The Morning Watch: 'Kong: Skull Island' VFX Breakdown, Pickle Rick Action Figure Commercial & More

(The Morning Watch is a recurring feature that highlights a handful of noteworthy videos from around the web. They could be video essays, fanmade productions, featurettes, short films, hilarious sketches, or just anything that has to do with our favorite movies and TV shows.)

In this edition, take a closer look at the visual effects work that went into Kong: Skull Island and the biggest version of King Kong that cinema has ever seen. Plus, watch a faux commercial for a Pickle Rick action figure inspired by a recent episode of Rick and Morty, and an impressive sci-fi short film called Seam directed by twin brothers who hope to turn it into a feature.

First up, Industrial Light & Magic goes behind the scenes of the visual effects on Kong: Skull Island. Not only do they look at how the visual effects company worked to make Kong look incredible on the big screen, but how the design was informed and influenced by how the giant ape looked in the original 1933 version of the movie, as well as real apes observed extremely closely during a medical procedure.

Fun Fact: Kong has over 17 million hairs on his entire body.

The third episode of the third season of Rick and Morty, titled "Pickle Rick," is one of the best the series has ever done. Not only is it full of insane violence and a ridiculous premise, but that premise opens the door for a much deeper, resonating story with our main characters as they struggle to keep the family together as best they can, all while Rick tries to avoid any emotional growth at all. Now Nerdist is having a little fun with Pickle Rick by creating an action figure commercial for the vegetable version of Rick Sanchez, and it perfectly captures the spirit of similar ads from the 1990s.

Finally, if you've got about 18 minutes to kill, check out this impressive sci-fi short called Seam. It takes place in the not-too-distant future where there are remarkably humanlike androids, some of which don't even know they're not human. Twin brothers Rajeev & Elan Dassani are behind the short, which has some impressive visual effects and gorgeous locations, and they're hoping to be able to turn it into a feature film.