Ann Darrow

Ann Darrow is the main protagonist from the King Kong franchise, with whom the giant ape King Kong falls in love.

In the original film, Ann is played by Fay Wray; in the 2005 remake, she is played by Naomi Watts and 1998 animated musical film, The Mighty Kong which she was voiced by Jodi Benson, who also voiced Ariel, Thumbelina, Barbie (Toy Story), PJ Sparkles and Helen of Troy from Disney's Hercules TV show.

The 1976 remake features an analogous character named "Dwan" (played by Jessica Lange) in the Melbourne stage production in Australia, she is played by Esther Hannaford.

She's the love interest of Jack Driscoll and King Kong.

1933 film[]

In the 1933 film, Ann Darrow is portrayed by Fay Wray. Ann is an unemployed actress reduced to homelessness by the Great Depression. Rescued from the streets by filmmaker Carl Denham, she travels with him to Skull Island aboard the tramp steamer S.S. Venture and meets a love interest in the ship's first mate, Jack Driscoll. Once on the island, she is captured by natives who subsequently offer her as a sacrifice to Kong, whom they worship as a god.

Despite Ann's sheer terror, Kong falls in love with her and takes her to his home inside a massive cavern atop Skull Mountain. She is rescued from the cavern by Driscoll and his comrades, only to be ruthlessly pursued back to the native village by an enraged Kong, who will stop at nothing to get her back. An intense battle ensues, culminating in the destruction of much of the village and ultimately, the gigantic ape's live capture. Smelling an incredibly profitable opportunity, Denham transports Kong to New York City, with the intent of putting him on display for paying crowds as "King Kong: The Eighth Wonder of the World". Unfortunately on opening night, Kong escapes and goes on a rampage through downtown Manhattan, once again capturing Ann.

In the film's finale, King Kong carries Ann to the very top of the Empire State Building, where he is engaged by a squadron of military fighter planes. Kong is finally killed, falling to the streets below and Ann is reunited with Jack.

2005 film[]

Ann Darrow is played by Naomi Watts in the 2005 film and has more detail. She has a job of an actress, but lost it due to the Great Depression. She also stole an apple like 1933 Ann Darrow. She also declined Denham's invitation at first, but only accepted when she realized that Jack was going along too. Jack also develops a crush on Ann and they even kiss each other before arriving at Skull Island. Ann originally thought that the sound editor of Carl's film crew, Mike, was Jack. She was able to escape at first from the natives at Skull Island, but was kidnapped (even though the camera and audience never saw it) and brought back to the island by the natives. Forced to walk in her bare feet after leaving her shoes on the boat amidst the capture, Ann is dragged by the natives to a drawbridge atop a large wall, where she is offered as a sacrifice to King Kong.

Ann was treated like a toy because King Kong at first was either angry or curious about Ann, enjoyed her dancing and acting, and kept pushing her, making him happy and hooting. When Ann shown anger at him, he also got angry and Kong left her. At the time she escaped, she was unfortunate again because Vastosaurus Rexes wanted to eat her, and Kong saved her life.

That night Jack comes to Kong's lair, and disturbs him from his slumber, then a swarm of flying Terapus mordax attacks them. Kong ends up battling the giant bats, the attack resulted in Ann losing her dressing gown for unknown reasons (but it most likely her shirt was torn off by one of the Terapus mordax, this forced Ann to continue the journey wearing her pink slip dress only), Kong puts Ann in safety while he battles the giant bats. As Kong fights the swarm of Terapus mordax, Ann and Jack escape by grabbing the wing of one of the bats and then jumping into a river. They arrive at the village wall with the angry Kong following them.

When Carl and the other crew men were done with their own problems in the island with most of them dead, they captured and kidnapped King Kong.Captain Englehorn was about to kill King Kong with a sharp harpoon, but she begged and cried out to let Kong live, but they succesfully captured Kong. Ann simply stared at Kong before she broke down in tears due to have been unable to help kong from getting captured. Carl takes Kong to New York and he escapes in an angry mood destroying the ampitheater he was taken to. Ann Darrow realized that she was the only person who can stop King Kong from trying to destroy Manhattan. Kong was already looking for Ann, because he kept picking up women who resembled Ann.

Ann and Kong finally are happy together but their happiness and joy vanishes when the military uses giant bullets to kill King Kong. King Kong, like in the 1933 film, ran away to highest building in the city, the Empire State Building. When the two are trapped atop the skyscraper at the climax, she tries desperately to prevent Kong from being killed, much like Dwan in the 1976 version, but to no avail. After Kong's death, she embraces Jack Driscoll who was trying to get to her the entire time.

Personality[]

In the original film, Ann is portrayed as a beautiful young woman, who keeps an optomistic point of view. She is also quite charming, as Jack Driscoll, the tough first mate, even falls in love with her. However, because she is portrayed as a woman in the 30's, she was shown to be the damsel in distress at times and is helpless against Kong. Though Kong does fall in love with her, she is terrified of him and only screams when he is near.

In the 2005 remake, her character is given more detail: She is a struggling vaudeville performer become who agrees to become Carl Denham's new lead actress when she hears that her favorite playwright, Jack Driscoll is with them. While on the voyage, she falls in love with Jack, and bonds with Kong ater being captured on Skull Island. While at first, she is frightened by him, she realizes that he won't hurt her and is even able to entertain him with her performance training, such as comic acting and displays of juggling skills.

In addition, she eventually comes to sympathize with Kong, gaining the great ape's trust and understanding. This being said, he falls in love with her not only because of her beauty, but because of her compassionate nature and courageous strength. In this portrayal, she is described as having a bit more edge, as she works for her survival, takes more chances and even forms a special relationship with Kong. Despite the differences, all three versions on Ann are beautiful women who are desperate for work and thus accept the part in Carl's film. They both have kind-hearted personalities, are Kong's love and are both described in each film by Carl Denham as being "The bravest girl he's ever known/met."

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