Godzilla is a fictional monster, or kaiju, that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films produced by Toho Co., Ltd., five American films, and numerous video games, novels, comic books, and television shows. Godzilla has been dubbed the King of the Monsters, an epithet first used in Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), the American localization of the 1954 film.
Son of Godzilla is a 1967 Japanese kaiju film directed by Jun Fukuda, with special effects by Sadamasa Arikawa, under the supervision of Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the eighth film in the Godzilla franchise. It stars Tadao Takashima, Akira Kubo, Akihiko Hirata, and Beverly Maeda, with Hiroshi Sekita, Seiji Onaka, and Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla, and Marchan the Dwarf as Minilla.
Godzilla vs. Mothra is a 1992 Japanese kaiju film directed by Takao Okawara, with special effects by Kōichi Kawakita. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is the 19th film in the Godzilla franchise, and is the fourth film in the franchise's Heisei era. The film features the fictional monster characters Godzilla, Mothra, and Battra, and stars Tetsuya Bessho, Satomi Kobayashi, Takehiro Murata, Megumi Odaka, Shiori Yonezawa, Makoto Otake, Akiji Kobayashi, Koichi Ueda, Shinya Owada, Keiko Imamura, Sayaka Osawa, Saburo Shinoda and Akira Takarada, with Kenpachiro Satsuma as Godzilla. The plot follows Battra and Mothra's attempts to stop Godzilla from attacking Yokohama.
Kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. The kaiju film genre is credited to tokusatsu director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized it by creating the Godzilla franchise and its spin-offs. The term can also refer to the monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other creatures.
Mothra is a fictional monster or kaiju, that first appeared in the 1961 film Mothra, produced and distributed by Toho Studios. Mothra has appeared in several Toho tokusatsu films, often as a recurring monster in the Godzilla franchise. She is typically portrayed as a colossal sentient larva (caterpillar) or imago, accompanied by two miniature fairies speaking on her behalf. Unlike several other Toho monsters, Mothra is a largely heroic character, having been variously portrayed as a protector of her own island culture, the Earth and Japan. Mothra's design is influenced by silkworms, their imagos, and those of giant silk moths in the family Saturniidae. The character is often depicted hatching offspring when approaching death, a nod to the Saṃsāra doctrine of numerous Indian religions.
Anguirus is a fictional monster, or kaiju, which first appeared in Godzilla Raids Again (1955), the second film in the Godzilla franchise. Anguirus is the first monster to be shown engaging in combat with Godzilla in a film. Since then, the character has appeared conversely as an enemy and an ally of Godzilla in numerous films produced by Toho, including Destroy All Monsters (1968), Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972), Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), and Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). He has also appeared in other media, including comic books and video games.
Mothra vs. Godzilla is a 1964 Japanese kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the fourth film in the Godzilla franchise. The film stars Akira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kenji Sahara, and Emi and Yumi Itō, with Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka as Godzilla. In the film, humans beseech the aid of the insect god Mothra to stop Godzilla from destroying Japan.
Godzilla is a 1998 American monster film directed and co-written by Roland Emmerich. Produced by TriStar Pictures, Centropolis Entertainment, Fried Films, and Independent Pictures, and distributed by TriStar, it is a reboot of Toho Co., Ltd.'s Godzilla franchise. It is also the 23rd film in the franchise and the first Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria, Kevin Dunn, Michael Lerner, and Harry Shearer. The film is dedicated to Tomoyuki Tanaka, the co-creator and producer of various Godzilla films, who died in April 1997. In the film, authorities investigate and battle a giant monster who migrates to New York City to nest its young.
Hedorah, also known as the Smog Monster, is a kaiju monster who first appeared in Toho's 1971 film Godzilla vs. Hedorah. The huge monster was named for Hedoro (へどろ), the Japanese word for sludge, slime, vomit or chemical ooze.
