History YMMV / KingKong

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: While many still appreciate the StopMotion used for Kong and the dinosaurs in the original version because of the effort or complexity of what was done, it's a lot easier for a modern viewer to write them off as "It looks like clay". For the time, they were the best special effects around, some shots still astound modern special effects artists with their seemlessness and complexity. But it's doubly impressive considering that the alternative would have been '''[[{{Slurpasaur}} lizards in makeup]]'''.

* WTHCastingAgency: Jack Black as Carl Denham, though his performance is enjoyed by some.

** The battle between Kong and the ''[[KingOfTheDinosaurs Tyrannosaurus rex]]'' on the island.

* UncannyValley: Kong's eyes in the 1976 version are disturbingly human-like, owing to it being Creator/RickBaker in an ape suit.

** Remember Lumpy the cook and the little kleptomaniac kid from the 2005 remake? [[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTintin This wouldn't be the last time the two of them were together on a boat...]]

* FairForItsDay: Yes the original Charlie the Cook is pretty cringe-worthy but this is the 1930s and the guy is the first to notice Ann is missing, is willing to help go after Ann, and brave enough to swing his cleaver at a very angry dinosaur in the sequel. Plus in the same sequel he isn't excluded from the spoilers either.

* AlternateAesopInterpretation: As a few film scholars have pointed out, beauty did ''not'' kill the beast. Colonialism did. Removing Kong from his natural habitat robbed him of the survival instincts necessary in keeping him alive. As such, the story can be seen as a strong allegory to white settlers ruining native lands, robbing its inhabitants of the very skills which kept them alive as long as they did and infecting them with their foreign illnesses. However, this interpretation is not without its flaws, most notable of which is that Kong was not robbed of his survival instincts, he still instinctively went to the highest place in the city, just as he dwelt on the highest place on his island. His instincts told him that height equaled safety, yet he never could have conceived of a flying enemy that could attack from a distance, so ultimately his survival instincts contributed to his destruction.

* AlternateAesopInterpretation: As a few film scholars have pointed out, beauty did ''not'' kill the beast. Colonialism did. Removing Kong from his natural habitat robbed him of the survival instincts necessary in keeping him alive. As such, the story can be seen as a strong allegory to white settlers ruining native lands, robbing its inhabitants of the very skills which kept them alive as long as they did and infecting them with their foreign illnesses.

* ValuesDissonance:
** Modern audiences might find the crew's eagerness to shoot the stegosaurus somewhat jarring.
** Kong's HollywoodNatives worshippers in all films are insensitive by modern standards, which was made worse in the 2005 version where they are completely dehumanized and feral savages.

* EthnicScrappy: (1933) Charlie the cook, whose actor was credtied as "Victor Wong" and ''may'' have actually been Chinese-American, but whose portrayal is still considered offensive. Still doesn't prevent him from being competent ([[HyperCompetentSidekick noticing Ann's missing first and immediately raising the alarm]]) or brave ([[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome challenging a dinosaur with nothing but a meat cleaver and coming out on top]]).

** Denham in the original. The trip is his idea, as is the choice to bring the ape back to New York, where it promptly wreaks havoc and causes more deaths but he is never called out for his actions. Though at the end of it, he does appear apologetic and regretful of the whole thing.

** The battle between Kong and the ''TyrannosaurusRex'' on the island.

* TheWoobie: Kong himself. He's always portrayed as a tragic monster who gets caught up in the activities of humans, while he just wants to be left in peace. While implied in earlier films, in most subsequent reboots it's made explicit that he's the LastOfHisKind. The 2005 version is probably the most sympathetic, since we see that all his family have been dead for a long time and he is clearly worn down from years of battles alone in a savage environment, with Ann likely his only companion in years.

* DesignatedHero: Jack in the 2005 version. Most of the crew's deaths can be traced back to his obsession with saving Ann, and all the while, he constantly gets upstaged by both the titular ape and [[spoiler:the snooty actor he didn't like.]] His decision to draw Kong away from Times Square probably causes more death and destruction than if he'd just let him be.

** Kong's HollywoodNatives worshipers in all films are insensitive by modern standards, which was made worse in the 2005 version where they are completely dehumanized and feral savages.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The ice skating scene in New York. On the other hand, this doubles as a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}} or sad to many viewers.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The StopMotion used for Kong and the dinosaurs in the original version to modern viewers who do not begin to comprehend the effort or complexity of what was done, focusing on the layman assessment of "It looks like clay". For the time, they were the best special effects around, some shots still astound modern special effects artists with their seemlessness and complexity. But it's doubly impressive considering that the alternative would have been '''[[{{Slurpasaur}} lizards in makeup]]'''.