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105-532: Mothra is one of Toho's most popular monsters and second only to Godzilla in her total number of film appearances. Polls taken during the early 1990s indicated that Mothra was particularly popular among women who were, at the time, the largest demographic among Japan's movie-going audience, a fact that prompted the filming of 1992's Godzilla vs. Mothra , which was the best-attended Toho film since King Kong vs. Godzilla . IGN listed Mothra as #3 on its "Top 10 Japanese Movie Monsters" list, while Complex listed

210-417: A Stegosaurus and an alligator to form a sort of blended chimera , inspired by illustrations from an issue of Life magazine. To emphasize the monster's relationship with the atomic bomb, its skin texture was inspired by the keloid scars seen on the survivors of Hiroshima . The basic design has a reptilian visage, a robust build, an upright posture, a long tail and three rows of serrated plates along

315-546: A portmanteau of the Japanese words gorira ( ゴリラ , "gorilla") and kujira ( 鯨 （ クジラ ） , "whale") due to his burly build to resemble a gorilla and his habit to favor whale meat . The account has been acknowledged by Toho themselves, director Ishirō Honda , producer Tanaka, special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya , producer Ichirō Satō  [ ja ] , and production head Iwao Mori  [ ja ] , with Satō and Mori recalling that

420-461: A "symbiotic relationship with each other", saying, “The twins are an example of a very successful, long relationship...so I wanted to make sure that we found some way to incorporate them, even if it was a little bit of an Easter egg.” Dougherty, who is half-Vietnamese, felt the need to retain the twins' Asian ethnicity. In the Showa continuity, Mothra is depicted as a mystical being that is worshiped by

525-427: A body cavity made of thin wires and bamboo wrapped in chicken wire for support and covered in fabric and cushions, which were then coated in latex. It was held together by small hooks on the back, though subsequent Godzilla suits incorporated a zipper. Prior to 1984, most Godzilla suits were made from scratch, thus resulting in slight design changes in each film appearance. The most notable changes from 1962 to 1975 were

630-532: A distinctive disyllabic roar (transcribed in several comics as Skreeeonk! ), which was created by composer Akira Ifukube , who produced the sound by rubbing a pine tar-resin-coated glove along the string of a contrabass and then slowing down the playback. In the American version of Godzilla Raids Again (1955) titled Gigantis the Fire Monster (1959), Godzilla's roar was mostly substituted with that of

735-487: A fight between Godzilla and a resurrected Battra, and the larva later attacks Tokyo in order to save her priestesses. Mothra forms a cocoon around the National Diet Building , attains her adult form, then briefly fights Battra before joining forces with him in order to fight Godzilla. Battra dies in the attempt and Mothra pledges to fulfill her fallen comrade's role in preventing a meteorite from devastating

840-487: A filmographic metaphor for the United States, as well as an allegory of nuclear weapons in general. The earlier Godzilla films, especially the original, portrayed Godzilla as a frightening nuclear-spawned monster. Godzilla represented the fears that many Japanese held about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the possibility of recurrence. As the series progressed, so did Godzilla, changing into

945-777: A fire-breathing monster in a commercial for the Honda Odyssey . The monster was never mentioned by name, being seen briefly on a video screen inside the minivan. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society christened a vessel the MV Gojira . Its purpose is to target and harass Japanese whalers in defense of whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. The MV Gojira was renamed the MV ; Brigitte Bardot in May 2011, due to legal pressure from Toho . Gojira

1050-456: A giant version of NBA player Charles Barkley . The commercial was subsequently adapted into a comic book illustrated by Jeff Butler . Godzilla has also appeared in a commercial for Snickers candy bars , which served as an indirect promo for the 2014 film. Godzilla's success inspired the creation of numerous other monster characters, such as Gamera , Reptilicus of Denmark, Yonggary of South Korea, Pulgasari of North Korea, Gorgo of

1155-646: A guardian of the Earth who presided over an advanced civilization over 12,000 years ago. When the civilization created a device designed to control the Earth's climate, the Earth responded by creating the Black Mothra, Battra, which Mothra defeated, but not before the civilization was wiped out. Mothra's egg is later discovered in 1992 on Infant Island by the Marutomo real estate agency, which seeks to exploit it and Mothra's priestesses for profit. The egg hatches during

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1260-425: A human to create the movements of the computer-generated Godzilla, but it was said to have ended up looking too much like a man in a suit. Tatopoulos subsequently reimagined the creature as a lean, digitigrade bipedal, iguana-like creature that stood with its back and tail parallel to the ground, rendered via CGI . Several scenes had the monster portrayed by stuntmen in suits. The suits were similar to those used in

1365-415: A laser-like high velocity projectile and unleashes it from its jaws in the form of a blue or red radioactive beam. Toho's special effects department has used various techniques to render the beam, from physical gas-powered flames to hand-drawn or computer-generated fire. Godzilla is shown to possess immense physical strength and muscularity. Haruo Nakajima, the actor who played Godzilla in the original films,