Mechagodzilla is a fictional mecha character that first appeared in the 1974 film Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. In its debut appearance, Mechagodzilla is depicted as an extraterrestrial villain, a robot created by alien invaders to confront and destroy Godzilla. In subsequent iterations, Mechagodzilla is usually depicted as a man-made robotic weapon designed to defend Japan against Godzilla and other kaiju. In all incarnations, the character is portrayed as a robotic doppelgänger of Godzilla with a vast array of high-tech weaponry. Along with King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla is commonly considered to be an archenemy of Godzilla.
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack is a 2001 Japanese kaiju film directed and co-written by Shusuke Kaneko. The 26th film in the Godzilla franchise and the third of the Millennium era, it serves as a direct sequel to Godzilla (1954), ignoring the events of every other installment in the series. Chiharu Niiyama stars as a reporter covering the story of Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Baragon defending Japan from Godzilla, a creature possessed by the souls of those killed during the Pacific War. The supporting cast includes Ryudo Uzaki, Masahiro Kobayashi, Hideyo Amamoto, and Shirō Sano, with Mizuho Yoshida as Godzilla, Akira Ohashi as Ghidorah, and Rie Ōta as Baragon.
Zilla is a fictional monster, or kaiju, in Toho Co., Ltd.'s Godzilla media franchise. The character first appeared in Godzilla (1998), released by TriStar Pictures. It was initially created as a reimagining of Godzilla but was later re-branded as a separate character appearing alongside Toho's Godzilla. Patrick Tatopoulos designed it after iguanas with a slim theropod appearance rather than the thick, bipedal designs of Toho's Godzilla. TriStar's Godzilla, both the film and character, were negatively received by fans and critics. In 2004, it was featured in Toho's Godzilla: Final Wars as "Zilla". Afterwards, Toho trademarked new incarnations as Zilla, with only the iterations from the 1998 film and animated series retaining the Godzilla copyright and trademark.
Minilla is a kaiju who first appeared in Toho's 1967 film Son of Godzilla. He is the adopted son of Godzilla, and is sometimes referenced as Minya, Godzilla Jr., and Baby Godzilla in the American dubbed versions.
Godzilla: The Series is an animated television series developed by Jeff Kline and Richard Raynis. The series originally aired on Fox Kids in the United States between September 12, 1998 and April 22, 2000, and is a sequel to Godzilla (1998). Malcolm Danare, Frank Welker, Kevin Dunn and Michael Lerner reprise their roles from the film.
Varan is a fictional monster, or kaiju, that first appeared in the 1958 film Varan the Unbelievable directed by Ishirō Honda and produced and distributed by Toho. The creature is depicted as a giant, dinosaurian, prehistoric reptile capable of gliding flight. It later appeared in the 1968 film Destroy All Monsters, the ninth film in the Godzilla franchise.
Baragon is a fictional monster, or kaiju, which first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1965 film Frankenstein vs. Baragon, produced and distributed by Toho. Depicted as a burrowing, four-legged, horned dinosaur-like creature with large ears, Baragon appeared alongside Godzilla and other monster characters in films in the Godzilla franchise, also produced by Toho, including Destroy All Monsters (1968) and Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001).
A monster movie, monster film, creature feature or giant monster film is a film that focuses on one or more characters struggling to survive attacks by one or more antagonistic monsters, often abnormally large ones. The film may also fall under the horror, comedy, fantasy, or science fiction genres. Monster movies originated with adaptations of horror folklore and literature.
Megaguirus is a kaiju who first appeared in Toho's 2000 film Godzilla vs. Megaguirus. A mutated version of the fictional dragonfly-like insect known as Meganulon, Megaguirus is regarded as the queen of the species; according to Toho, she is 50 meters long, has a wingspan of 80 meters and weighs 12,000 metric tons. The first and only major appearance of the creature was in the 2000 film Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, she also had a brief cameo appearance in Godzilla: Final Wars from 2004.
As an enduring and iconic symbol of post-World War II cinematic history, the fictional giant monster Godzilla has been referenced and parodied numerous times in popular culture. Godzilla and other atomic monsters have appeared in a variety of mediums, including cartoons, film, literature, television, and video games.
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or kaiju, and one of the main protagonists of Legendary Pictures' Monsterverse franchise.
