Mighty Joe Young (1998 film) narrative location Africa
Plot
As a child, Jill Young and her mother, Ruth Young, a primatologist, observe and study mountain gorillas in the Pangani Mountains in Central Africa, an infant gorilla named Joe and his mother. One evening, a group of poachers led by Andrei Strasser storm the mountains and Kweli, Ruth's friend, alerts her to the men as she is putting Jill to bed. Ruth heads into the mountains, and Jill follows shortly afterward. Strasser shoots and kills both Joe and Jill's mothers and when he tries to capture Joe, he bites off his trigger finger and thumb, causing him to swear revenge on the little gorilla. Before Ruth dies, she has Jill promise to protect Joe.  
Twelve years later, Joe has now grown to a height of 15 feet (4.6 m) tall and weighing 2,000 pounds (910 kg). As a result, other gorillas will not accept him and he is still vulnerable to poachers. Gregg O'Hara, a wildlife refuge director working at an animal conservatory in Los Angeles convinces Jill that they would be safer if they relocated there.
At the conservatory, the trio win the hearts of the refuge staff, who put Jill in charge of Joe. Jill meets Strasser, who now runs a fraudulent animal preserve in Botswana, while secretly selling animal organs on the black market, and is eager for revenge after seeing Joe featured on a news report. At first, Jill does not recognize him, since his right hand is concealed in his coat pocket. Strasser attempts to convince Jill that Joe would be better off in his wildlife refuge back in Africa. During a gala, Strasser's henchman Garth uses a poacher's noisemaker to scare Joe into a frenzy. Joe trashes the gala, with the intention of attacking Strasser, but is captured, and imprisoned in a concrete bunker.
When Jill discovers that Joe may be euthanized as he is perceived as a danger to the public, she accepts Strasser's offer. She and the refuge staff smuggle Joe out in a truck, still not knowing Strasser's true colors. Before their departure, Gregg, who has fallen in love with Jill, kisses her goodbye. Shortly after Jill leaves, the maintenance workers come in with the poacher's noisemaker that they found while cleaning up the gala, making Gregg realize Jill and Joe are in danger and he drives after them.
On the way to the airport, Jill notices the half-glove covering Strasser's missing fingers and recognizes him. She fights Strasser and Garth, then jumps from the truck onto Hollywood Boulevard, leading to several automobile accidents. Joe sees her and tilts the truck over onto its side and flees, wreaking havoc in the Hollywood city and being chased by helicopters, before arriving at a carnival at the Santa Monica Pier.
Gregg finds Jill, who tells him of Strasser's intentions and her history with him. They track Joe to the carnival where he is playfully wreaking havoc. Strasser, determined to prevent Jill from exposing him, arrives and attempts to shoot her. But Garth, appalled at Strasser's ruthlessness, turns against him and shoves the gun away from Jill, causing Strasser to misfire at a spotlight, which starts a fire that quickly spreads to many game stands and the Ferris Wheel. Gregg helps evacuate its riders, but the wheel breaks down, leaving a young boy named Jason stranded at the top. After knocking Garth unconscious, Strasser attempts to kill Jill in person, but Joe sneaks up behind them and throws the evil poacher onto a nearby power line.  Unable to grip the wire due to his missing fingers, Strasser falls onto a transformer below and is killed by electrocution.
As police and firefighters converge on the scene, Joe notices Jason at the top of the burning Ferris Wheel pleading for help and starts to climb it. Jill convinces readying officers not to shoot Joe as he is trying to save the child. After grabbing Jason, the Ferris Wheel collapses, but Joe jumps off and lands clear of the burning wheel, the boy unhurt. Joe is knocked unconscious, but he soon awakens and Jill mentions that they need to raise money to open a reserve for him. Jason donates some change to Jill after hearing this, prompting nearby civilians to contribute.
Joe is returned to Uganda where Jill and Gregg open the "Joe Young Reserve". Finally free, Joe runs off into the jungle.