1470-544: A less destructive and more heroic character. Ghidorah (1964) was the turning point in Godzilla's transformation from villain to hero, by pitting him against a greater threat to humanity, King Ghidorah . Godzilla has since been viewed as an anti-hero . Roger Ebert cited Godzilla as a notable example of a villain-turned-hero, along with King Kong, Jaws ( James Bond ) , the Terminator and John Rambo . Godzilla

1575-464: A minimum. As with Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah , the adult Mothra was given mobile legs, though they were made to constantly move, as it was felt that the prop stopped looking realistic once they became immobile. Creature designer Shinichi Wakasa had initially wanted Mothra's wings to have the angular design seen in Rebirth of Mothra II , though the prop was ultimately given the wing shape seen in

1680-585: A new and more powerful form in order to fight the pollution monster Dagahra. In Rebirth of Mothra III , Mothra is forced to travel backwards through time to the Cretaceous Period in order to retroactively kill the space dragon King Ghidorah and remove Ghidorah from history. After seemingly defeating Ghidorah's younger form in the Cretaceous period, Mothra hibernates in a cocoon constructed by an ancestral Mothra larvae for 65 million years until

1785-477: A nod in the form of a pair of twin girls wearing white clothes during the scene where Mothra flies over Tokyo. They are played by sisters Ai and Aki Maeda . In the anime trilogy directed by Gen Urobuchi , the fairies are human-sized sisters named Maina and Miana. Their people are the Houtua ( フツア , Futsua ) , descendants of humans that evolved through Mothra's influence with both telepathy and an immunity to

1890-510: A primitive human culture native to Infant Island. Mothra has her hatching from an egg after her priestesses are abducted by a Rolisican capitalist hoping to exploit them as media celebrities. The larva Mothra swims to Tokyo and cocoons herself around the Tokyo Tower . Upon reaching her adult form, Mothra flies to Rolisica's capital and causes widespread destruction until her priestesses are returned to her. Mothra in this era, most notably

1995-437: A short period when the organ recycles. Various films, non-canonical television shows, comics, and games have depicted Godzilla with additional powers, such as an atomic pulse, magnetism, precognition, fireballs, convert electromagnetic energy into intensive body heat, converting shed blood into temporary tentacle limbs, an electric bite, superhuman speed, laser beams emitted from its eyes and even flight. Godzilla has

2100-490: A whim. It is generally not motivated to attack by predatory instinct; it does not usually eat people and instead sustains itself on nuclear radiation and an omnivorous or piscivorian diet consisting especially of cetaceans and large fish. When inquired if Godzilla was "good or bad", producer Shōgo Tomiyama likened it to a Shinto "God of Destruction" which lacks moral agency and cannot be held to human standards of good and evil. "He totally destroys everything and then there

2205-431: Is a rebirth. Something new and fresh can begin." Tomoyuki Tanaka noted in his book that Godzilla and humanity can become temporal allies against greater threats, however they are essentially enemies due to the difficulty to co-exist. Godzilla's signature weapon is its "atomic heat beam" (also known as "atomic breath" ), nuclear energy that it generates inside of its body, uses electromagnetic force to concentrate it into

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2310-830: Is also a later version, set to the same tune, sung in Japanese : The Peanuts were given an additional song in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster entitled "Cry for Happiness", composed by Hiroshi Miyagawa. The Peanuts did not reprise their role in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep and were replaced by the singing duo Pair Bambi. In Godzilla vs. Mothra , the fairies are renamed the Cosmos ( コスモス , Kosumosu ) and are played by Keiko Imamura and Sayaka Osawa. This casting move

2415-526: Is briefly enslaved by the evil Kilaaks, who force her to attack Beijing and later join Godzilla in the destruction of Tokyo. The Kilaaks' mind control is ultimately broken and Mothra joins the other monsters in the final battle against King Ghidorah. This was the character's final starring role in the Showa era, although Mothra would later be seen in stock footage from Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster and Destroy All Monsters for Godzilla vs. Gigan in 1972. 1992's Godzilla vs. Mothra portrays Mothra as

2520-559: Is considered "the original radioactive superhero " due to his accidental radioactive origin story predating Spider-Man (1962 debut), though Godzilla did not become a hero until Ghidorah in 1964. By the 1970s, Godzilla came to be viewed as a superhero, with the magazine King of the Monsters in 1977 describing Godzilla as "Superhero of the '70s." Godzilla had surpassed Superman and Batman to become "the most universally popular superhero of 1977" according to Donald F. Glut. Godzilla

2625-465: Is defeated, but transfers her spirit to King Ghidorah . Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. has the Mothra from the original 1961 film send her priestesses to demand that Japan dismantle the anti-Godzilla weapon Kiryu or face destruction, as she considers the cyborg to be against the natural order, having been created using the bones of the first Godzilla. When the second Godzilla lands, Mothra attempts to fight

2730-485: Is later revealed to be a different creature ), there is no direct confirmation that this is actually Mothra. One may assume these moths are related to Mothra in some way ( or actually are several Mothras ), but the show does not provide any context as to what they actually are. Several of Mothra's previous incarnations make cameo appearances in the show's ending credits ( alongside several other Toho properties ). In 2014, Legendary Pictures announced that they had acquired

