Skull Island (King Kong)
(Skull Island not seen in this image)
Skull Island is a fictional island in the South Pacific, first dreamed up for the 1933 adventure film King Kong. Since its inception, it has been used many times in various mediums.
In its first inception in King Kong, Skull Island is a long-forgotten island, located at approximately at 90 degrees East and 2 degrees South - somewhere off the coast of Sumatra. There is a distinctive rocky knoll in the center of the island which is shaped like a human skull, hence its forboding name.
At first, it is thought of as deserted, but upon further examination by the heroes of the picture, it is filled to the brim with superstitous natives, prehistoric creatures of all sorts, and one extremely large gorilla, known by those on the island as "Kong".
The native people of Skull Island appear to be of tribal African descent. Their barbaric portrayal in the film brought upon massive controversey by equal-rights activists during the movie's initial release.
The island is never directly reffered to as Skull Island in film, although the mountain that Kong lives on is called "Skull Mountain". It was referred to as Skull Island in the original shooting script and, because of the film's marketing campaign, audiences were almost immediately referring to the mystical island by its proper, although never-spoken, name.
This Skull Island is seen as a relatively barren place off the coast of Sumatra with very little foliage and rocky beaches. It is alluded that there is some technology present on the island, given the appearance of a Jeep driving along the rocky shore.
It is never stated what kind of creatures live on this Skull Island, aside from the Sumatran Rat-Monkey. The hideous creature, found only on that island, is the offspring of plagued rats and tree monkeys. Its bite, while fatal, can also bring the recently deceased back to life.
The native people of this Skull Island also appear to be of African descent, although they were portrayed in the film by Fiji's national rugby team.
In the adventure game The Curse of Monkey Island, Skull Island is home to the infamous smuggler known as "King André" Template:Spoiler Skull Island is only reachable via a small dinghy operated by the ghostly "Lost Welshman" (an allusion to the legend of The Flying Dutchman). While living, the Welshman became lost in the fog surrounding Skull Island when the lighthouse on neighbouring Blood Island was broken. Guybrush Threepwood needs to get to Skull Island in order to get a diamond he needs to lift the curse cast on Elaine Marley by LeChuck's cursed ring. In order to get to Skull Island, he must fix the lighthouse and make a compass for the Welshman.
Trivia
- Many characters claim that Skull Island is in the shape of a skull. When the island is finally shown, however, it more closely resembles a duck than a skull. An astonished Guybrush grumbles "It should be called Duck Island."
- Skull Island is one of the smallest islands in the Monkey Island series (the player can only interact with a few things on the island and it is contained by only four perspective shots).
- A puzzle from the first game in the Simon the Sorcerer series involves retrieving a herb from a place called Skull Island, though in fact it appears as little more than a rock in the swamp.
- Coincidentally, a section of the game Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror that takes place in Caribbean features a skull-shaped island called Zombie Island.
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, until a mysterious map leads a group of adventurers to it.
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 that is countless generations old.
It is filled with all manner of monstrous creatures, but these beings have evolved past their primitive ancestors. The animals there have turned into violent killing machines - the harsh environment of Skull Island changing their evolutionary outcome. Aside from dinosaurs, the island is also home to insectoid and slug-like creatures.
The native people of this Skull Island appear to be of a mixed-race Polynesian 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 races, who were sprayed with a brown paint to make all of their skin tones coincide. Many also have bright red eyes, presumably an evolved evolutionary trait.
Other References
A skull-shaped island was seen in the original teaser trailers for Disney's 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean.
Skull Island was one of the original attractions at Six Flags Over Texas on opening day in 1961.