Kong (1976)

In the early 1970's, Universal Pictures,

who owned King Kong's copyright in the United States, planned to produce a
remake of the 1933 film entitled *The Legend of King*
Kong*. However, Dino De Laurentiis andParamount Pictures purchased*
the film rights to King Kong from RKO and produced a remake instead.
Paramount's 1976 remake was
a modest success, and ten years later De Laurentiis Entertainment Group
produced a sequel entitled *King Kong Lives*,
which received very negative reviews.

King Kong was discovered on a mysterious
fog-blanketed island in the Indian Ocean by an expedition from the Petrox Oil
Company. The head of the expedition, Fred Wilson, believed that the
previously-uncharted island contained valuable oil reserves, but instead the
expedition found that the island was inhabited by a tribe of natives who lived
in a village protected by a giant wall, which separated them from a fearsome
god they called "Kong." The natives kidnapped Dwan, a castaway that
had been picked up by the expedition team's ship, and attempted to sacrifice
her to Kong. Kong emerged from the jungle and grabbed Dwan, then immediately carried
her back off to the jungle. Kong took Dwan to a waterfall and washed her
underneath it, then blew on her to dry her. Dwan was surprised at how gentle
Kong actually was, and began to no longer fear him. Meanwhile, Jack Prescott, a
primate paleontologist who had stowed away onto the expedition's ship earlier,
joined with several members of the crew to look for Kong. En route, they
reached a giant fallen log that acted as a bridge over a deep chasm. Kong
spotted the men as they crossed the log bridge and grabbed the bridge, twisting
it until all of the men except Prescott and another named Boan fell to their
deaths. Prescott decided to continue pursuing Kong on his own, and headed
deeper into the jungle. Kong took Dwan to his lair and prepared to undress her,
but found himself attacked by a gigantic boa constrictor.
Kong set Dwan down and battled the snake, just as Prescott caught up and found
Dwan. The two escaped and headed back to the village, while Kong tore the giant
boa's jaws apart and killed it. Kong followed Dwan and Prescott back to the
village and broke through the wall. However, Wilson and the crew had sprung a
trap, which Kong fell into. Kong was then smothered with chloroform and knocked
unconscious. With no oil to bring back to New York after the oil deposits on
the island were found to be worthless, Wilson decided to bring Kong back
instead and use him as a publicity stunt. Kong was loaded into the cargo bay of
the ship and fed with tons and tons of fruit. When Kong began to go berserk and
smash against the wall of the cargo bay, Dwan fell into it, only for Kong to
catch her. Dwan's presence calmed Kong, and he set her down then fell asleep
for the remainder of the voyage.

When the expedition returned to New
York, Wilson arranged a grand exposition for Kong to promote his company. He
imprisoned Kong in a giant metal cage, and placed a giant crown on his head.
When Kong was mobbed by hordes of media reporters taking pictures, he became
enraged and tore through the metal bars restraining him. Wilson tried to run
away but was stepped on and killed by Kong. Kong rampaged through the city,
destroying cars, stomping on fleeing citizens, and even destroying a train.
Prescott and Dwan escaped over the Queensboro Bridge, expecting that Kong would
not be able to swim across the East River. However, Kong merely waded across
the river in pursuit of Dwan. Kong found Dwan in an abandoned bar and carried
her off. Kong noticed the World Trade Center in
the distance, and it reminded him of his lair back on his island. Kong climbed
the South Tower with Dwan, while the military pursued him. When Kong reached
the top of the tower, he was attacked by a group of soldiers wielding
flamethrowers. Kong jumped across the two towers and landed on the North Tower.
Out of options, the military sent helicopters armed with machine guns to take
Kong down. Kong set Dwan down and swatted at the helicopters, but was
mercilessly blasted by machine gun bullets, causing him to bleed profusely.
After destroying two choppers, Kong succumbed to his injuries and fell from the
tower, plummeting onto the World Trade Center plaza. As crowds of reporters and
spectators gathered around Kong, Dwan approached him and looked at him
tearfully just as his heart stopped beating.

### ***King Kong II: King Kong Lives***

King Kong in *King Kong Lives*

After being shot off of the World Trade Center in
1976, King Kong was not actually killed, but placed into a coma. Kong was taken
to the Atlantic Institute and kept alive but comatose for a decade. Dr, Amy
Franklin, the surgeon in charge of Kong, found a way to fully revive Kong by
giving him an artificial heart. However, Kong had lost so much blood that he
required a blood transfusion for the procedure to work. Thankfully, a female
member of Kong's species dubbed "Lady Kong"
was discovered in Borneo by Hank Mitchell and brought back to the Atlantic
Institute to provide blood for Kong. The transplant was a success, and Kong was
revived. However, Kong and Lady Kong mated while in captivity at the Institute,
and escaped together. The United States army relentlessly pursued both apes,
and tracked them down in the wilderness. Kong fell from a cliff and presumably
died in the resulting battle, and Lady Kong was captured and taken to a
military base. At the base, it was discovered that Lady Kong was pregnant with
Kong's child. Meanwhile, Kong survived the fall and rampaged through the
countryside in search of Lady Kong, although his artificial heart was slowly
failing. As Lady Kong went into labor, King Kong arrived near the military base
and was attacked by the military. Kong was gruesomely wounded in the battle,
but managed to destroy the military's forces and kill the insane army colonel
who tried to kill him and his mate. Kong entered the base and collapsed in
front of Lady Kong, who had just given birth to their son, Baby Kong. Gravely injured
and with his heart about to shut down, Kong smiled as he looked at his newborn
child before finally dying. Following Kong's death, Lady Kong and Baby Kong
were transported back to Borneo to live in peace together.

=== ***Kong: The***
Animated Series  ===
While Universal decided to
postpone production on their King Kong film in the late 1990's, BKN
International produced an animated series starring Kong to capitalize on the
success of TriStar Pictures's *Godzilla: The Series* in 2000.*Kong: The*
Animated Series*was moderately successful, featuring*
40 episodes and two spin-off direct-to-DVD films released after its
cancellation. The series features a clone of the original King Kong, made from
his DNA after he fell to his death from the Empire State Building in 1933. In
the present day, Kong resides on Kong Island, where he is cared for by the scientist who cloned
him, Dr. Lorna Jenkins. When a mad scientist, Professor Ramone De La Porta,
attempts to use the magical Primal Stones located on the island to unleash the
demon Chiros, Kong must join forces with Dr. Jenkins' grandson Jason, his
friend Eric, and the native girl Lua to
reclaim the Primal Stones and battle Chiros' forces.