2835-536: Is saved through the intervention of Godzilla and Rodan. The larva ultimately gains adulthood in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep , where she saves a group of slaves taken from Infant Island from a terrorist base on Letchi Island undergoing a self-destruct sequence. Another larva appears in Destroy All Monsters , living alongside other monsters in Monsterland. Along with the other monsters, Mothra

2940-401: Is shown to have great vitality: it is immune to conventional weaponry thanks to its rugged hide and ability to regenerate , and as a result of surviving a nuclear explosion, it cannot be destroyed by anything less powerful. One incarnation possesses an electromagnetic pulse-producing organ in its body which generates an asymmetrical permeable shield, making it impervious to all damage except for

3045-515: Is the name of a French death metal band, formerly known as Godzilla; legal problems forced the band to change their name. In May 2015, Toho launched a lawsuit against Voltage Pictures over a planned picture starring Anne Hathaway . Promotional material released at the Cannes Film Festival used images of Godzilla. Steven Spielberg cited Godzilla as an inspiration for Jurassic Park (1993), specifically Godzilla, King of

3150-590: The Elias ( エリアス , Eriasu ) which consist of Moll, Lora, and their estranged sister Belvera. Moll and Lora contrast with prior adaptations because they possess separate personalities and rarely act in unison. Megumi Kobayashi was cast as Moll for all three films, Sayaka Yamaguchi as Lora for the first two films, Misato Tate as Lora for the third film and Aki Hano as Belvera for all three films. Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack does not feature Mothra's fairies, but they are however given

3255-859: The Fantastic Four , and the Avengers , as well as DC Comics characters such as the Justice League , the Legion of Doom and the Green Lantern Corps . First appearing in 1954, Godzilla has starred in a total of 38 films: 33 Japanese films produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd. and five American films, one produced by TriStar Pictures and four produced by Legendary Pictures . He has also appeared in countless other entertainment mediums, which include comic book lines, novelizations , and video games; each appearance expands upon

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3360-530: The King of the Monsters , an epithet first used in Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), the American localization of the 1954 film. Originally and in most iterations of the creature, Godzilla is a colossal prehistoric reptilian or dinosaurian monster that is amphibious or resides partially in the ocean, awakened and empowered after many years by exposure to nuclear radiation and nuclear testing . With

3465-491: The Shinjuku ward of Tokyo named Godzilla a special resident and official tourism ambassador to encourage tourism. During an unveiling of a giant Godzilla bust at Toho headquarters, Shinjuku mayor Kenichi Yoshizumi stated, "Godzilla is a character that is the pride of Japan." The mayor extended a residency certificate to an actor in a rubber suit representing Godzilla, but as the suit's hands were not designed for grasping, it

3570-713: The human condition . Godzilla has been featured alongside many supporting characters and, over the decades, has faced off against various human opponents, such as the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), in addition to other gargantuan monsters, including Gigan , King Ghidorah , and Mechagodzilla . Godzilla has fought alongside allies such as Anguirus , Mothra , and Rodan and has had offspring, including Godzilla Junior and Minilla . Godzilla has also battled characters and creatures from other franchises in crossover media —such as King Kong — as well as various Marvel Comics characters, like S.H.I.E.L.D. ,

3675-716: The nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Lucky Dragon 5 incident still fresh in the Japanese consciousness, Godzilla was conceived as a metaphor for nuclear weapons . Others have suggested that Godzilla is a metaphor for the United States, a "giant beast" woken from its "slumber" that then takes terrible vengeance on Japan. As the film series expanded, some storylines took on less serious undertones, portraying Godzilla as an antihero or lesser threat who defends humanity. Later films address disparate themes and commentary, including Japan's apathy, neglect, and ignorance of its imperial past , natural disasters , and

3780-466: The "Queen of the Monsters" and that they apparently link Mothra to Godzilla, the King of the Monsters, since the eye spots on her wings are modeled after Godzilla's eyes. Within the film, she is shown to have a symbiotic relationship with Godzilla, and temporarily paralyzes Rodan by stabbing him through the chest with a hidden abdominal stinger. These changes make Mothra the most heavily redesigned monster in

3885-472: The 1960s movies. In addition, Mothra's twin larvae, one male and one female, were given nicknames by the staff on set - the male, who can be distinguished by his longer tusks and spikes, was nicknamed Taro, while the female was nicknamed Hanako. Mothra is usually accompanied by tiny twin female fairies , which Shinichi Sekizawa termed Shobijin ( 小美人 ) , meaning "little beauties". The original draft for Mothra called for four fairies, though Sekizawa reduced

3990-404: The American film Godzilla (2014) from Legendary Pictures , Godzilla was scaled to be 108.2 m (355 ft) and weighing 90,000 short tons (81,650 metric tons), making it the largest film version at that time. Director Gareth Edwards wanted Godzilla "to be so big as to be seen from anywhere in the city, but not too big that he couldn't be obscured". For Shin Godzilla (2016), Godzilla

4095-542: The Earth in 1999. In Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla , Mothra detected SpaceGodzilla 's advance towards Earth and sends her priestesses to warn the planet of his arrival. The Rebirth of Mothra trilogy is separate from the Godzilla Heisei continuity and portrays Mothra as the last remaining member of a species of giant moths who guard the Elias' civilization. This civilization was destroyed millions of years ago by

4200-455: The English word "moth"; since the Japanese language does not have dental fricatives , it is approximated "Mosura" in Japanese. The "ra" suffix follows the precedent set by Godzilla ( Gojira ), which in turn is derived from kujira ( 鯨 ( クジラ ) , " whale ") , which serves to indicate the character's enormous size. Dican International Pictures entitled the movie Godzilla vs.

