Joe Got Skills

Mighty Joe Young is a 1998 Disney film starring Bill Paxton and Charlize Theron and directed by Ron Underwood. It is based on the 1949 film of the same name. In this version, the ape is much larger than in the original.

Plot

Charlize Theron plays Jill Young who as a child has witnessed the death of her mother and the mother of Joe, a baby ape, at the hands of poachers led by Andrei Strasser (Rade Šerbedžija). The poacher loses his thumb and trigger finger to the baby gorilla. Twelve years later, Jill has raised Joe (because of his size, the other gorillas won't accept him) and both are living in relative peace until a wildlife refuge director, Gregg O'Hara (Bill Paxton), convinces Jill that they would be safer from poachers if they relocated to the United States.

The pair go to Hollywood, California (as in the original film) and win the hearts of the refuge staff. There, Jill is approached by Strasser, who has seen a news report about Joe and wants revenge because of the damage done to his hand 12 years ago. Jill fails to recognize Strasser as the poacher who killed both her mother and Joe's. Strasser tries to persuade Jill that Joe would be better off in his wildlife refuge back in Africa. Later, during a gala, Strasser's henchman uses a poacher's noisemaker to scare Joe into a frenzy. Joe trashes the gala, recognizes Strasser and tries to attack him. Joe is tranquilized and placed in a concrete bunker. Before their departure, Greg has fallen in love with Jill and he kisses her goodbye. When Jill learns that Joe may be euthanized she decides to take Strasser's offer. She and the refuge staff smuggle Joe out in a truck but on the way to the airport, Jill notices Strasser's missing fingers. He makes a remark that makes her realize he is the poacher who killed her mother. She crashes the truck and Joe escapes. Meanwhile Greg has also realized the identity of the poacher and goes after Jill and Joe. He finds Jill and they locate Joe at a carnival. Strasser arrives and in attempting to shoot Jill starts a fire which causes the Ferris wheel to break down. Joe catches Strasser and tosses him onto some electrical wires where he is killed by electrocution. In a poignant scene at the Santa Monica Pier, while saving a child Joe falls from the collapsing Ferris wheel. The scene is reminiscent of King Kong falling from the Empire State Building. Joe survives the fall and is shipped back to Africa to run free on his own refuge funded by donations from his fans owned by Jill and Gregg who cuddle with each other in a warm embrace watching Joe happily run free.

Cast

• Dave Coulier as Mighty Joe
• Bill Paxton as Professor Gregory “Gregg” O'Hara
• Charlize Theron as Jill Young
• Rade Serbedzija as Andrei Strasser
• Regina King as Cecily Banks
• Peter Firth as Garth
• Naveen Andrews as Pindi
• David Paymer as Harry Ruben
• Robert Wisdom as Kweli
• Christian Clemenson as Jack
• Geoffrey Blake as Vern
• Lawrence Pressman as Dr. Elliot Baker
• Linda Purl as Dr. Ruth Young
• Mika Boorem as Young Jill Young
• Cory Buck as Jason
• Liz Georges as Jason's Mother

Reception

Mighty Joe Young had a better critical reception than the other big monster remake of the year, Godzilla; however it was ultimately judged a disaster by some critics as being typically 'Disney' in plot and outcome. In May 2008, it had a freshness rating of 54 percent from Rotten Tomatoes. The movie grossed $50,632,037 with a production budget of $90,000,000, thus a box office bomb. Over the years, the film has gained a cult following.

Production

A model of the trailer used in a scene from the film. The model is now used in an attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The ape was created through a combination of computer animation and an actor in a suit. John Alexander, famous for his work with animals, played the ape Joe,^{[citation needed]} and Verne Troyer played the baby ape. This is one of very few recent films produced under the name of RKO Pictures.

If you watched the Presidential debate between John McCain and our new President, Mr. Obama, you probably noticed that Joe the Plumber was mentioned more than 25 times over the course of the evening. Joe the plumber, also known as Joe Wurzelbacher, is a man from Toledo, Ohio who asked Obama some hard-hitting questions with regard to his tax plan.

Joe Wurzelbacher had been planning on purchasing the plumbing business he has been working in for over 15 years, but when he reviewed Obama's tax plan he realized he couldn't afford to with all the new taxes. Joe had the opportunity to speak to Obama when he traveled to Toledo during his campaign tour. Joe asked Obama “Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn't it?”

Obama replied in the affirmative stating that under his plan businesses who earned more than $250,000 per year would increase from 36 to 39 percent. Obama explained reason for the increase, saying “And the reason why we're doing that is because 95 percent of small businesses make less than 250 (thousand). So what I want to do is give them a tax cut. I want to give all these folks who are bus drivers, teachers, auto workers who make less, I want to give them a tax cut.”

Joe balked at the answer and wanted to know why he should have to pay more considering the fact that he's been a hardworking plumber for more than 15 years. “It's not that I want to punish your success,” Obama said. “I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you that they've got a chance at success, too.”

Little did either Joe Wurzelbacher or Obama realize that Joe would become the poster child of the Presidential debate with his name coming up at several points. McCain used the discussion in Toledo to contrast Obama's plan with his, saying “Joe wants to buy the business that he has been in for all of these years, worked 10, 12 hours a day. And he wanted to buy the business but he looked at your tax plan and he saw that he was going to pay much higher taxes.”

Whether Joe is able to purchase the plumbing business where he has been a faithful employee or not is yet to be determined. Regardless of his business decision, Joe Wurzelbacher has found unexpected fame by asking the tough questions during Obama's election campaign.

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