Original film
- O'Hara establishes himself as a Benevolent Boss when several drunks harass one of his staff, making her spill the cigarettes she was selling. After chewing out the rabble, he assures the waitress the damages won't come out of her pay.
- O'Hara's Heel–Face Turn, where he admits that the whole mess with Joe was his fault. He then adamantly notes he's willing to do whatever he can to set things right.
- "Don't worry, kid. There's nobody in the world gonna shoot Joe now..."
- Just that Joe went out of his way to shield one of the children from some falling debris.
- The ending, with Jill and Gregg's "filmed letter".O'Hara: Come on, Windy, I got a million things to do.Windy: You got time for this (turns on movie projector. Jill and Gregg come into the scene).O'Hara: Hey, it's the kids!Windy: Crawford told me to spring it on you. He shot it when he was down there.O'Hara: (calling to the screen) Hey, Jill.Jill: (silently) Hello Max.O'Hara: Hey, they said "Hello, Max". (Joe walks into the scene. O'Hara takes a big step back) *Yipe*.
1998 film
- Jill and Joe play hide-and-seek, which doubles as funny.
- Jill later teaches the conservation staff how Joe plays the game.
- Jill sings her African lullaby to calm Joe, and he gently strokes her cheek before falling asleep.
- When Gregg is alone with a caged and depressed Joe, he laments how the ape was put in a cage when the former promised Jill that would never happen. Gregg places his hand into Joe's palm. Joe turns to face him and, seeing Gregg's remorseful expression, reciprocates by wrapping his fingers around Gregg's hand. In the script, Greg says an extra line to Joe that homages one Max O'Hara says to Jill in the original film.Gregg: I helped put you here. And now I'm going to do everything I can to get you out.
- Cecily says goodbye to Joe when the great escape occurs; even Harry, the publicity-chasing head of the park, has nothing but kind words to say.
- While saving Jason from the burning Ferris Wheel, Joe gives him a look that clearly says, "I know you're scared, but I'm here to help. Trust me."
- The ending, where people donate enough money for Jill and Gregg to buy more than enough land for Joe to roam freely, dubbing the space the "Joe Young Wildlife Preserve."
- In a deleted part of the script, there's a montage of more people giving donations, including a young street kid that helped Joe on Hollywood Boulevard, Jason gathering money in school, and even Pindi giving some cash to Kweli.
- The audience's introduction to Joe as an adult. Gregg is taking a blood sample from a leopard, telling the men he hired to release the leopard from the cage they trapped it in. The screams of the leopard attract Joe, who makes a big entrance and advances to the cage. In an aversion of What Measure Is a Non-Cute?, he rips open the cage to release the leopard. Leopards are carnivores who have, in some cases, preyed on gorillas, but Joe only sees the cat as a victim of poachers.
