31 Days of Halloween - Day 6 - Movie 2

It's been a long time since I've watched "Son of Kong" (1933), long enough to forget how bad it is. It's really obvious that this sequel was rushed through production to cash in on the success of "King Kong" released earlier that same year. The premise that gets the action under way is actually a good starting point, with Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) being inundated by lawsuits for all of the deaths and property damage caused by Kong's rampage through New York City. Running from his obligations, he finds himself back on Skull Island, with another pretty actress in tow, this time in search of treasure. They find this and a smaller, gentler, paler, version of Kong who helps them out and tags along like a big puppy. Little Kong comes across as a mugging version of the abominable snowman from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (1964) with Chewbacca's voice. Even though the bulk of the movie doesn't contain stop motion animation, the stop motion and the models themselves which were built for this production are sloppy, and cartoony looking. You can see that the animators didn't even have time to repair the models as they began to fall apart. Little Kong's fingers are evidence of this wear and tear. In many scenes you can see tears in the rubber.

Kids may like this movie if they can get through the long set-up before the arrival on Skull Island, but adults should stay away.