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Mighty Joe Young

Mighty Joe Young

Adventure · Fantasy · Drama · 1949

A young woman, Jill Young, grew up on her father's ranch in Africa, raising a large gorilla named Joe from an infant. Years later, she brings him to Hollywood to become a star.

Movie details

Mighty Joe Young

“Merian Cooper's amazing adventure in the unusual!”

1949 Adventure · Fantasy · Drama 1h 34m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

A young woman, Jill Young, grew up on her father's ranch in Africa, raising a large gorilla named Joe from an infant. Years later, she brings him to Hollywood to become a star.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Mighty Joe Young?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Mighty Joe Young

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Ernest B. Schoedsack

Written by

Merian C. Cooper · Ruth Rose

Terry Moore

Terry Moore

Jill Young

Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson

Gregg Johnson

Robert Armstrong

Robert Armstrong

Max O'Hara

Frank McHugh

Frank McHugh

Windy

Douglas Fowley

Douglas Fowley

Jones

Denis Greene

Denis Greene

Crawford

Paul Guilfoyle

Paul Guilfoyle

Smith

Court is in session

Put Mighty Joe Young on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.