Mighty Joe Young (1998) (PG, 1998)

Jill Young (Charlize Theron) makes a promise to her dying mom: she will protect Joe, an infant gorilla. This turns out to be a tricky promise to keep when Joe grows to astounding proportions, making him the target of wildlife poachers everywhere. When zoologist Gregg O'Hara (Bill Paxton) offers Joe sanctuary at a Los Angeles preserve, Jill packs up her 2000 pound gorilla and heads for Hollywood. Just as she and Joe are warming up to life in California, trouble hits. The poacher who orphaned them both 12 years earlier comes back to finish the job. Joe escapes through downtown Los Angeles and faces off with the evil Strasser at an amusement park.

Animal lovers will be charmed by Joe, a giant but gentle gorilla. In an attempt to show how endangered some species really are, MIGHTY JOE YOUNG includes a couple of hard-hitting sequences, but it remains thrilling family fun. There are times when you just have to shake your head at Hollywood's desire to remake a classic. This is not one of those times. The 1949 RKO version of Mighty Joe Young is a tired monster film of the ape-runs-amuck variety that tried (unsuccessfully) to cash in on the popularity of King Kong. In contrast, this Disney version has plenty to offer a young audience. With a nod to the more adult Gorillas in the Mist, the movie centers on the daughter of a Dian Fossey-like primatologist. As Jill follows in her mom's footsteps, this environmentally-friendly story provides serious food for thought. It also provides plenty of comic relief.

Joe is more Curious George than King Kong. His favorite pastime is hide and seek, yet he doesn't seem to realize that at 15 feet tall, he is a bit too big to hide behind a bush. Joe is a feat of technical wizardry; he's so life-like that it's hard to believe he's a composite of animatronic and digital effects. Children will warm to him, especially since Joe is particularly sweet to kids. They will also enjoy Theron's and Paxton's engaging performances, and applaud (as an 8 year-old viewer did) when this couple inevitably gets together. If the climactic sequence is too intense for small children, it certainly ends happily. Mighty Joe Young turns out to be a heart-warming experience with an environmental message.