King Kong
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King Kong is the name of a fictional giant ape from the legendary Skull Island, who has appeared in several works since 1933. Most of these bear his name, and include the groundbreaking 1933 film, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, and numerous sequels. The rights are currrently held by Universal Studios.
In the original film, the character's name is Kong -- a name given to him by the inhabitants of "Skull Island" in the Indian Ocean, where Kong lived along with other over-sized animals such as a plesiosaur, pterosaurs, and dinosaurs. 'King' is an appellation added by an American film crew led by Carl Denham, who captures Kong and takes him to New York City to be exhibited as the "Eighth Wonder of the World". Kong escapes and climbs the Empire State Building (the World Trade Center in the 1976 remake) where he is shot and killed by aircraft. Nevertheless, as Denham comments, "it was beauty killed the beast", for he climbed the building in the first place only in an attempt to protect Ann Darrow, an actress originally offered up to Kong as a sacrifice. (In the 1976 remake the equivalent character is named Dwan.)
A mockumentary about Skull Island on the DVD for the 2005 remake (but originally seen on the Sci-Fi Channel at the time of its theatrical release) gives Kong's scientific name as Megaprimatus kong, and states that his species may have evolved from Gigantopithecus. In the original, Kong was 18 feet tall on the island and 24 feet in New York. In the 1976 remake, he's about 40 feet tall while in the 2005 remake he is 25 feet tall.
The King Kong character was conceived and created by US filmmaker Merian C. Cooper.
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[edit] Filmography
- King Kong (1933). The original, classic film, is remembered for its pioneering special effects using stop motion models, animatronics (the term is applied in retrospect) and evocative story.
- Son of Kong (1933). A sequel released the same year, it concerns a return expedition to Skull Island that discovers Kong's son. It was not well-received by critics.
- King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962). A film produced by Toho Studios in Japan, it brought the titular characters to life (the first time for either character to be in a film in color) via the process of suitmation. The Toho version of Kong is at least five times the size of the one in the original film. This is more than likely because of a significant difference in size between the 1933 King Kong and Godzilla (and, for that matter, all of the company's giant monsters), with Kong automatically rescaled to fit Toho's existing miniature sets.
- King Kong Escapes (1967). Another Toho film in which Kong faces both a mechanical double, dubbed Mechani-Kong, and a giant theropod dinosaur known as Gorosaurus (who would appear in Toho's Destroy All Monsters the next year). This movie was influenced by the contemporaneous cartoon television program, as indicated by the use of its recurring villain, Dr. Who/Dr.Huu, in the same capacity.
- King Kong (1976). An updated remake by film producer Dino De Laurentiis, released by Paramount Pictures, and director John Guillermin. Jessica Lange, Jeff Bridges and Charles Grodin starred. The film received mixed reviews, but it was a commercial success, and its reputation has improved over the last few years. Co-winner of an Oscar for special effects (shared with Logan's Run).
- King Kong Lives (1986). Released by De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG). Starring Linda Hamilton, a sequel by the same producer and director as the 1976 film which involves Kong surviving his fall from the sky and requiring a coronary operation. It includes a female member of Kong's species, who, after supplying a blood transfusion that enables the life-saving surgery, escapes and mates with Kong, becoming pregnant with his offspring. Trashed by critics, this was a box-office failure.
- King Kong (2005). A Universal Pictures remake of the original (set in the same period) by Academy award-winning New Zealand director Peter Jackson, best known for directing the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The most recent incarnation of Kong is also the longest, running three hours and eight minutes. Winner of three Academy Awards for visual effects, sound mixing, and sound editing.
[edit] Print media
The literary tradition of a remote and isolated jungle populated by natives and prehistoric animals was rooted in the Lost World genre, specifically Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel The Lost World, which was itself made into a silent film of that title in 1925 that Doyle lived long enough to see. The special effects of that film were created by Willis O'Brien, who went on to do those for the 1933 King Kong. Another important book in that literary genre is Edgar Rice Burroughs' 1918 novel The Land That Time Forgot.
