Heavily due to the success of King Kong vs Godzilla, Toho wanted to keep Kong around. The first project was Continuation: King Kong vs Godzilla, a direct sequel to the 1962 cash cow that -adjusted for inflation- was easily the highest grossing Godzilla film of all time. That project never came to fruition, but Toho later collaborated with Rankin/Bass in hopes of making a small series of Kong films. The first project was discarded by Rankin/Brass but didn't die out completely; Toho simply swapped out King Kong and replaced his role with Godzilla, which was released as 1966's Godzilla vs The Sea Monster. The script that actually did succeed was this one, King Kong Escapes.
With that bit of history out of the way, this movie is really aimed at a younger audience, so if you want something more serious, I'd kindly recommend you look elsewhere. The plot is totally ludicrous, with an evil mad scientist (that apparently is filthy rich) that wants to mine "Element X". Naturally, you'd build an enormous 35 meter mech named Mechani-Kong, right? It's interesting that when you mention a giant Japanese robot monster you'd be inclined to think of Mechagodzilla, who amongst giant mechs is far more popular than anything the world over. And yet, this here Mechani-Kong was in a movie nearly a decade earlier.
Speaking of monsters, we should probably start with King Kong. He looks terrible, almost like a joke. Will kids mind? Probably not. Mechani-Kong actually doesn't look bad. The giant snake would've been fun to have had his brief encounter with King Kong extended a bit, and I wonder if the 1976 King Kong remake was inspired by the snake used here rather than the dinosaur of the 1933 original. This film just seems to have given birth to a number of things, whether it actually did or not. We can't forget about Gorosaurus. He looks pretty good, and his kangaroo kick was fun stuff. Corny as heck, but fun. This is also actually the first film for Gorosaurus at Toho, although he's better known for his role in the much more popular Godzilla franchise, most notable being 1969's Destroy All Monsters.
This is a fun movie, something you could buy for your kids or just enjoy on your own as long as you understand its intentions. I bought the film and enjoy it. I can't give it high marks for a number of listed reasons above (did I mention King Kong seems to understand English/Japanese as long as the female lead speaks slowly and loudly enough?), but I still recommend it if it sounds like something you could appreciate, quirks and all.
With that bit of history out of the way, this movie is really aimed at a younger audience, so if you want something more serious, I'd kindly recommend you look elsewhere. The plot is totally ludicrous, with an evil mad scientist (that apparently is filthy rich) that wants to mine "Element X". Naturally, you'd build an enormous 35 meter mech named Mechani-Kong, right? It's interesting that when you mention a giant Japanese robot monster you'd be inclined to think of Mechagodzilla, who amongst giant mechs is far more popular than anything the world over. And yet, this here Mechani-Kong was in a movie nearly a decade earlier.
Speaking of monsters, we should probably start with King Kong. He looks terrible, almost like a joke. Will kids mind? Probably not. Mechani-Kong actually doesn't look bad. The giant snake would've been fun to have had his brief encounter with King Kong extended a bit, and I wonder if the 1976 King Kong remake was inspired by the snake used here rather than the dinosaur of the 1933 original. This film just seems to have given birth to a number of things, whether it actually did or not. We can't forget about Gorosaurus. He looks pretty good, and his kangaroo kick was fun stuff. Corny as heck, but fun. This is also actually the first film for Gorosaurus at Toho, although he's better known for his role in the much more popular Godzilla franchise, most notable being 1969's Destroy All Monsters.
This is a fun movie, something you could buy for your kids or just enjoy on your own as long as you understand its intentions. I bought the film and enjoy it. I can't give it high marks for a number of listed reasons above (did I mention King Kong seems to understand English/Japanese as long as the female lead speaks slowly and loudly enough?), but I still recommend it if it sounds like something you could appreciate, quirks and all.