King Kong

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King Kong is the name of a fictional giant ape from the legendary Island of Skull Mountain, an island often incorrectly referred to as Skull Island, who has appeared in several works since 1933. Most of these bear his name, and include the groundbreaking King Kong (1933 film), the film remakes of King Kong (1976 film) and King Kong (2005 film), and numerous sequels.

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, "it was beauty who killed the beast", as he only climbed the building in the first place in an attempt to protect actress Ann Darrow (Dwan in the 1976 remake).

A mockumentary about Skull Island on the DVD for the 2005 remake gives Kong's scientific name as Megaprimatus kong, and states that his species may have evolved from Gigantopithecus.

The King Kong character was conceived and created by US filmmaker Merian C. Cooper.

Filmography

King Kong (1933 film). The original, classic film, is remembered for its pioneering special effects using stop-motion models, animatronics and evocative story.
The Son of Kong. A sequel released the same year, it concerns a return expedition to Skull Island that discovers Kong's son.

(1962)

King Kong vs. Godzilla. 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 King Kong (1933 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. 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 The King Kong Show, as indicated by the use of its recurring villain, Dr. Who, in the same capacity.
King Kong (1976 film). 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 Academy Awards for special effects (shared with Logan's Run (1976 film)).
King Kong Lives. 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 film). A Universal Studios 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.

Late in 2005, the BBC and Hollywood trade papers reported that a 3-D film stereoscopy 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 Parks, or a digital 3D version for general release in 2007.

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 1912 novel The Lost World (Arthur Conan Doyle), which was itself made into a The Lost World (1925 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."

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 King Kong (comic)#Monster Comics version and the 2005 big-screen King Kong (2005 film).

The original publisher was Grosset & Dunlap. Paperback editions by Bantam Books (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 (literature) under the byline of Walter F. Ripperger. This is unrelated to the 1932 novel.

Over the decades, there have been numerous King Kong (comic) 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 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.

Television

The King Kong Show. 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 change to Gorilla.

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 in film, through the same studio and with much of the same principal talent as the 1933 original. It was Mighty Joe Young (1998 film) in 1998).
King Kong bears some similarities with an earlier effort by special effects head Willis O'Brien, The Lost World (1925 film) (1925), in which dinosaurs are found living on an isolated plateau. Scenes from a failed O'Brien project, Creation (1931 film), 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, , 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.
. A claimed Japanese-made monster/period piece that was allegedly produced by a company called Zensho Kinema (which apparently never produced another film) in which King Kong attacks medieval Edo (modern Tokyo), and arguably Japan's first kaiju (giant monster) film, predating Godzilla (1954 film) by sixteen years. There is no known evidence that this film ever existed. Outside of various claims on message boards, there are no known stills, posters, reviews, or promotional materials that would indicate that this film was ever produced. There are claims that Fuminori Ohashi, who would go on to create the suit for the titular monster in Godzilla (1954 film), created the special effects for this film (if true, that would be his first special effects assignment followed by 16 years of unemployment in that field). There appears to be no known documented mention of this film before 2002. The only purported evidence present are very small image files of a man in an ape suit holding what appears to be a doll. Claims that this film exists are predicated on supposed photographs in "rare books from Japan" (The names of these "rare books" are never stated). As of 2007, no evidence has been presented that proves that this film ever actually existed.
The Mighty Kong, an unofficial (this is why it was called Mighty Kong rather than King Kong) straight to video 1998 in film animated musical film/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, the Hong Kong made The Mighty Peking Man, the British Konga (movie) and Queen Kong, the Italian Kong Island (1968) (which captializes 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.

Pop culture references Main article: King Kong in popular culture

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.

The 2005 remake in particular was spoofed during The Mighty Boosh live tour in 2006 - with the character of List of major characters from The Mighty Boosh#Bollo (a talking gorilla) stating that since the last TV series he had auditioned for the part of King Kong, and was fairly certain director Peter Jackson was in the bar before the show eating a flapjack. At several points during the show, he signals to Peter as he demonstrates his acting ability, oblivious to the fact that it was already available on DVD and he hadn't got the part!

An animated King Kong appears in The Beatles' 1968 movie Yellow Submarine (film).

See also

The Lost World (Arthur Conan Doyle)
Edgar Wallace
Gigantopithecus blacki
Universal Monsters
KING-TV
KONG-TV
King Kong (Toho)
Donkey Kong
Mighty Joe Young
The short story "King Kong" by Edgar Wallace and Draycott Dell appears in Movie Monsters by Peter Haining, Severn House, UK, 1988.

Notes and references External links

King Kong (1933)

King Kong: An Entertaining Monster
Movie Tour Guide.com - Maps and directions to King Kong (1933) Filming Locations
King Kong on Laser Disc
King Kong 2-disc DVD edition review

King Kong (2005)

Official King Kong Movie Website
Peter Jackson's King Kong reviewed
Rottentomatoes.com reviews, trailers, posters, and forum.

Other

The Godzilla Shrine
KingKongTheMovie.com News and analysis
Planet Nintendo's King Kong 2 video game page
Article on Kong's history in print
Excerpt from the original novel, on publisher's website
Kong is King.net
"The Kong Files," a series of columns about Kong