A novelization of the original King Kong film was published in December 1932 as part of the film's advance marketing. The novel was credited to Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper, although it was in fact written by Delos W. Lovelace. Apparently, however, Cooper was the key creative influence, saying that he got the initial idea after he had a dream that a giant gorilla was terrorizing New York City. In an interview, comic book author Joe DeVito explains:
- "From what I know, Edgar Wallace, a famous writer of the time, died very early in the process. Little if anything of his ever appeared in the final story, but his name was retained for its saleability ... King Kong was Cooper's creation, a fantasy manifestation of his real life adventures. As many have mentioned before, Cooper was Carl Denham. His actual exploits rival anything Indiana Jones ever did in the movies." [1]
This conclusion about Wallace's contribution agrees with The Making of King Kong, by Orville Goldner and George E. Turner (1975). Wallace died of pneumonia complicated by diabetes on February 10, 1932, and Cooper later said, "Actually, Edgar Wallace didn't write any of Kong, not one bloody word... I'd promised him credit and so I gave it to him" (p. 59).
In the October 28, 1933 issue of Cinema Weekly, the short story "King Kong" by Edgar Wallace and Draycott Montagu Dell (1888-1940) was published. The short story appears in Peter Haining's Movie Monsters (1988) published by Severn House in the UK. Dell was a journalist and wrote books for children, such as the 1934 story and puzzle book Stand and Deliver. He was a co-worker and close friend of Edgar Wallace.
Several differences exist in the novel from the completed film, as it reflects an earlier draft of the script that became the final shooting script. The novelization includes scenes from the screenplay that were cut from the completed movie, or were never shot altogether. These include the spider pit sequence, as well as a Styracosaurus attack, and Kong battling three Triceratops. It also does not feature the character of Charlie, the ship's Chinese cook, but instead a different one named Lumpy, subsequently used in both the 1991 comic book version and the 2005 big-screen remake.
The original publisher was Grosset & Dunlap. Paperback editions by Bantam (U.S.) and Corgi (UK) came out in the 1960s, and it has since been republished by Penguin and Random House.
In 1933, Mystery Magazine published a King Kong serial under the byline of Walter F. Ripperger. This is unrelated to the 1932 novel.
Over the decades, there have been numerous comic book adaptations of the 1933 King Kong by various comic-book publishers, and one of the 2005 remake by Dark Horse Comics.
Kong: King of Skull Island, an illustrated novel labeled as an authorized sequel to King Kong (1933), was published in 2004 by DH Press, a subsidiary of Dark Horse Comics. A large-paperback edition was released in 2005. Authorized by the family and estate of Merian C. Cooper, the book was created & illustrated by Joe DeVito, written by Brad Strickland with John Michlig, and includes an introduction by Ray Harryhausen. The novel's story ignores the existence of Son of Kong (1933) and continues the story of Skull Island with Carl Denham and Jack Driscoll in the late 1950s, through the novel's central character, Vincent Denham. (Ann Darrow does not appear, but is mentioned several times.) The novel also becomes a prequel that reveals the story of the early history of Kong, of Skull Island, and of the natives of the island. The book's official website claims a motion picture version is in development.[1]
The novelization of the 2005 movie was written by Christopher Golden, based on the screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, & Peter Jackson, which was, of course, in turn based on the original story by Merian C. Cooper & Edgar Wallace. (The Island of the Skull, a "prequel" novel to the 2005 movie, was released at nearly the same time.)
In November 2005, to coincide with the release of the 2005 movie, Weta Workshop released a collection of concept art from the film entitled The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island. While similar collections of production art have been released in the past to compliment other movies, The World of Kong is unusual - if not unique - in that it is written and designed to resemble and read like an actual nature guide and historical record, not a movie book.
Also in 2005, ibooks published Kong Reborn by Russell Blackford. Ignoring all films except the 1933 original, it is set in the present day. Carl Denham's grandson finds some genetic material from the original Kong and attempts to clone him. Late in 2005, the BBC and Hollywood trade papers reported that a 3-D stereoscopic version of the 2005 film was being created from the animation files, and live actors digitally enhanced for 3D display. This may be just an elaborate 3D short for Universal Studios Theme Park, or a digital 3D version for general release in the future.