4305-621: The Iwi rebuild the barrier that protects them and then flies off deep into Hollow Earth. Godzilla Godzilla ( / ɡ ɒ d ˈ z ɪ l ə / ɡod- ZIL -ə ) 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

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4410-476: The Monsters , portraying the character through performance capture . In Shin Godzilla , a majority of the character was portrayed via CGI, with Mansai Nomura portraying Godzilla through motion capture. In 2024, Godzilla Minus One was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects , becoming the first Godzilla film nominated for an Oscar . At the 96th Academy Awards ceremony, it won

4515-638: The Monsters . Viral marketing for the movie showed that Mothra retained her status as a creature who is deified as an angelic-like goddess, referred to as the Queen of the Monsters. Monarch Sciences, the film's promotional website, identifies the Yunnan rainforest as Mothra's location (however, Infant Island was referenced within the film, and the name "Mosura" is said to be derived from a small Indonesian island) and states in its adult form to be capable of emitting beta-wave bioluminescence that can be projected through

4620-573: The Monsters! (1956), which he grew up watching. Spielberg described Godzilla as "the most masterful of all the dinosaur movies because it made you believe it was really happening." Godzilla also influenced the Spielberg film Jaws (1975). Godzilla has also been cited as an inspiration by filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton . A carnivorous dinosaur from the Triassic period

4725-497: The South Pacific islands during World War II prompted him to envision a movie featuring an island where mysterious events occurred. In her 1961 debut , Mothra's adult form consisted of a wire-operated mechanical puppet, while the larva was a suitmation puppet operated by six stuntmen crawling in single file. In Mothra vs. Godzilla three years later, the adult Mothra puppet was modified with radio-controlled legs, while

4830-547: The Thing , probably to avoid legal action from Columbia Pictures , which had released the original Mothra . Mothra was first conceived in the January 1961 serial The Luminous Fairies and Mothra by authors Shinichiro Nakamura, Takehiko Fukunaga and Yoshie Hotta, who had been commissioned by Toho to write the outline of a future film. The character was further developed by Shinichi Sekizawa , whose experiences of starving in

4935-654: The Toho films, with the actors' heads being located in the monster's neck region and the facial movements controlled via animatronics. However, because of the creature's horizontal posture, the stuntmen had to wear metal leg extenders, which allowed them to stand two metres (six feet) off the ground with their feet bent forward. The film's special effects crew also built a 1 ⁄ 6 scale animatronic Godzilla for close-up scenes, whose size outmatched that of Stan Winston 's T. rex in Jurassic Park . Kurt Carley performed

5040-767: The United Kingdom and the Cloverfield monster of the United States. Dakosaurus is an extinct sea crocodile of the Jurassic Period , which researchers informally nicknamed "Godzilla". Paleontologists have written tongue-in-cheek speculative articles about Godzilla's biology, with Kenneth Carpenter tentatively classifying it as a ceratosaur based on its skull shape, four-fingered hands, and dorsal scutes and paleontologist Darren Naish expressing skepticism, while commenting on Godzilla's unusual morphology. Godzilla's ubiquity in pop culture has led to

5145-587: The assimilative properties of nanometal. In Godzilla: King of the Monsters , it's revealed that Monarch researcher Dr. Ilene Chen (played by Zhang Ziyi ) has an identical twin sister named Dr. Ling Chen, who is also in Monarch and is present at Mothra's hatching. The Chens are part of a family which appears to consist almost entirely of pairs of identical twin sisters, two of whom are shown visiting Infant Island (Mothra's traditional home) in 1961. The film's director and co-screenwriter, Michael Dougherty , confirmed

5250-439: The award. Godzilla is one of the most recognizable symbols of Japanese popular culture worldwide and remains an important facet of Japanese films, embodying the kaiju subset of the tokusatsu genre. Godzilla's vaguely humanoid appearance and strained, lumbering movements endeared it to Japanese audiences, who could relate to Godzilla as a sympathetic character, despite its wrathful nature. Audiences respond positively to

5355-406: The back. In the original film, the plates were added for purely aesthetic purposes, in order to further differentiate Godzilla from any other living or extinct creature. Godzilla is sometimes depicted as green in comics, cartoons, and movie posters, but the costumes used in the movies were usually painted charcoal gray with bone-white dorsal plates up until the film Godzilla 2000: Millennium . In

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5460-462: The battle in the Hollow Earth and takes down Skar King's apes, preventing them from reaching the surface. She also aids Godzilla when Shimo, the mother Titan under Skar King's control, almost freezes him. Eventually Godzilla and Kong manage to come out victorious, with Shimo being freed from Skar King's control and starts freezing him over so that Kong can eventually destroy him. Mothra then helps

