Since I mentioned it in my inaugural macro-blog post, why not discuss the ape film revival of the 1990s? As mentioned, I've thought about this topic since my undeveloped college blog. And I thought about it again after I recently tapped out of two (!) ape films. The first was King Kong Escapes. The second was Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla. (I started that one based on Patton Oswalt's recommendation.)
But anyway, the 90s. As a "90s baby," I remember thinking, "Hey, how come I keep seeing so many movies with apes in them?" I can name at least five off the top of my head. George of the Jungle. Jungle 2 Jungle. Mighty Joe Young. Congo. Wait, that's only four. Hang on . . .
So a few that I thought were 90s movies are actually from the 00s. According to IMDb, MVP 2: Most Vertical Primate came out in 01. And Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes also came out in 01. So did Doctor Doolittle 2! 01 was a big year for ape movies.
Wait, am I misremembering my early childhood? Have I conflated the halcyon days of 01 with "the 90s?" Am I even a "90s baby?" Regardless, that's a lot of ape movies for half a decade, plus a year.
Maybe this decade-straddling revival will be revived by the upcoming Doolittle. You heard it here first, folks! Well, all this ape talk is making me reconsider my vow never to watch Every Which Way but Loose. (That vow includes that Ronald Reagan monkey movie). Every Which Way but Loose comes up a lot in conversations with my friend Dan'l. Dan'l has seen almost every Clint Eastwood movie. Maybe I'll macro-blog about Clint Eastwood next post . . .