[edit] King Kong (Toho)
| Toho character | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| King Kong | |
| Species | Giant Kongorillla |
| Alias | Kong Gorilla |
| Height | 20-45 metres |
| Weight | 25,000 tons |
| Relationships | Mechani-Kong (Robot Replica) King Kong (Counterpart) |
| Major enemies | Oodako Godzilla Gorosaurus Mechani-Kong Greenman |
| First appearance | King Kong vs. Godzilla |
| Created by | Merian C. Cooper |
| Portrayed by | Shoichi Hirose Haruo Nakajima |
This King Kong is a Toho version of Cooper's Kong. He appeared in Toho Studio's successful film King Kong vs. Godzilla and would later reappear in the film King Kong Escapes. This King Kong differs greatly from the original in size and abilities.
[edit] Powers and Abilities
Among Kaiju, King Kong is suggested to be among the most powerful in terms of raw physical force, possessing strength and durability that rivals that of Godzilla himself. To make Kong more of a match for his debut in King Kong vs. Godzilla, Kaiju Kong was made considerably larger than the original version and was granted the ability to draw power from electric energy. When fully charged, Kong could even direct this power against his opponents by means of an electric touch attack. This power however was only used in King Kong vs Godzilla and was never used in King Kong Escapes. As one of the few mammal based Kaiju, Kong's most distinctive feature is his intelligence. He's demonstrated the ability to learn and adapt to an opponent's fighting style, identify and exploit weaknesses in an enemy, and is even capable of utilizing his environment to stage ambushes and traps.
[edit] Television
- The King Kong Show (1966). In this cartoon series, the giant gorilla befriends the Bond family, with whom he goes on various adventures, fighting monsters, robots, mad scientists and other threats. Produced by Rankin/Bass, the animation was provided in Japan by Toei Animation, making this the very first anime series to be commissioned right out of Japan by an American company. This was also the cartoon that resulted in the production of Toho's Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (originally planned as a Kong film) and King Kong Escapes.
- Kong: The Animated Series (2001). An unofficial animated production set many decades after the events of the original film. "Kong" is cloned by a female scientist.
- A direct-to-DVD movie called Kong: King of Atlantis, based on the 2001 series, has been released to try and cash in on the 2005 movie. Both the series and movie were then included in Toon Disney's "Jetix" group for a time, also to take advantage of the 2005 movie's release.
- King Kong made an appearance in the 2nd episode of Where My Dogs At? in the background of the MTV Movie Awards.
- The King Kong suit from King Kong Escapes appeared on Ike! Greenman episode 38 called Greenman vs Gorilla. Due to copyright reasons King Kong's name was changed to Gorilla.
- In the Kappa Mikey episode, Night of the Werepuff, the monster captures Lily (Ann Darrow). It then scales LilyMu studios (Empire State Building). Similar to the movies' ending, it is shot down, here by Guano.
[edit] Related Films
- The premise of a giant gorilla brought to the United States for entertainment purposes, and subsequently wreaking havoc, was recycled in Mighty Joe Young, (1949, through the same studio and with much of the same principal talent as the 1933 original. It was remade in 1998).
- King Kong bears some similarities with an earlier effort by special effects head Willis O'Brien, The Lost World (1925), in which dinosaurs are found living on an isolated plateau. Scenes from a failed O'Brien project, Creation, were cannibalized for the 1933 Kong. Creation was also about a group of people stumbling into an environment where prehistoric creatures have survived extinction.
- An obscure Japanese clone, Japanese King Kong (和製キングコング Wasei Kingu Kongu?), directed by Torajiro Saito featuring an all-Japanese cast and produced by the Shochiku company, was also released in 1933. Detailed information outside of Japan about this film cannot be found. [2]
- King Kong Appears in Edo (江戸に現れたキングコング Edo ni Arawareta Kingu Kongu?). A claimed Japanese-made monster/period piece that was allegedly produced by a company called Zensho Kinema in which King Kong attacks medieval Edo (modern Tokyo), and arguably Japan's first kaiju (giant monster) film, predating Godzilla by sixteen years.
