When Toho's King Kong returned in 1967 for his second Japanese film, “King Kong Escapes”, Toho changed his appearance from 1962. Now while the suit is an improvement over the ones used in “King Kong vs. Godzilla”, it still had its problems. Kong's overall body seemed to stay the same as in 1962, except for the legs, which looked shorter and skinnier. The face was changed to be more movable and more ape-like, but a large upper lip and large, comical eyes detracted from that. Kong again runs solely on his hind legs, except for a scene on Mondo Island when suit actor Haruo Nakajima attempted to use his hands. An oversized alternate head was also used on the suit in the scenes where Kong is battling the giant snake in the water and when he emerges from underground at the North Pole. Both, however, were worlds better than the ridiculous puppet head with the moving upper lip that made Kong look idiotic. Toho apparently blew all their suit budget money on the incredible Gorosaurus suit, which was probably the most realistic suit Toho did in the 60's and 70's.