5565-481: The character as #7 on its "The 15 Most Badass Kaiju Monsters of All Time" list. Though Mothra is generally portrayed as female, male individuals of her species have also been featured in the franchise, including Battra in Godzilla vs. Mothra , and a male Mothra larva who appears alongside his non-identical twin sister in Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. The name Mothra ( モスラ ) is the suffixation of "-ra" to

5670-525: The character because it acts out of rage and self-preservation and shows where science and technology can go wrong. In 1967, the Keukdong Entertainment Company of South Korea, with production assistance from Toei Company , produced Yongary, Monster from the Deep , a reptilian monster who invades South Korea to consume oil. The film and character has often been branded as an imitation of Godzilla. Godzilla has been considered

5775-554: The character, eventually making Godzilla as tall as 100 m (328 ft). This was done so that it would not be dwarfed by the newer, bigger buildings in Tokyo's skyline, such as the 243-metre-tall (797 ft) Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building which Godzilla destroyed in the film Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991). Supplementary information, such as character profiles, would also depict Godzilla as weighing between 20,000 and 60,000 metric tons (22,050 and 66,140 short tons). In

5880-414: The context of the Japanese films, Godzilla's exact origins vary, but it is generally depicted as an enormous, violent, prehistoric sea monster awakened and empowered by nuclear radiation. Although the specific details of Godzilla's appearance have varied slightly over the years, the overall impression has remained consistent. Inspired by the fictional Rhedosaurus created by animator Ray Harryhausen for

5985-706: The control of the Xiliens, and is confronted by Mothra. In the ensuing battle, Mothra catches fire, but manages to kill Gigan by ramming into him and exploding. However, in a mid-credits scene, Mothra is shown to be alive after all and flying back to Infant Island to be reunited with the Shobijin. While Mothra never made a physical appearance, she was mentioned in Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle to have been killed by Godzilla years prior, though her egg ended up in

6090-403: The creation of numerous parodies and tributes, as seen in media such as Bambi Meets Godzilla , which was ranked as one of the "50 greatest cartoons", two episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and the song " Godzilla " by Blue Öyster Cult . Godzilla has also been used in advertisements, such as in a commercial for Nike , where Godzilla lost an oversized one-on-one game of basketball to

6195-432: The creature's head. The Cybot Godzilla consisted of a hydraulically powered mechanical endoskeleton covered in urethane skin containing 3,000 computer operated parts which permitted it to tilt its head and move its lips and arms. In Godzilla (1998), special effects artist Patrick Tatopoulos was instructed to redesign Godzilla as an incredibly fast runner. At one point, it was planned to use motion capture from

6300-471: The dragon Desghidorah, whom Mothra defeated. Mothra lays an egg in modern times, but is too weak to fight Desghidorah once it returns. The egg hatches and the new Mothra, goes to protect her mother, but sadly Mothra is mortally wounded by Desghidorah while the larva is still too weak to combat the dragon. After Mothra dies, the new Mothra metamorphoses into an adult , then manages to kill Desghidorah. Mothra returns in Rebirth of Mothra II , where she acquires

6405-553: The employee was Amikura. However, Honda's widow Kimi dismissed the employee-name story as a tall tale in a 1998 BBC documentary on Godzilla, believing that Honda, Tanaka, and Tsuburaya gave "considerable thought" to the name of the monster, stating, "the backstage boys at Toho loved to joke around with tall stories, but I don't believe that one". Honda's longtime assistant director Kōji Kajita  [ ja ] added: "Those of us who were closest to them don't even know how and why they came up with Gojira ." Toho later translated

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6510-536: The fight in Boston , Mothra defeats Rodan and is disintegrated by King Ghidorah while protecting a fallen Godzilla. Her power is transferred to Godzilla as a result via her ashes, preventing him from suffering a nuclear meltdown and allowing him to defeat Ghidorah by achieving his burning form. During the credits, a news program speculates about the existence of a second Mothra egg, which the director later confirmed. Mothra returned in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire . It

6615-425: The film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms , Godzilla's character design was conceived as that of an amphibious reptilian monster based around the loose concept of a dinosaur with an erect standing posture, scaly skin, an anthropomorphic torso with muscular arms, lobed bony plates along its back and tail, and a furrowed brow. Art director Akira Watanabe combined attributes of a Tyrannosaurus , an Iguanodon ,

6720-547: The films by an actor wearing a latex costume , though the character has also been rendered in animatronic , stop-motion and computer-generated form. Taking inspiration from King Kong , special effects artist Eiji Tsuburaya had initially wanted Godzilla to be portrayed via stop-motion, but prohibitive deadlines and a lack of experienced animators in Japan at the time made suitmation more practical. The first suit, weighing in excess of 100 kg (220 lb), consisted of

6825-465: The first individual appeared in the 1961 film is the largest incarnation of all, being 180 meters in length with a wingspan of 250 meters and weighed 20,000 tonnes as an Imago, and 135 meters in body length and weighed 15,000 tonnes as a larva. In later films, the size of the Imagoes decreased to 53 meters in 1964 film and 40 meters in body length and 8,000 tonnes in weight in 1968 film respectively, while

