Skull Island

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This article is about the fictional Skull Island of King Kong. For other uses, see Skull Island (disambiguation).

Skull Island is a fictional island first appearing in the 1933 film King Kong and later appearing in its sequels and in the two remakes[citation needed].

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[edit] Appearance in the 1933 film

Denham's map to Skull Island, as seen in the original 1933 King Kong.
Denham's map to Skull Island, as seen in the original 1933 King Kong.

In King Kong, Skull Island is located at approximately 2° S 90° E — somewhere off the coast of Sumatra[citation needed]. There is a distinctive rocky knoll in the center of the island which is shaped like a human skull, hence its foreboding name[citation needed].

At first, it is thought of as deserted, but upon further examination by the protagonists of the picture, it is filled to the brim with superstitious natives, prehistoric creatures of all sorts, and one extremely large gorilla, known by those on the island as "Kong"[citation needed].

The native people of Skull Island appear to be of West African (or perhaps Papuan) descent. Their barbaric portrayal in the film has provoked complaints and controversy ever since the movie's release. In the sequel film, Son of Kong, we last see Skull Island as it sinks into the sea. Kong's son drowns while holding Carl Denham above the water. Denham survives unscathed.

Skull Island is never referred to by name on film. In the original film, only Skull Mountain is named, while in the sequel Son of Kong, its simply referred to as "Kong's Island". But in the novelization and screenplays the island is indeed called Skull Island.

Kong: King of Skull Island, a 2004 sequel-novel which ignores Son of Kong, makes an attempt to reveal the history of Skull Island before the events of the 1933 film's story.

[edit] Appearance in the 1976 remake

Though not called by name in the film (it is simply referred to as the Beach of the Skull by Jack Prescott), and lacking the distinctive Skull outcropping, the island featured in the 1976 remake is referenced as Skull Island within the film's soundtrack. The infrared satellite photo of the island featured in the shipboard briefing demonstrates that it is the island's outline, rather than its features, that is the cause of its being referred to as skull-like. This incarnation is located in the Pacific and is discovered by an oil drilling expedition. As in the original, the native people appear to be of West African descent. In this film's sequel King Kong Lives (1986), the island is mistakenly referred to by Hank Mitchell as Kong Island.

[edit] Appearance in the 2005 remake

Denham's map to Skull Island, as seen in King Kong (2005).
Denham's map to Skull Island, as seen in King Kong (2005).

The Skull Island of 2005's King Kong is very similar to that of the 1933 film. It is once again a long-forgotten place, noted as being "far west of Sumatra", until a mysterious map leads a group of adventurers to it. It appears to be in a region that affects magnets, and is frequently shrouded in fog. The island is slowly sinking beneath the sea.

The island is shaped like a large hand with long, skeletal fingers. It is surrounded by carved stone reefs, made to resemble faces crying out in anger and pain, and is criss-crossed by an enormous stone wall and covered with jungle-swallowed ruins that are countless generations old, which are all that remain of an unknown, ancient human civilization that somehow once existed and thrived on Skull Island.

It is filled with all manner of monstrous creatures, but these beings have evolved past their primitive ancestors. Due to Skull Island's unstable ecosystem, there are many more carnivores than herbivores. Aside from dinosaurs and other large animals, the island is also home to insectoid and worm-like creatures, most of them giants. There are strange creatures like Arachno-Claw, Scorpio-Pede, and Celocimex. See the main link above for details.

The island can be broken down into several smaller ecosystems, all shifting and changing as the animals fight amongst each other. These ecosystems are the Skull Island Coastal Region and the Village, the Skull Island Lowlands, the Skull Island Swamp and River System, the Skull Island Jungle, the Skull Island Chasms and the Skull Island Uplands. Each has its own unique collection of species that continuously fight with each other.

The current native people of this Skull Island appear to be of a mixed Melanesian descent, although director Peter Jackson has stated that they are supposed to look like no other people on Earth. They were portrayed by a number of different Pacific Island people, who were sprayed with a brown paint to make all of their skin tones coincide. Many wear pieces of bone in some form (such as a necklace) and some even have smaller pieces of bone embedded in their flesh, such as through the nose. Many also have bright red eyes or even what appears to be eyes with no pupils that are just white, presumably a derived trait.

The island is further explored in the later series of expeditions called Project Legacy. In 1948, the island sinks and is forever lost due to a huge earthquake, measuring 9.2 on the Richter Scale, with all of its unique animals and strange people.

The Weta Workshop book The World of Kong documents many of the inhabitants, locations and details of Skull island, as of King Kong (2005 film).

