King Kong: 13 Alternate Versions
“We need Kong. The world needs him.”—Nathan Lind, Godzilla vs. Kong
The creature from 1933’s classic film created by Merian C. Cooper has become one of the most famous icons, having been borrowed, riffed, parodied, or outright stolen for a number of movies, comics, stage productions, and more. Below are 13 worth mentioning—whether you think they’re good or not is up to you…
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King Kong: 13 Alternate Versions
01 The original film King Kong (1933)
1933’s King Kong, directed and produced by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, is known for its groundbreaking special effects—including stop-motion animation, matte painting, rear projection and miniatures—all of which were accomplished decades before the age of CGI. The film’s blockbuster success led to the quickie sequel Son of Kong (released the same year!), followed by a long line of remakes, offshoots, and copies.
“A wildly dramatic musical score by Max Steiner enhanced the action of the story. It was the first feature-length musical score written specifically for a US 'talkie' film, and was the first major Hollywood film to have a thematic score rather than background music, recorded using a 46-piece orchestra.”
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02 The British film Konga (1961)
An embarrassment for a number of reasons—I’ll admit, the part I hated most was how their giant ape, played by a man in an ape suit, walked like a, well, man—finds their giant ape prancing in Merry Old England. Konga stars Michael Gough as Dr. Charles Decker, who spent time in Africa, where he somehow gained the ability to transform things into giant monsters. Konga was also the basis for a 1960s comic book series drawn by Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko and published by Charlton Comics.
“It’s bad, but not quite laughably so, at least once you get used to the characters screaming bloody murder while being attacked by a dude in a cheap Halloween costume.”
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03 The Japanese film King Kong Vs. Godzilla (1962)
A 1962 Japanese kaiju film directed by Ishiro Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, King Kong vs. Godzilla was the third Godzilla film. In 1958, King Kong stop-motion animator Willis O’Brien pitched Toho a film where Kong battles a giant Frankenstein Monster. O’Brien trusted producer John Beck, who went behind O’Brien’s back to replace the giant Frankenstein Monster with Godzilla and abandoning O'Brien’s original story. (Ironically, Toho also stole the idea of the giant Frankenstein Monster and created a different picture.) King Kong vs. Godzilla was released in Japan in 1962, while a heavily edited version which changed the plot was released in the U.S. in 1963.
“Toho allowing Kong to beat their monster makes a bit more sense when taking into consideration the story and how both monsters were perceived during this time period.”
Related links
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) (Wikizilla, the kaiju encyclopedia)
Why Godzilla Was Originally Defeated By Kong (ScreenRant)
04 The Indian Hindi-language film Shikari (1963)
Shikari—which is translated to “Hunter”—is a 1963 film for the audience in India. Apparently, the biggest plus for the film is the music, which included songs that hit the music chart. The film, loosely based on Hollywood films Dr. Cyclops and King Kong, finds the owners of a struggling circus setting out to capture giant apes…which, apparently, were humans turned into gorillas by a mad scientist. (I haven’t seen this film, so I’m not sure about that part.)
“Otango doesn't get nearly enough screen time, which is instead spent on the human leads, a complaint still made about monster movies today.”
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Shikari—1963 film (Wikipedia)
05 The Japanese film King Kong Escapes (1967)
A co-production between Japanese studio Toho and American studio Rankin/Bass, King Kong Escapes is a kaiju film that, rather than serving as a sequel to 1962’s King Kong Vs. Godzilla, instead is loosely based on Rankin/Bass’ cartoon series The King Kong Show. The highlight of this film is that an evil scientist builds a robot version of King Kong, called “Mechani-Kong.”
“King Kong Escapes, in which the giant ape is enslaved by a James Bond-style bad guy and made to dig for Element X and then fight his robot double, is the silliest King Kong movie ever made and one of the most enjoyable.”
Related links
King Kong Escapes (Wikizilla, the kaiju encyclopedia)
30 Minutes on: "King Kong Escapes" (RogerEbert.com)
06 Dino De Laurentiis remake (1976) and sequel King Kong Lives (1986)
The big budget remake of King Kong is especially interesting because of its ecological angle, its inclusion of the World Trade Center, and the (mostly) failed attempt at using a giant robot. Starring Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, and Jessica Lange in her film debut, this version of King Kong won a noncompetitive Special Achievement Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, and was also nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Sound. A sequel, 1986’s King Kong Lives, featured Kong revived with a heart transplant, and meeting a giant female ape who is named “Lady Kong.”
“One of the 1976] film’s least subtle but most effective changes is to make the main characters part of the Petrox Oil Company, so there's always a hint of uber-American greed to their journey. Whether they found oil or a 20-foot-tall gorilla, they were always going to be plundering a place they never belonged.”
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07 Hong Kong film The Mighty Peking Man (1977)
The Mighty Peking Man—which had a Mandarin title “Xingxing Wang,” which means “Gorilla King”—was created to cash in on the craze surrounding the 1976 remake of King Kong. A powerful earthquake awakens a giant, ape-like creature who descends from the mountains into the treacherous jungles of India. Later, an expedition of greedy showmen capture the fearsome beast, bringing him—and the scantily clad blonde bombshell he protects—back to civilization. But payback comes when The Mighty Peking Man breaks loose and begins to run amok in the heart of the city! When the film was released in the U.S. in 1980, it was titled Goliathon.