6930-450: The fur on the head and damaged the wings. During the early Heisei era of Godzilla films, which ignored the continuity established in pre-1984 movies, several attempts were made to develop a Mothra standalone feature. Akira Murao wrote a screenplay in 1990 entitled Mothra vs. Bagan , which revolved around a shape-shifting dragon called Bagan who sought to destroy humanity for its abuse of the Earth's resources, only to be defeated by Mothra,

7035-436: The god of peace. The screenplay was revised by Kazuki Ōmori after the release of Godzilla vs. Biollante , though the project was ultimately scrapped by Toho, due to the poor box office performance of Godzilla vs. Biollante , as well as the assumption that Mothra was a character born purely out of Japanese culture and thus would have been difficult to market overseas, unlike the more internationally recognized Godzilla . With

7140-431: The illusion of great size. In the original 1954 film , Godzilla was scaled to be 50 m (164 ft) tall. This was done so Godzilla could just peer over the largest buildings in Tokyo at the time. In the 1956 American version , Godzilla is estimated to be 121.9 m (400 ft) tall, because producer Joseph E. Levine felt that 50 m did not sound "powerful enough". As the series progressed, Toho would rescale

7245-472: The intricate patterns on its wings and weaponized into destructive and blinding ‘god rays’. Further promotional material also revealed narrower wings, a wider wingspan (at 803 feet or 244.75 meters, it is second only to her original 250-meter wingspan), long praying mantis -like forearms and legs as opposed to bird-like limbs and a body design that is more reminiscent of real-life moths, with a smaller body and head. The markings on her wings are said to mark her as

7350-597: The lack of undulation in the larva prop's movements were also commented on as being inferior to the effects seen in 1960s Mothra movies. Criticism was also leveled at Mothra's altered origin story, which portrayed her as an extraterrestrial , thus dampening the character's motivation for protecting Earth. The character's newfound popularity nevertheless prompted Toho to produce Rebirth of Mothra in 1996. For Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack , director Shūsuke Kaneko had originally planned on using Anguirus as one of Godzilla's antagonists, but

7455-478: The larvae were portrayed via a combination of motor-driven props and hand puppets. The larval Mothra featured in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster remained largely unchanged from its previous appearance, though the color of its eyes was changed from blue to red. The adult Mothra prop featured in Mothra vs. Godzilla was reused in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep , though previous heavy use had dulled its colors, frayed

7560-416: The latter is defeated when two larvae emerge from the egg and encase Godzilla in a cocoon. In Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster , it is revealed that only one of the larvae survived. The remaining larva attempts to convince Godzilla and Rodan to join forces with her in order to fight King Ghidorah , but the two monsters reject her proposal. Mothra is nearly killed attempting to fight Ghidorah alone, but

7665-447: The legs from the suits' steel wire reinforcements wearing through the rubber padding. The ventilation problem was partially solved in the suit used in 1994's Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla , which was the first to include an air duct that allowed suit actors to last longer during performances. In The Return of Godzilla (1984), some scenes made use of a 16-foot high robotic Godzilla (dubbed the "Cybot Godzilla") for use in close-up shots of

7770-455: The mistaken assumption that the character is in the public domain , resulting in litigation by Toho to protect their corporate asset from becoming a generic trademark . In April 2008, Subway depicted a giant monster in a commercial for their Five Dollar Footlongs sandwich promotion. Toho filed a lawsuit against Subway for using the character without permission, demanding $ 150,000 in compensation. In February 2011, Toho sued Honda for depicting

7875-440: The monster Anguirus . From The Return of Godzilla (1984) to Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Godzilla was given a deeper and more threatening-sounding roar than in previous films, though this change was reverted from Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) onward. For the 2014 American film, sound editors Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl refused to disclose the source of the sounds used for their Godzilla's roar. Aadahl described

7980-426: The monster alongside Kiryu, but is killed in the process. Two larvae hatch on Infant Island and reach Tokyo in order to fight Godzilla, whom they encase in a cocoon, which is then transported into the ocean by Kiryu. Godzilla: Final Wars , which ignores the continuity of the previous film, establishes that Mothra protected the Earth 10,000 years ago from the cyborg Gigan . In the distant future, Gigan returns, under

8085-588: The monster is referred to as a male and is depicted laying eggs through parthenogenesis . In the Legendary Godzilla films, Godzilla is referred to as a male. Godzilla's allegiance and motivations, as well as its level of intelligence, have changed from film to film to suit the needs of the story. Although Godzilla does not like humans, it will fight alongside humanity against common threats. However, it makes no special effort to protect human life or property and will turn against its human allies on

8190-479: The monster's Japanese name as "Godzilla" for overseas distribution. The first recorded foreign usage of "Godzilla" was printed in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald on November 20, 1955. During the development of the American version of Godzilla Raids Again (1955), Godzilla's name was changed to "Gigantis" by producer Paul Schreibman, who wanted to create a character distinct from Godzilla. Within

8295-607: The number to two, as twins were comparatively rare in Japan, thus adding to the characters' mystique. Toho also sought to reinforce its links with Columbia Pictures , by featuring the singing duo the Peanuts , who had been popularized in America by Columbia Records. Yūji Koseki composed the song Mosura no uta ("Song of Mothra") for the fairies to sing when summoning Mothra. The song was originally sung in Indonesian , but there