[edit] Skull Island inhabitants

[edit] King Kong and Son of Kong

  • A Stegosaurus-like creature: appears in a sequence in which it is disturbed by Carl Denham's crew. Like an angry rhinoceros, it charges the men and they fell it with a gas-bomb. As they walk by, it starts to get up again and is shot. Orville Goldner, who worked on the film, described the film's stegosaur as a combination of two genera: Stegosaurus ungulatus and the less well-known Kentrosaurus.[1]
  • A long-necked Apatosaurus: The dinosaur is disturbed by the rescue party's raft as it crosses a swamp and capsizes it, attacking the men in the water. Several of them are chased onto land, and one fellow is cornered while climbing a tree and mauled to death by the animal. A common misconception is that the sauropod actually eats the sailor, but it is stated in the script that the dinosaur kills and then abandons the body of a sailor identified as "Tim." The creature reappears in Son of Kong, crying out as the island is sinking.
  • A large 2-legged lizard-like creature: This creature climbs up a vine from the crevasse to attack Jack Driscoll. It falls back into the pit when Jack cuts the vine it is climbing. Other than the two limbs, the other distinct feature of this creature is the iguana-like ridge of spikes down its back. Orville Goldner said it was loosely based on the features of the Desmatosuchus.[1]
  • A large theropod which has been identified as both Tyrannosaurus and Allosaurus: The dinosaur was modeled after Charles R. Knight's depiction of a Tyrannosaurus.[1] However, it possesses three fingers per hand, unlike Tyrannosaurus which had only two (it should be noted that the number of fingers in Tyrannosaurus was disputed at the time, as a complete manus would not be uncovered until the mid-90s). In the documentary I'm King Kong! The Exploits of Merian C. Cooper, included on the 2 disk DVD release of King Kong, Cooper refers to this beast as an Allosaurus, not a Tyrannosaurus, which would help explain the number of fingers. However, the creature was originally intended to be a Tyrannosaurus designed for the canceled Willis O'Brien film Creation (1931). It may also be worth noting that the Tyrannosaurus present in Willis O'Brien's earlier project The Lost World (1925) also had a third finger. The 1932 King Kong screenplay refers to the dinosaur only as a "Meat Eater." The creature appears in the iconic scene where Kong defends Anne from its attack, killing it after a protracted fight.
  • An Elasmosaurus-like creature: a highly stylized, serpentine aquatic reptile with a long neck and tail as well as two pairs of flippers. It inhabits the bubbling swamp area inside Kong's cave. Goldner describes the Elasmosaurus as "being designed as more slender then the ones known to science, and its swimming limbs are less prominent."[1] It battles Kong in the style of a giant, constricting snake.
  • A Pteranodon-like pterosaur menaces Anne and is the last major creature to appear on Skull Island. It is slain by Kong.
  • Teratornis: These birds can be seen flying around the dead Tyrannosaurus. One is seen eating the dead tyrannosaur and is frightened off by the approaching Jack Driscoll.
  • Rhamphorhynchus: The tiny Rhamphorhynchus are seen flying around Skull Mountain. A few are flying around the large cave at the base of Skull Mountain, while others are seen at Kong's lair near the top of Skull Mountain.
  • Archaeopteryx: The tiny Archaeopteryx are seen flying around in the jungle. Most notably a few fly by when the Stegosaurus enters the clearing, and one flies out of the dead tree that Kong puts Ann in before he goes to fight the sailors on the log bridge. According to Goldner, they "were made to flit among the trees on invisible wires."
  • Arsinotherium: This huge prehistoric mammal chases the men onto the log bridge in the test reel. According to Goldner, Cooper had second thoughts about the Arsinotherium and "ordered the action to be refilmed using a Styracosaurus. Both versions were eventually thrown out because they captured too much audience attention."
  • Gigantophis garstini: According to Goldner, "This huge serpent that appeared in one scene and later cut out of the film, had its living prototype in Egypt." This giant snake menaces Ann at the base of the dead tree that Kong puts her in before he battles the sailors on the log bridge. It was in the test reel, but later cut. However, you can still see Ann Darrow's reactions to it below her just before the T. rex shows up in the clearing.
  • Cynognathus: created and then re-created for the "spider-pit sequence" and portrayed as a stout reptilian predator. Goldner stated that a was loosely adapted, as many of the creatures of the pit were imaginative.[1]
  • A giant crab, spider and tentacled "bug": all appear in the original notes, script, and re-created "spider-pit sequence," eating the surviving crewmen in the crevasse.
  • Triceratops: In the original script only, encountered by Kong on volcanic flats; he hurls boulders at a herd of them and drives them into a stampede, impaling one of the crew of the Venture.
  • Giant Bear: A gigantic bear that attacks Denham and Hilda, but is driven off by the son of Kong.
  • Styracosaurus: Corners Hellstrom, Englehorn and Charlie into a cave in Son of Kong, destroying one of their guns. Originally slated to appear in King Kong, chasing the crew onto the log bridge and keeping them trapped there.
  • Cave Serpent: A dragon-like creature that attacks Denham and Hilda, but is killed by Kiko. King Kong: A History of a Movie Icon calls the creature 'The Dragon' all through its review of Son of Kong.
  • Second unknown, dragon-like plesiosaur: A very stylized incarnation of this marine reptile eats Hellstrom as he attempts to flee at the end of Son of Kong.

