A good Family movie

As I was channel surfing one night, my daughter began yelling for me to ''go back to the monkey movie.'' I flipped back a few channels, and found what she was talking about. She became immediately engrossed in the movie, Mighty Joe Young. The story begins in the jungle where Ruth Young and her young daughter, Jill, are protecting gorillas from poachers in the area. Within just a few minutes of the movie's beginning, Jill's mother is killed by poachers, along with the mother of Joe, a baby gorilla, leaving Jill and Joe as orphans. This part was a little difficult to explain to my three year old, as she didn't quite understand the concept of death.

Next, we see Joe all grown up, and I mean REALLY grown up. He's trying to outrun a scientist, Gregg O'Hara, played by Bill Paxton. Joe escapes into the jungle, but Gregg follows and discovers Jill Young, played by Charlize Theron, who plays a sort of surrogate mother to Joe. Jill is persuaded by Gregg that Joe should be taken to a animal preserve in California, where he will be ''safe'' from poachers.

The story continues with lots of action, surprises, and of course, a PG version of a love affair. Remember folks, this is a Disney movie. As the story unfolds we discover that the same man who killed the two orphans mothers has also convinced Jill to move Joe to his animal preserve. Jill figures things out and escapes, becoming separated from Joe. Joe eventually escapes and causes mayhem in L.A. and at an amusement park. There at the park, Joe manages to escape authority, avenge his mother's death, and rescue a child from a burning Ferris Wheel. The ending is indeed a tearjerker, so be sure to have those Kleenex handy.

Overall, I thought this was a good family movie, with some pretty decent special effects. Definitely held my child's interest for two hours. Bill Paxton does a semi-decent job of acting in this movie, though he would not have been my first pick for the role. Charlize Theron does an excellent job with her character and her performance is very moving. The worst parts of this movie were the sometimes violent and too graphic scenes, and the fact that you really can't escape the concept of death.