TV Times

'Mighty Joe Young', a family fantasy film revolving around a giant gorilla is now being screened at Rio Cinema Colombo.

The box office hit produced in1998 was nominated for the Best Visual Effects at 1999 Oscar award. Directed by Ron Underwood to the story of Ruth Rose the film stars.

Bill Paxton, Charlize Theron, Rade Serbedzija, Regina King and Peter Firth "Mighty Joe Young" follows essentially the same plot as its namesake from 1949 (which suffered audience ennui due to its numerous similarities to "King Kong"), in which a giant gorilla is taken out of the jungle and winds up creating havoc in a large city. This time around, Joe is a gorilla with a genetic anomaly that makes him grow faster and larger than any of his simian colleagues. He shares a special friendship with Jill Young (Mika Boorem), the daughter of Dr. Ruth Young (Linda Purl), who is studying Joe and his family in their natural habitat. However, tragedy strikes one night when Strasser (Rade Sherbedgia), a cruel animal poacher, coldly shoots both Joe's mother and Ruth before scurrying away into the night. Before dying, Ruth asks her daughter to make a promise to protect Joe. With both their mothers gone, Jill and Joe become inseparable.

Twelve years later, both Jill (now played by Charlize Theron) and Joe have grown up. Joe, having reached adulthood, is over fifteen feet tall and weighs over 2000 pounds, making it very difficult for Jill to keep him hidden from poachers.

In rides Gregg O'Hara (Bill Paxton of "A Simple Plan" and "Titanic"), a maverick zoologist who has heard of a mythical giant gorilla in the mountains and has come to see for himself if the stories are true. To his delight and almost to his detriment, he discovers Joe and convinces Jill that the California Animal Conservatory would be the safest place for her furry friend. With the threat of poachers closing in around Joe, Jill hesitantly goes along with Gregg's offer. Of course, once there the former hunter shows up seeking revenge. Terrorized the gorilla without letting his human handlers know, the gorilla goes on a rampage across Los Angeles.