey to the hokey-looking animation that plagued "An American Werewolf in Paris," which was also an attempt to computer animate a hairy creature. I also figured Joe would not get that much screen time. Boy, was I wrong! Joe is a miracle of animation, so real you'd swear it was a real overgrown ape with a trainer. As for screen time, Joe must have known he was the star, because he swings into almost every frame! So here's three cheers to what will most assuredly go down as a classic, sure to make it big at the video store if not at the theatre. Just to boost sales, I think I'll go back and see it again!  

30 Dec 98 - I saw the movie and thought it was great. Joe looked so real. I enjoyed it so much I'll probably see it again. 
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