8400-417: The original Japanese films, Godzilla and all the other monsters are referred to with gender-neutral pronouns equivalent to "it", while in the English dubbed versions, Godzilla is explicitly described as a male. In his book, Godzilla co-creator Tomoyuki Tanaka suggested that the monster was probably male; but also suggested that the original 1954 version could have been female. In the 1998 film Godzilla ,

8505-515: The present day, where she defeats Ghidorah's far stronger modern form with a new, equally strong form of her own. In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack , Mothra is portrayed as having been one of the three guardians of Yamato, originating 1,000 years before the events of the film. Initially an antagonist, Mothra was imprisoned in Lake Ikeda , only to be reawakened in 2001 to halt Godzilla's destruction of Tokyo. She

8610-559: The protection of the Houtua people, a species of evolved humans who adapted Mothra-like features to survive the now Godzilla ruled Earth. An astral projection of Mothra's unborn child in their adult form appears in Godzilla: The Planet Eater . In Godzilla Singular Point , dozens of small moths, that bear a striking resemblance to Mothra, appear. ( Visual similarities include: blue eyes, orange and yellow patterns on

8715-499: The reduction in Godzilla's number of toes and the removal of the character's external ears and prominent fangs, features which would all later be reincorporated in the Godzilla designs from The Return of Godzilla (1984) onward. The most consistent Godzilla design was maintained from Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) to Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), when the suit was given a cat-like face and double rows of teeth. Several suit actors had difficulties in performing as Godzilla due to

8820-553: The rights to Rodan , Mothra and King Ghidorah from Toho to use in their MonsterVerse . In the post-credits scene at the end of the 2017 film Kong: Skull Island , Mothra appears in a series of cave paintings depicting other monsters that are known to exist that are shown in the footage to James Conrad and Mason Weaver, along with Godzilla , Rodan and King Ghidorah. A casting call confirmed that Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah would all be featured in Godzilla: King of

8925-471: The series. Mothra first appears hatching from her egg in her larval state and is calmed by Dr. Emma Russell using the ORCA bio-acoustics device, becoming docile. When eco-terrorists led by Colonel Alan Jonah arrive soon after and capture Russell, her daughter Madison and the ORCA device, Mothra retreats under a waterfall and cocoons herself, later emerging from her cocoon in her adult form and flying off. During

9030-445: The size of the larva in 1966 film stayed the same to the 1961 individual. In Mothra vs. Godzilla , a Mothra egg appears on the coast of Japan, and is exploited as a tourist attraction. Mothra's priestesses attempt to negotiate the return of the egg to Infant Island, but are rebuffed. Godzilla attacks Japan, forcing humanity to beseech an embittered Mothra to intervene. Mothra willingly sacrificed herself whilst fighting Godzilla, but

9135-560: The southernmost Japanese island, is named the Godzilla Megamullion . The Japan Coast Guard played a role in name, reaching an agreement with Toho. Toho's Chief Godzilla officer Keiji Ota stated that "I am truly honored that (the megamullion) bears Godzilla's name, the Earth's most powerful monster." In a 2007 interview, Japanese defense minister Shigeru Ishiba said that he would mobilize the Japan Self-Defense Forces in response to an appearance by Godzilla. In April 2015,

9240-548: The success of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah , Toho sought to continue the series' newfound profitability by reintroducing familiar monsters rather than inventing new ones. Mothra was chosen as Godzilla's next antagonist on account of the character's popularity with women, who constituted the majority of cinemagoers at the time. Special effects head Koichi Kawakita co-wrote a screenplay entitled Godzilla vs. Gigamoth in 1991, which would have pitted Mothra against Godzilla and an irradiated Mothra doppelganger called Gigamoth, though this

9345-569: The suitmation sequences for the adult Godzilla. In Godzilla (2014), the character was portrayed entirely via CGI. Godzilla's design in the reboot was intended to stay true to that of the original series, though the film's special effects team strove to make the monster "more dynamic than a guy in a big rubber suit." To create a CG version of Godzilla, the Moving Picture Company (MPC) studied various animals such as bears, Komodo dragons , lizards, lions and wolves , which helped

9450-412: The suits' weight, lack of ventilation and diminished visibility. Haruo Nakajima , who portrayed Godzilla from 1954 to 1972, said the materials used to make the 1954 suit (rubber, plastic, cotton, and latex) were hard to find after World War II . The suit weighed 100 kilograms after its completion and required two men to help Nakajima put it on. When he first put it on, he sweated so heavily that his shirt

9555-401: The twins to be an updated version of the fairies, explaining, "It was important to me to find ways to modernize the ideas that [Mothra] has followers. Modernize the priestesses. [There] are still certain realms of believability to keep in take. You have to ease people into the more fantastical aspects." He noted that the twins were a "perfect example" of humans and monsters cooperating and forming