[edit] 1976 Remake

  • Aside from Kong, the only other animal that appears in this incarnation of the island is a giant snake very similar to the Gigantophis garstini. It battles with Kong and is torn in half.

[edit] King Kong vs Godzilla

  • As in the 1976 film only one creature aside from Kong is seen, in this case a giant octopus attacks the tribe but is driven off by Kong.

[edit] 2005 Remake

  • Megaprimatus kong: A huge species of gorilla, they were the largest primates to have ever lived, even bigger than Gigantopithecus, the previous record holder. The average M. Kong could stand up to 6-8 metres (18-25 feet tall) and possibly weighed 5-8 tons. By 1933, there was only one of them left. This specimen, an old male, was captured and brought back to New York City by Carl Denham, but escaped and was shot down off the top of the Empire State Building, rendering the species of Megaprimatus kong extinct.
  • Vastatosaurus rex: A giant tyrannosaur, which grew up to 15-21 metres (50-70 feet long), the V-Rex was portrayed with the same general attitude, but was considerably larger (in proportions) than the T-Rex and had an additional finger. They can kill larger animals by themselves
  • Venatosaurus saevidicus: A large dromaeosaur. Size is 5-7 metres (16–24 feet) long. Distinguished by its sickle-like claw, in King Kong (2005 film) they killed Denham's cameraman, hunted in packs, and caused a Brontosaurus stampede. Another species is the smaller Venatosaurus impavidus. Venatosaurus saevidicus is the only small predator on Skull Island that preys on adult Brontosaurus.
  • Ferrucutus cerates: Ceratopsian seen briefly by the foot of the stairway to Kong's lair. Similar to a Pachyrhinosaurus only much larger. In the extended edition, a Ferrucutus attacks the crew, but is gunned down. (Like the Stegosaurus in the original, it does not die instantly) It is about 7-10m (24-34 feet) long.
  • Brontosaurus baxteri: A large sauropod that the Venatosaurus attack and cause a stampede. It tramples several of the crew and Venatosaurus during the stampede. It grew from 70-90 feet long (21-27 m).
  • Terapusmordax obscenus: Giant bat-like creatures descended from rodents that were found in the cave where Kong lived in the 2005 film. They had long, bare tails, unlike real bats, which have only vestigial, webbed tails.
  • Ligocristus innocens: A hadrosaur. A confirmed sighting is in the 2005 version, but it was the carcass that the Foetodon are feeding on. It looked like (and possibly was descended from) Saurolophus and grew from 8–10m (26–34 feet) long.
  • Decarnocimex (Flesh-removing bug): According to The World of Kong, these are "oversized relatives of crickets with bladed forelimbs for tearing apart carcasses." Carl Denham fights these when he falls into the pit.
  • Weta-Rex; Deinacrida rex (Terrible-cricket king): Dog-sized Wetas which attacked Jack Driscoll.
  • Arachno-Claw; Arachnocidis ("spider-claw"): The only remake of the original pit beasts, the Arachno-Claw is what the name implies — a mix of a spider and a crab.
  • Deplector (Reaper): Giant lobster-like insects that live in crevasses lining the chasm walls. They reach out of their crevices to grab prey. Females are much, much larger than males. Blind, Deplectors are tethered to their holes by excretions that are elastic. This monster kills a sailor in the movie.
  • Carnitis sordicus (Vile Meat-Weasel): One of the beasts that is most memorable, Carnictus is a large worm with a sphinter-maw at one end. It undulates inside-out and exposes the mouth to its prey, allowing it to eat. These monsters end up eating Lumpy the cook in the remake.
  • Pirahnodon: In the extended cut, this gigantic fish attacks the Venture crew as they pass through a swamp, devouring several crewmen.
  • Scorpiopede: In the extended cut, several of these eurypterid-like creatures attack the venture crew, but flee as the Pirahnodon approaches.
  • Brutornis: In the extended cut, Lumpy shoots this 2.1m (7 ft) tall carnivorous bird as it approaches the crew unseen, but heard. Driscoll believes it is Anne, but is relieved to see the bird instead, dying on the ground. Lumpy then ends the bird's suffering. It is the only creature in the film to be portrayed by a puppet rather than CGI.
  • Foetodon: A large, crocodillian reptile that was eating a presumed Ligocristus carcass that chases Ann and later falls prey to a V.rex.

http://i.pbase.com/v3/76/574376/4/46898084.23.jpg

[edit] Other uses

From Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004): Skull Island?
From Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004): Skull Island?

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Orville Goldner, George E Turner (1975). Making of King Kong: The Story Behind a Film Classic. ISBN 0498015106. See also Spawn of Skull Island (2002). ISBN 1887664459
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King Kong films
King Kong (1933) · The Son of Kong (1933) · King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) · King Kong Escapes (1967) · King Kong (1976) · King Kong Lives (1986) · King Kong (2005)