Ray Harryhausen on King Kong — Then and Now

Written by Ian Cullen on July 20, 2005 – 12:14 am -

By Dr. Joe Di Lella

Sci Fi Pulse roving reporter Dr. Joe Di Lella was out and about last weekend at the San Diego Comic Con where he mingled with amongst other people Ray Harryhausen who is credited for practically re-inventing the art of ‘Stop Motion Animation,’ and is credited for work on movies such as Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans and the Sinbad movies of the 60′s and 70′s. Below is Dr. Joe’s exclusive report about his encounter with the legendary stop motion animator.

At this year’s edition of the San Diego Comic Con, Ray Harryhausen entertained a room of over 200 fans with anecdotes, comments and jokes on his take of the original and the upcoming version of King Kong . Sitting on a panel titled, A Spotlight on Ray Harryhausen (and all things King Kong), Ray and a group of ape experts consisting of Mark Cotta Vaz, Joe DeVito, Brad Strickland and Arnold Kunnert spoke to the past and the present appeal of the giant gorilla.

“It’s hard to analyze,” says Ray. “I’ve never done so even though I’ve watched it over 200 times.” When pressed for an answer, Ray continued, “Certainly stop-motion is a big factor, the story structure and the music.” Mr. Harryhausen went on to suggest that the musical score took audiences of the Depression Era into a fantasy arena that was hard to escape until the final credits rolled across the movie screen.

Max Steiner’s score was the first complete music soundtrack for a talking movie. The ‘operatic’ nature of the film enhanced the visual images. “Whenever one recalls the music, images come to mind,” says Ray. Fans of all ages can imagine dramatic scenes of the giant of battling beasts, airplanes and his worst enemy – humanity itself.

Will special effects ruin Peter Jackson’s rendition of the classic 1935 film? “Fay Ray can’t compete with CGI, but that doesn’t matter – the original movie was ahead of its time.”

What was his relationship with Willis O’Brien, the creator of stop-motion animation in King Kong? “Willis was an easy man to talk to,” especially for a green up-and-coming artist like Ray Harryhausen. “Not many people were interested in stop-motion in those days,” says Ray. “When I approached him, he must have thought I was unique, and treated me with respect and friendship.”

When O’Brien worked on Mighty Joe Young , which the eighteen-year-old Harryhausen collaborated on, Ray was amazed as to the work put into the continuity drawings. “Willis would create twenty a day,” says Ray. “And from those drawings, the story structure was created.” According to Mr. Harryhausen, when O’Brien drew King Kong shaking people off a tree, the focus was on the branch – not the gorilla. This made production costs cheaper. It also allowed the story to zoom in – whenever possible – on the star player, King Kong. “He was the only central character of the show, and that’s the way O’Brien portrayed him in the continuity drawings.”

Many years later when Ray and his wife took a trip to Sumatra , the stop-motion successor was terribly disappointed not to see a skull or a big wall on the island. “Even though in the back of my mind I knew I wouldn’t see it, I still half-expected to see that big wall” (the one used to keep Kong from the villagers). Since most of the movie lines are still quotable even today, Ray decided to use one on the first native he met in Sumatra . “I spoke a greeting that I had heard from the movie, and the native looked at me, hands on hips, and in perfect English responded: “What are you talking about?” That brought a chuckle from the fans.

Though Willis O’Brien “glamorized” King Kong as a half-human/half-ape creature, the gorilla was extremely child-like in its movements. “The creature’s off-balance movements echoed those of children,” said Ray. “This was a conscious effort by O’Brien to implant a certain human innocence in the creature” that made Kong vulnerable. “Machines are not empathetic,” but King Kong was, thanks to O’Brien.

Ray believes that Jackson ‘s 2006 version of King Kong will be a wonderful epic because, “he cares about the story as much as all of us on this panel.”

Yet, will new movies like Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride make Ray’s A-list too? “Movies like that, are ‘puppet’ films,” according to Ray. “They move with the help of mechanical means, but that’s okay. Different stories require different technologies.”

Whatever the medium, Ray says, “I believe stop-motion will live forever.” And who can argue with a film-maker who has created such classics as The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad , It Came from Beneath the Sea , Mysterious Island and Jason and the Argonauts ?


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