The Mighty Kong

The Mighty Kong is a 1998 American direct-to-video animated, musical adaptation of the classic King Kong story, produced by Lana Productions.[1] Jodi Benson and Dudley Moore (in his final role before his death in 2002) headed its cast of voice actors. The film was animated overseas by the South Korean animation studios including Hahn Shin Corporation, and by Jade Animation in Hong Kong. It features original songs by the Sherman Brothers. The film was released on VHS on June 16, 1998 by Warner Home Video and Warner Bros. Family Entertainment as a part of their 75th Anniversary promotion. It was released on DVD by Tri-Coast Entertainment in 2019 as a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release that is only available through online stores. The film is currently available on multiple streaming platforms such as Tubi and Vimeo.

The Mighty Kong
The cover of the 1998 animated feature film
Directed byArt Scott
Produced byDenis deVallance
Lyn Henderson
Written byWilliam J. Keenan
Based onKing Kong by Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace
StarringDudley Moore
Jodi Benson
Randy Hamilton
William Sage
Jason Gray-Stanford
Richard Newman
Don Brown
Ian James Corlett
Michael Dobson
Paul Dobson
Music byDavid Siebels
Robert B. Sherman
Richard M. Sherman
Edited byTony Hayman
Production
company
Lana Productions
Hahn Shin Corporation (Animation Production)
Distributed byLegacy Releasing
Warner Home Video
Release date
June 16, 1998
Running time
71 minutes
CountryUnited States
South Korea
LanguageEnglish

Plot summary

Ann Darrow, a down-on-her-luck actress looking for work, meets film director Carl Denham, who offers her a job in a new film. They board the Venture to leave for the film shoot. The monkey that lives on board causes trouble throughout the trip. They arrive on the island and after a run-in with the natives, Ann then sacrificed to the giant ape King Kong who makes off with her into the jungle. Together they fight a Tyrannosaurus, Pterodactylus and a Gigantophis.

The film then follows Kong's rampage of New York City. Kong takes Ann up on top of the Empire State Building. The biplanes come and attack Kong with guns, but miss most of the time. When all the planes have been knocked down the army sends two blimps with a net in between them to catch Kong. They catch him successfully. Kong tries to get out of the net, but the net rips and when Kong reaches for Ann, he falls from the net. He bangs into a balcony and plummets to the ground. During his fall he is shown crying. Kong's "mightyness" ends when he slams into the streets of New York and ends up unconscious for a while.

Cast

Additional voices are: William Sage III, Don Brown, Ian James Corlett, Michael Dobson, Paul Dobson

Trivia
  • Despite being produced in 1997, the film wasn't released until June 16, 1998.

Similarities and differences
  • The film features the waterfall shower scene which was in the 1976 remake of King Kong.
  • The film also features a Tyrannosaurus, Stegosaurus and a Pterodactylus which were in the 1933 original of King Kong, aTriceratops, which was part of the 1933 film's original script but didn't make it into the film itself, and a giant snake from the 1976 remake of King Kong.
  • Instead of being shot down by planes, Kong gets tangled up in a net suspended by two blimps.
  • Kong survives the fall from the Empire State Building to provide a more family-friendly ending.
  • He doesn't rip the Tyrannosaurus's (or the snake's) jaws apart to provide a more family-friendly fight.

Release dates
  • June 16, 1998 (United States/Canada)
  • 1998 (United Kingdom)
  • 1999 (Australia)

References
  1. Lenburg, Jeff (2009). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (3rd ed.). New York: Checkmark Books. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1.
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