In the movie King Kong (1933, 1976, 2005), why did Carl Denham want a giant ape from Skull Island when he could've gotten one of those dinosaurs?
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Yellowdog (
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January 19th, 2018
One thing we learn from Jurassic Park is that people will pay anything to see live dinosaurs.
Now, don’t get me wrong, Kong is really impressive—twenty feet at the shoulders when a quadroped and maybe fifty when standing erect— bigger than most dinosaurs and though less sharp-toothed and agile, every bit as brutal.
But anyone can see an ape (although not that big). Wouldn’t people rather see a tyrannosaurus or stegosaurus or tricerotops rather than just a giant ol dumb monkey? There were plenty of dinosaurs on Skull Island, and they were all more interesting.
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24 Answers
Plot necessities. Hard to visualize a stegasour climbing the Empire State Building, or for that matter falling for the whitest woman possible.0
Dinosaurs wasn’t much popular thing at that time ( in 1976) I guess..!
Yeah, agree with @stanleybmanly. The love interest thing wouldn’t be possible with a dinosaur.
Because that would not work with the whole african slavery metaphor.
He knew Kong was bad to the bone and had no fear of lame WWI era biplanes. Not like that goofy reptile Godzilla.” Ohh look at my big teeth I’m bad”. Epic fail you slimey lizard.
Besides, look what the dinosaur did to Tokyo. OHNO!!
Absolutely. Kong had care for his surroundings. That shit for brains dinosaur just tears things up right and left.
Nooooo! Say it ain’t so Joe! Did you see the dino kicking ass on top of that building? What I thought.
Godzilla don’t need no stinking climb on top of a building like some peasant. He just melts it.
Oh yeah? I didn’t see reptile brain kicking no giant ass tarantula butt. He just hangs around flossing his teeth. Look ma, no cavities!
This is for the youngsters among us who might not be aware of what Godzilla did to Tokyo.
I call foul ‘Zilla has a flamethrower and longer fangs.
Poor spider. He weren’t a bad spider he weren’t. Misunderstood, that’s all. Bad Lizard!
Artificial plot reasons don’t explain why Carl didn’t prefer a dinosaur. They just point to the plot being silly in yet another way.
Thanks, Zaku
I am the original poster. Though I like Godzilla, he/she is a whole different class of monster than King Kong and dinosaurs.
Godzilla is hundreds of feet tall (over 300, maybe closer to 400) whereas King Kong is only about fifty, Godzilla’s teeth are bigger than Kong’s hands. And Godzilla is a walking nuclear holocaust—not only would cities burn but would be radioactively uninhabitable for thousands of years. In a real fight, King Kong would be vaporized after beibng swept under by a nuclear shockwaveGodzilla is an acceptable premise but really most other monsters Godzilla would fight are kind of silly—leave Godzilla to defending his/her young or to stumbling among human cities when dazed from a millions-and-millions year slumber.
Dinosaurs and Kong is more of a local fight—but on exhibit I’d rather see a styracosaurus or stegasaurus or T-rex over a giant monkey any ol’ day. Kong on all fours is about the size of a T-rex upright but most meat-eating dinosaurs would win in a fight with Kong, except the ape is probably much smarter. Maybe even compassionate.
Whose movie was it, anyway? They’re only monsters, but still. Did you ever see Clint Eastwood hone in on a John Wayne flick?
I enjoyed King Kong vs Godzilla as a kid, but they are different sized monsters. King Kong is bigger than many dinosaurs are but no bigger than Godzilla’s foot. Godzilla is essentially a metaphor for Hiroshima or some greater nuclear catastrophe the Japanese, neigh all the world, feared. King Kong is a Beauty and the Beast metaphor— and yes, it may seem unlike me but I DO buy into the African Slavery metaphor for King Kong.
Still, I’d rather see a dinosaur than an ape if they are going to all the trouble to bring something over.
Easy answer. Kong was not native to Skull Island. He was originally Norwegian. The US didn’t want any immigration from that shit hole Skull Island…
Kong had much more to offer. He was much smarter than the dinos, and with opposable thumbs he could offer more job skills. Kong’s ownership of the vast oil reserves of Skull Island also meant that he would have friends in high places.
It almost happened. Until the Republicans saw him scouting for apartments to buy in New York city with his Caucasian girlfriend.
At least one scholar has pointed out that an orangutan already lived in a golden tower in that city. The orangutan’s fragile ego couldn’t take the competition. Kong’s hands were much bigger.
Now it really gets crazy. That orangutan eventually became the POTUS! Then, he used/misused his power to wage war on the planet, and all of it’s non-white, uber wealthy inhabitants.
Kong, meanwhile, has an excellent job and government after moving back to Norway. Free health care to boot! He did have to worry about the evil orangutan’s ally in Russia though. Kong now reminiscences about the good old days, when all he had to worry about were carnivorous giant reptiles. Now, the world has bigger problems…
If Kong was Norwegian, he’d be a Troll.
(Not a bad idea, really—Carl Denham goes to Norway and catches a Troll, brings it to New York… )
How successful a film was Troll Hunter? — the giant troll impervious to bullets but, in the morning sunrise, turns to stone atop the Empire State Building or the New World Trade Center…
I have read the description of Troll Hunter. Haven’t watched it. I wouldn’t call it successful. A stone troll on the Empire state building would be cool…
With orange hair, glowing like the torch of the Statue of Liberty
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