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Mighty Joe Young

Mighty Joe Young

Adventure · Family · Action · 1998

As a child living in Africa, Jill Young saw her mother killed while protecting wild gorillas from poachers led by Andrei Strasser. Now an adult, Jill cares for an orphaned gorilla named Joe -- who, due to a genetic anomaly, is 15 feet tall. When Gregg O'Hara arrives from California and sees the animal, he convinces Jill that Joe would be safest at his wildlife refuge. But Strasser follows them to the U.S., intent on capturing Joe for himself.

Movie details

Mighty Joe Young

“Survival is an instinct.”

1998 Adventure · Family · Action 1h 54m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.3 / 10

Community rating

As a child living in Africa, Jill Young saw her mother killed while protecting wild gorillas from poachers led by Andrei Strasser. Now an adult, Jill cares for an orphaned gorilla named Joe -- who, due to a genetic anomaly, is 15 feet tall. When Gregg O'Hara arrives from California and sees the animal, he convinces Jill that Joe would be safest at his wildlife refuge. But Strasser follows them to the U.S., intent on capturing Joe for himself.

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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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Ron Underwood

Written by

Mark Rosenthal · Lawrence Konner

Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron

Jill Young

Bill Paxton

Bill Paxton

Gregg O'Hara

Rade Šerbedžija

Rade Šerbedžija

Strasser

Peter Firth

Peter Firth

Garth

David Paymer

David Paymer

Harry Ruben

Regina King

Regina King

Cecily Banks

Robert Wisdom

Robert Wisdom

Kweli

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.