9660-431: The two syllables of the roar as representing two different emotional reactions, with the first expressing fury and the second conveying the character's soul. Godzilla's size is inconsistent, changing from film to film and even from scene to scene for the sake of artistic license. The miniature sets and costumes were typically built at a 1 ⁄ 25 – 1 ⁄ 50 scale and filmed at 240 frames per second to create

9765-430: The universe created by the films. Although the process of creating Godzilla's first film is comprehensively recorded, exactly how its name came to be remains unclear. The most widely accepted report of its origin is that producer Tomoyuki Tanaka named the monster after sturdy Toho worker Shirō Amikura, the later chief of the theater club of Toho, who was jokingly dubbed " Gujira " ( グジラ ) then " Gojira " ( ゴジラ ) ,

9870-406: The visual effects artists visualize Godzilla's body structure, like that of its underlying bone, fat and muscle structure, as well as the thickness and texture of its scales. Motion capture was also used for some of Godzilla's movements. T. J. Storm provided the performance capture for Godzilla by wearing sensors in front of a green screen. Storm reprised the role of Godzilla in Godzilla: King of

9975-596: The wings, a 'false eye' pattern as seen on Mothra as well as other species of Lepidoptera ). These small moths even seem to shed their golden scales, similar to how Mothra has done the same thing in the past. These moths also have a brief interaction with Jet Jaguar , making it the first on-screen interaction between the two Toho characters ( outside of comics, video games, spin-offs, etc. ). However, due to this show's nature to rename / rebrand existing monsters as new ones ( For example: A creature that heavily resembles “ Varan ”, both in its visual design & its sound design,

10080-402: Was a black belt in judo and used his expertise to choreograph the battle sequences. Godzilla is amphibious : it has a preference for traversing Earth's hydrosphere when in hibernation or migration, can breathe underwater due to pore-shaped gills and is described in the original film by the character Dr. Yamane as a transitional form between a marine and a terrestrial reptile. Godzilla

10185-1004: Was also voted the most popular movie monster in The Monster Times poll in 1973, beating Count Dracula , King Kong , the Wolf Man , the Mummy , the Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Frankenstein Monster . In 1996, Godzilla received the MTV Lifetime Achievement Award , as well as being given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004 to celebrate the premiere of the character's 50th anniversary film, Godzilla: Final Wars . Godzilla's pop-cultural impact has led to

10290-516: Was criticized by Godzilla historian Steve Ryfle, who lamented the fact that the two actresses were not identical and that their singing voices were "paper thin." According to Takao Okawara , the Cosmos scenes were among the hardest scenes he had ever filmed, as the actresses had to synchronize their movements without looking at each other. In the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy, Mothra's fairies are called

10395-490: Was initially planned to have Mothra's unfolding wings rendered through CGI , though this was scrapped on account of it not looking "sensitive" enough. Although the movie was a financial success, the Mothra props were criticized by several authors, who noted that the adult Mothra's brighter colors made it look like a "plush toy" and that its wings flapped less gracefully than in previous incarnations, as they were made of heavy cloth. The Mothra puppet's immobile chicken-like feet and

10500-492: Was made even taller than the Legendary version, at 118.5 m (389 ft). In Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017), Godzilla's height was increased further still to 300 m (984 ft). In Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), Godzilla's height was increased to 119.8 m (393 ft) from the 2014 incarnation. Godzilla's appearance has traditionally been portrayed in

10605-561: Was named Gojirasaurus in 1997 . The main-belt asteroid 101781 Gojira , discovered by American astronomer Roy Tucker at the Goodricke-Pigott Observatory in 1999, was named in honor of the creature. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on July 11, 2018 ( M.P.C. 110635 ). The largest megamullion , located 600 kilometers to the south-east of Okinotorishima ,

10710-443: Was pressured by Toho chairman Isao Matsuoka to use the more recognizable and profitable Mothra, as the previous film in the franchise, Godzilla x Megaguirus , which featured an original and unfamiliar antagonist, was a box office and critical failure. For 2003's Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. , special effects director Eiichi Asada sought to model Mothra directly on her appearance in the original 1961 film and to keep optical effects to

10815-401: Was rejected early on and replaced with the final plotline that was seen in the film Godzilla vs. Mothra . Kawakita's depiction of Mothra's adult form was given the ability to fire energy beams , which were rendered via optical effects, and the pollen dust emitted from its wings were given a sparkling effect not seen in prior movies. During the character's transformation from larva to adult, it

10920-572: Was revealed she survived the fight with King Ghidorah, and has been under a deep slumber ever since. When the Iwi sense that the tyrannical Skar King is about to come for them, they send a signal to Jia, the sole survivor of the Iwi tribe from Skull Island, so she can find them and re-awaken Mothra to aid Godzilla in battle. After a wounded Kong tells them the Skar King is on his way, Jia successfully reawakens Mothra. Mothra reunites with Godzilla and convinces him to join forces with Kong. Mothra then joins

11025-409: Was soaked within seconds. Kenpachiro Satsuma in particular, who portrayed Godzilla from 1984 to 1995, described how the Godzilla suits he wore were even heavier and hotter than their predecessors because of the incorporation of animatronics. Satsuma himself suffered numerous medical issues during his tenure, including oxygen deprivation , near-drowning, concussions, electric shocks and lacerations to

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