I just watched the scenes again.
What I have discovered.
This is the greatest effects film ever!
The Bi-Planes are way out of scale on the 3rd cut of Kong climbing, they must have taken the long route back to the building.
Kong blood falls onto the top of the Empire State Building, and trickles down. (Probably added digitally) Very realistic.
On his climb up the building Kong's arm disappears behind a garbage matte, when he is swatting at nothing. At first I thought this was motion blur, proof of ape costume theory, then I noticed the arm reappearing, coming through the matte.
The leg still looks too long to me, but the rest of the body seems OK.
Most of the movement is very smooth, but some of the movements, like the reaching are very awkward, as Great Ape had described. And as Ted described, the arms are long, and would need arm extensions that really hold onto things.
There is no cycle repeated exactly, so it is probably not cel animation.

So until further proof, I will concede that it is stop motion, and that Buzz animated it. OB probably told him to make it very slow, as it was going to be from a great distance. And that the little jointed puppet was the one thrown down a ledge for the falling shot of Kong, shot like the miniature wooden people earlier in the film, falling into the ravine. And maybe that is even the real Empire State building in those cuts, with a painted city scape.

Best,
Tim
Now stop picking on me, I'm very sensitive!

Tim
Last Edited By: Tim Smyth Mar 17 10 11:35 PM. Edited 1 times.