Son of Kong

• Release Date: December 22, 1933
• Directed by: Ernest B. Shoedsack
• Written by: Ruth Rose
• Runtime: 1 hour 9 minutes
• Series: King Kong

Not long after I first watched the original King Kong, I found an old copy of the Crestwood House King Kong book in my grandparents' basement. Written for kids who were just starting to explore the world of monster movies, the book laid out a simple retelling of the events of Kong, some details about its conception and production, and a few brief tidbits about other movies featuring Kong or other giant apes. I remember being surprised and thinking "Wait, there's a second one?!" when I read the book's two-page coverage of Son of Kong. All it had was a brief plot synopsis and a couple of stillshots, but that was enough to get me hooked. Since I loved the first movie so much, I read those two pages over and over, just wondering what this mysterious second Kong movie could be like. My curiosity was finally laid to rest when my mom got me a copy of it along with the first movie for Christmas. As an adult, it's really funny for me to remember how excited little kid me was to watch what was clearly a rushed, cash-grab sequel. That being said, it may not pack nearly as big of a punch as its predecessor, but Son of Kong still has plenty of charm to it.

The plot of the movie is very simple: Carl Denham, broke and threatened with dozens of lawsuits over the destruction that Kong brought to New York, flees the country in search of a way to change his fortunes. While abroad, he comes into possession of a treasure map that eventually leads him and his new love interest back to Skull Island, where they run into "Kiko", the 12-foot tall albino son of Kong. I don't like being too harsh on this movie just for the circumstances in which it was made. With King Kong being such a massive box-office success, RKO Pictures hoped to replicate that success as quickly as possible. Son of Kong was rushed into production, and the movie was written, produced and released in less than nine months' time. It's sort of amazing that they managed to churn the thing out so quickly, but because of the severe time crunch, everything about Son of Kong feels rushed in some way.

The cut corners in this thing are glaring: the movie is only barely over an hour long, and the first 40 minutes are just the characters slowly making their way to Skull Island. When they finally get there, elaborate sets like the jungle village are nowhere to be found, and most of the areas they explore are the same few small jungle sets dressed up in different ways. Stop-motion animation also plays a much smaller part in the movie, and it's really only shown off in the last 20 minutes or so, which is a shame considering how it was the central attraction of the first movie. Kong's son is brought to life using the same exact model and life-size props used before, just with white fur to set him apart from his dad. Willis O'Brien returned to lead the animation, and the models that are used do feature the same amount of craftsmanship and detail as the ones used in Kong, but their movements are noticeably jerkier, with a few obvious jump cuts in certain shots. Even if the stop-motion is a little rough around the edges, it does still lead to a few fun action sequences, such as the crew being chased down by a triceratops, or Kiko duking it out with a large cave bear. I can only image that if the filmmakers had been given more time and money to work with, the action sequences would have been much more frequent and as elaborate as they were originally envisioned.

Coming off of the nonstop action and large amount of onscreen violence in King Kong, the tone of Son of Kong is much lighter and funnier, and with some of its music choices and comedic timing, it even comes across as a kids' film in a few spots. This tonal shift was an intentional decision by writer Ruth Rose, who is quoted as saying "If you can't make it bigger, you'd better make it funnier." And honestly, given the extremely truncated production time and lack of a proper budget, it really was the best decision they could have made. I've always had a big soft spot for Kiko, and I appreciate that the filmmakers gave him his own characterization instead of making him another destructive ape with a new coat of paint. Denham rescues him from some quicksand due to feeling guilty for what he did to Kong - and in return, Kiko becomes his protector of sorts. A lot of his mannerisms are where the comedic tone of this movie really shines through. He has this wide-eyed, innocent expression that's a lot cuter than the fierce and angry face of his old man. The sounds that he makes are a little bit like giant ape baby talk, and when Denham bandages his hurt finger at one point, he sucks it to make it feel better. One goofy moment that always gets a laugh out of me is when he's handling a dinosaur's dead body - he scratches his head in confusion, turns his wide-eyed face to the camera, and literally blinks and shrugs. Sadly, the big fella also meets a tragic fate, but it feels heroic and brings a thrilling ending to an otherwise lighthearted romp. I love the guy, and I'd really like to see one of the modern Kong films do some sort of a tribute to him one day.

Overall, I always have a lot of fun with Son of Kong despite its status as a semi-forgotten sequel. It gives me more of the sense of adventure and big monster action that I loved the first time around, even if it is at a vastly reduced scope. If you loved King Kong and are expecting something of the same caliber, you may find yourself disappointed with this one. But if you manage your expectations and are up for a quick and simple return trip to Skull Island with a comedic touch, dig out a copy of this and give it a go.