“Mighty Peking Man is very funny, although a shade off the high mark of Infra-Man, which was made a year earlier, and is my favorite Hong Kong monster film. Both were produced by the legendary Runme Shaw, who, having tasted greatness, obviously hoped to repeat.”
Related links
The Mighty Peking Man (DVD Drive-In)
Mighty Peking Man movie review (1999) | Roger Ebert
08 Peter Jackson remake (2005)
Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson spent years working on a remake of King Kong, which was finally released as a three-hour-long epic in 2005. Starring Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Jack Black, and Andy Serkis, the film is set in 1933, the year of the original film. The fourth-highest-grossing film in Universal Pictures history at the time, King Kong was praised for its special effects, performances, and sense of spectacle.
“Peter Jackson did a fantastic job at bringing together a talented bunch of actors who could work the story in an entertaining fashion. The movie is filled with amazing dialogue all the way through, which really hooks audiences into everything that the characters are doing.”
09 Direct-to-video animated musical The Mighty Kong (1998)
The Mighty Kong is a 1998 American direct-to-video animated, musical adaptation of the classic King Kong story. Produced by Lana Productions, its voice actor cast included Jodi Benson (Princess Ariel in Disney’s The Little Mermaid) and Dudley Moore (in his final role before his death in 2002). The film features original songs by the Sherman Brothers.
“Although it may be a minor work, its pleasures are simple and functional, serving to translate the narrative and thrills of the 1933 original for a generation of cartoon-watchers reared on Animaniacs.”
Related links
The Mighty Kong (Wikizilla, the kaiju encyclopedia)
Remembering the '90s animated musical The Mighty Kong (AV Club)
10 Kong: The Animated Series (2000)
When King Kong fell to his death from the Empire State Building in 1933, DNA samples were later used to create a clone. Dr. Lorna Jenkins, a brilliant young scientist in genetic research, used Kong's DNA and DNA taken from her own grandson, Jason, to create a powerful new Kong. Furthermore, Dr. Jenkins has created the Cyber-Link, enabling Kong and Jason to merge into a single formidable force and become Mega-Kong!
Related links
Kong: The Animated Series (King Kong Fandom)
Kong: The Animated Series (Gojipedia)
11 Stage musical King Kong: The Eighth Wonder of the World (2013)
Based on the 1933 film, the staged musical King Kong: The Eighth Wonder of the World features music by Marius de Vries, lyrics by Michael Mitnick and Craig Lucas, a book by Lucas and additional musical and lyrical contributions by 3D, Sarah McLachlan, Guy Garvey, Justice, and The Avalanches. The show debuted in Australia in 2013, and was reworked for a Broadway production that premiered in 2018.
“Set in Depression-era New York City, this musical’s songs and lyrics never truly inspire, partly because there’s no need for it to be a musical.”
Related links
King Kong – Alive on Broadway (King Kong on Broadway)
'King Kong' Broadway Musical Review (Rolling Stone)
12 Comic book miniseries Kong on the Planet of the Apes (2017)
This comic book combines the giant ape with the stars of the Planet of the Apes series. The last remaining Kong is brought to Ape City—but when he sees what the Apes have done to humanity, Kong fights back! Following the events of the original Planet of the Apes 1968 film, Dr. Zaius and General Ursus lead a small group of soldiers to the Forbidden Zone to destroy any remaining evidence of Taylor’s time among them. To their surprise, they discover a Kong!
“There’s such a deep mythology to both properties, especially if you consider all of the amazing Kong and Apes comics that have come out in recent years. With this series, we've found a coherent, meaningful way of having these two worlds and their legacies fold into each other. The implications of the Ape civilization discovering the Kong world are huge, and that’s certainly on the forefront of the series.”
—mini-series writer Ryan Ferrier
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13 MonsterVerse’s Kong: Skull Island (2017) and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
Legendary’s MonsterVerse created a true crossover between Kong and Godzilla—a film that followed recent films starring each of them. Kong was reintroduced in 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, a reboot that stars Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John Goodman, John C. Reilly, and several others. Set in 1973, the film follows a team of scientists and Vietnam War soldiers to Skull Island where they meet a giant ape and other horrible creatures.
The 2021 sequel Godzilla vs. Kong—which also followed 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters—stars Millie Bobby Brown, Alexander Skarsgård, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Kyle Chandler, among others. In the film, Kong clashes with Godzilla as humans lure the ape into the Hollow Earth to retrieve a power source for a secret weapon to stop Godzilla’s mysterious rampages. After being delayed from a 2020 release date due to the COVID pandemic, Godzilla vs. Kong was released theatrically and on HBO Max in 2021. The film broke several pandemic box office records, and also had the most successful launch on HBO Max’s at the time.
“An early screening of the November 20 release went very well with the test audience. Director Adam Wingard’s Instagram post, believed to be related to the screening, exclaimed ‘Yesterday was a great day for these two fellas!’”
