The ginormous gorilla never failed to get the public’s attention, what with its mammoth size. The King of Monsters found its way to comic books, hugged TV and movie screens, and even starred in video games and a variety of other media.
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This monster is never gone for good. Just when everything seems to quieten down, he comes back bigger and mightier. Originally Gojira, people now know him as Godzilla. The name was started as a play at the suffix “zilla” in words like Dadzilla, Momzilla, and Beerzilla, to mean something that has gone too far. Godzilla, with the God prefix, is extremity at its finest.
From the initial monster-of-destruction movie in Japan, comes the 30th movie in the Godzilla franchise. In time for Gojira’s 60th birthday, as the first movie invaded the silver screen, Gareth Edwards’ ultimate movie will be a reminder that Godzilla is still the king of monsters. Let’s go back in history and detail how the monster gorilla evolved.
1954: Gojira to Godzilla
Gigantic, grey, angry, and a gorilla – that’s Gojira. The 50-meter Japanese monster that rocked the box office was set in post-WWII Japan. A product of nuclear fallout, Godzilla came after King Kong in 1952, and The Beast in 1953.
The angry appearance of the giant gorilla is a combination of Tyrannosaurus and Iguanodon, with monstrous back-plates of Stegosaurus and keloid, brought about by atomic exposure.
The actual gorilla suit was made of rubber and stood at 2 meters, weighing more than 100 kilograms.
The score that was to be Gojira’s iconic roar was created by maestro Ifukabe Akira. The first film from Tokyo was brought to the West with additional footage, sharp editing to almost a third of the original, subtitling, and removing of everything anti-US. The name of the movie was, of course, sensationalized into Godzilla. Although it’s marketed as Godzilla, the God of lizards, the monster is actually a mangled and Anglicized version of Gojira.
Going abroad to the US, Europe, and back to Japan, the movie turned a handsome profit of $2 million from its investment of $25,000.
1954 to 1975: Godzilla and the End of the Franchise
Godzilla Raids Again came in 1955, and was very well-received. Godzilla is still 50 meters tall, but this time, looks cuddly. He’s set to fight a spiky Anguirus. After his two initial successes, there was a rush of criticisms that silenced Godzilla for seven years. Then, King Kong Vs Godzilla finally came in 1962, which once again landed big in the box office.
Godzilla, after making an impact as a symbol of destruction, started to appeal to wider audiences with the softening of the character as defender of humanity. With this newly-acquired quality and his change in appearance, people loved Godzilla again. Gone were his fangs and keloidic features, as he’d become cuddlier. The battles carried a Western influence; wrestling. The scenes and plots became more light-hearted and comedic.
All Monsters Attack came in 1969, featuring Gojira and his son, Minilla. Godzilla Vs Hedorah was released in 1971 and has the gorilla flying backwards, with his breath for fuel. Finally, in Godzilla Vs Gigan in 1972, viewers could see Godzilla speak.
Godzilla introduced many big names in the franchise: Mothra and King Ghidorah in 1964, and Mechagodzilla in 1974. In the mid-70s, the Terror of Mechagodzilla made the 15th flick in the franchise. For a longer period, this time, the monster wades back to the ocean to disappear again.
1977 to 1979: The Marvel That is Godzilla
The King of Monsters walks up the Alaskan shoreline at a diminutive measurement of 14 x 17 inches. However, this 24-issue Marvel comic book was what rose Godzilla from his stupor and gathered him a new set of fans in the 2D media. Marvel’s Godzilla didn’t have dialogue bubbles, and that somehow prevented his character from endearing readers. This relegated him to battles that didn’t quite put him on center stage, except perhaps in a basketball duel, with bad boy Charles Barkley. IDW Publishing is the current licensee to the Godzilla character and his other cohorts.
1978 to 1980: The Cartoon Godzilla
From 50 meters high to 14 x 17 inches, Godzilla now breathes fire and stands 30 storeys high. The new gargantuan character appears with the themed chant of, “Godzilla! Godzilla! Godzilla!” The cartoon show introduces the Monster Island and several characters, including winged Godzooky, who’s nephew to Godzilla, to appeal to younger children. Godzilla is the hero-on-call by his naughty nephew, and the avenger of helpless characters. Unfortunately, the iconic roar couldn’t be used in the cartoon show, due to restrictions in rights and permits.
1984 to 1995: The Return of Gojira
He’s larger and taller at 80 meters, and now has fangs and his bad savage self. Back in Japan, the makers of Gojira decided to launch a sequel – not the gentler and comic remakes, but the original fierce brute that Gojira was. The Return was a huge hit, but soon ran out of freakish ideas to sustain the interest of viewers.
A 3-minute TV show, The Godzilla Island, was aired every weekday for one year. It was part of a marketing scheme for Bandai toys, and it revived some classic characters from the original Toho Studios creation, including Hyper Mecha-King Ghidorah, and Black MechaGodzilla.
There were landmark moments in the 1991 Godzilla Vs King Ghidorah, and in the 1995 Godzilla Vs Destoroyah. In the latter, Gojira is killed in the finale.
1998: The Zilla
What happened when God was taken away from Godzilla? Still standing tall at 50 meters, Zilla is still the spectacle that always came with the original monster. Now a mutated iguana, Zilla is leaner and without its original indestructibility. Zilla was not Godzilla; the movie was quite explicit in the name, but a spin-off to a new character.
Godzilla: The Series, in 1998, is an improvement of the introductory Zilla flick.
2002: The Melee Master
Godzilla has been featured in several games, especially those that require his building-flattening skills. However, he’d never really starred in one until Destroy All Monsters Melee came along. This game embellishes the original Toho classic and it’s very playable.
1999 to 2004: New Generation Godzilla
Zilla was the new generation, but in the new decade, Toho wanted to show how a proper Godzilla movie was made. After almost half a century, they should know. The King made a comeback, and the best in the series was King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack in 2001. Final Wars in 2004 had Godzilla play soccer with Anguirus as football; he rolled up into a ball, which was hilarious. The movie had its share of critics, but at 50 years of Godzilla characterizations, a fierce footballer shouldn’t be too extreme in the imagination of the creators or the viewers.
Attention and interest in Godzilla dwindled. A character, even one that looms at 30 meters to 50 storeys high, has its peak point. After that, it’s a rough ride for Godzilla with a few isolated and minor peaks.
However, there’s not too many Kings of Monsters in the entertainment industry, after all. What if Gareth Edwards comes up with a 110-meter version of massive destruction? If it promises not to be simply twice the size, but twice as explosive and spectacular as the most successful Godzilla or Gojira in history, perhaps the King of Monsters has another regime to rule.