It's safe to say I was skeptical from the outset, and frankly I'd also have doubts about anyone who wasn't. It's hard enough trying to imagine 'King Kong' rendered as an animated movie musical; for anyone who has seen similar titles - like, say, the animated flicks about the Titanic that Italian companies produced circa 2000 - we have firm reason to cast suspicion upon this sights unseen. The difficulty is that even if there's nothing outwardly amiss about the whole affair, one struggles to take seriously something that smashes together a classic, violent monster picture, one that is an allegory for the transatlantic slave trade (which is a whole discussion in and of itself), with the sensibilities of Saturday morning cartoons. How much entertainment can we truly derive from such a project, and how sincere was the production in the first place? Well, for what it's worth, I do think 'The mighty Kong' manages to be lightly enjoyable on its own merits, and it's not bad. It's also nothing that one especially needs to see, and is probably best regarded as a cinematic curiosity reserved for those who will watch anything and everything.
I think it's very reasonable to question how the native islanders were depicted, though in fairness, this is an issue that has plagued the medium at large since its inception. There's also the matter of Disney-fying the concept, replete with musical numbers that warp and arguably soften and sterilize the story - though, then again, the issue of how to convey an earnest story through the musical format has similarly been the crux of that genre for many years, in film and on stage. There are also the cutesy gags and silliness that characterize most any cartoon, contrasted with the sobriety of the narrative, and that may be a more significant factor weighing against this 1998 feature. I think the biggest issue stymieing 'The mighty Kong,' however, is that of all the biggest changes it makes, the worst is shortchanging the sense of adventure that Merian C. Cooper brought to the '33 masterpiece. Pretty much all the same beats, themes, and ideas are here, including the dubious, exploitative side of Carl Denham, but their power is diminished to a fragment of their former selves. The exploits of Jack and the ship's crew on Skull Island are reduced to unimpressive, flat, fleeting seconds, bereft of any thrills or sense of danger; the development of romance between Jack and Ann, and Kong's obsession with Ann, are both forced into small corners. With the latter facet in mind in particular, the last act of the tale, in which the chained Kong rages upon perceiving Ann to be threatened, is almost nonsensical. And while I've no issue with how writer William J. Keenan altered the ending, under Art Scott's direction that ending is rushed, and all too brusque, and is likewise robbed of its potential.
I suppose none of this is especially surprising; it's more or less what I expected. Still, though the storytelling suffers, this is at least well made in other regards. The animation is nothing remarkable, but it fits right in with contemporary fare of the late 90s. The songs themselves are suitably well written, with some being stronger than others, and it's just a question of how they're employed as part of the weaving of the saga. Likewise, though no one in the voice cast stands out in terms of their contributions, they all do their part to help realize the project. All told I must repeat that I don't think the movie is outright bad; the problem is that the superlative version of the story was already seen sixty-five years before, in a format that made every notion feel more tangible and meaningful than what we see here. Points are to be awarded for the novelty, perhaps, but the simple fact of the matter is that an animated musical interpretation of 'King Kong' was just unnecessary. If you can't get your hands on enough Kong material then I guess this is for you, and likewise for devotees of the musical stylings. Otherwise it's only the ardent, curious cinephile who will have any reason to watch 'The mighty Kong,' and for anyone else there's no need at all. There are worse ways to spend your time, but there are far better ways, too - and one of those came more than six decades before. Oh well.