- The Mighty Kong, an unofficial (this is why it was called Mighty Kong rather than King Kong) straight to video 1998 animated musical/remake of the 1933 film. It featured the voices of Jodi Benson and Dudley Moore. This film also featured a song score by the Sherman Brothers.
- Other similar films include the Korean A*P*E[3], the Hong Kong made The Mighty Peking Man, the British Konga and Queen Kong, the Italian Kong Island (1968) (which capitalizes on the "Kong" name, even though the gorillas in the movie are normal size), and the American Mighty Gorga.
- The corpse of the 1976 King Kong makes an unauthorized appearance in the film Bye Bye Monkey.
- King Kong appears in the 1996 Imax film Special Effects: Anything Can Happen. In this film, the classic climax of the 1933 film is recreated with modern (at the time) digital special effects.
- King of the Lost World, a direct-to-video movie produced by The Asylum, taking elements from both King Kong and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World. The film was released on December 13, 2005, just one day before the theatrical release of Peter Jackson's version of King Kong.
- The frame at the top of the page is briefly seen in the movie Cloverfield.
[edit] Electronic games
Tiger Electronics released various King Kong games in the early 1980s. These include
- A Tabletop LCD game in 1981[4]
- A game for the Atari 2600 home video game system in 1982[5]
- A handheld game in 1982 in both a regular edition[6] and a large screen edition[7]
- An "Orlitronic" game (for the international markets) in 1983[8]
- A color "Flip-Up" game in 1984.[9]
Epoch Co. released two LCD games in 1982. One was King Kong: New York[10], and the other was King Kong: Jungle[11]
Konami released 2 games based on the film King Kong Lives in 1986. The first game was King Kong 2: Ikari no Megaton Punch for the Famicom, and the second was King Kong 2[12], for the MSX computer. These games were only released in Japan.
Data East released a pinball game[13] in 1990.
Planet Interactive released a Game Boy Advance game based on Kong: The Animated Series in 2002.[14]
Majesco Games released a Game Boy Advance game based on the straight to video animated film Kong: King of Atlantis in 2005.[15]
Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie which is based on the 2005 remake was released on all video game platforms. It was the first game released by Ubisoft on the Xbox 360.
Taiyo Elec Co released a King Kong Pachinko game in 2007.[16]
[edit] Pop culture references
King Kong, as well as the series of films featuring him, have been featured many times in popular culture outside of the films themselves, in forms ranging from straight copies to parodies and joke references, and in media from comics to video games.
An animated King Kong appears in The Beatles' 1968 movie Yellow Submarine, and The Simpsons spoofed King Kong during a segment of their "Treehouse of Horror III" Halloween episode.
King Kong was also the name of a song by Jibbs And chamillionaire. His name was featured several times in the song. But the song had little to nothing to do with the giant ape.
[edit] Theme Park Rides
Universal Studios had two popular King Kong rides at their theme parks in Hollywood and Orlando.
The first King Kong ride was part of the Universal Studios Studio Tour (Hollywood) in Hollywood. The ride opened in 1986 and was just destroyed in 2008 in a major fire. Days after the fire it was announced that the Kong attraction would not be rebuilt and would be replaced by something else[2].
A second more elaborate ride was constructed at the Orlando park in 1990. It was called Kongfrontation. The ride was closed down in 2002.
[edit] See also
- Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd.
- The Lost World (Arthur Conan Doyle)
- Edgar Wallace
- Gigantopithecus blacki
- Universal Monsters
- KING-TV
- KONG-TV
- King Kong (Toho)
- Donkey Kong
- Mighty Joe Young
- Ingagi
- Godzilla
- Clover
[edit] Notes and references
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The references used in this article may be clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting, or external linking. |
[edit] References
- ^ Official site
- ^ travel.latimes.com, Universal Studios Hollywood to replace ‘King Kong’ with new attraction
[edit] External links
- King Kong (1933)
- King Kong (2005)
- Other
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