Mothra Movies

Mothra

Mothra introduces another classic monster to the genre. Scientist find an island that has been covered in radioactive fallout, with mutations including tiny telepathic twin girls and a giant egg. The girls are kidnapped, and the egg hatches into a huge larva hell bent for Tokyo! The special effects are particularly good this time around, especially once Mothra becomes a full grown insect. Mothra is also noteworthy for being the first kaiju with good intentions.

Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster

King Ghidorah falls to earth and can only be opposed by three already established monsters: Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan. This sprawling story has destruction, huge battles, and lots of spy intrigue. It also has a hilarious real-sounding-but-made-up country called Selgina and conversation between the various monsters, who can understand each other's roars.

Godzilla vs. Mothra

Probably the Godzilla film. Mothra's egg washes ashore in Japan, causing a general ruckas as the Cosmos Twins, a greedy tycoon and Mothra herself try to posess it in one way or another. And then Godzilla shows up, just to ruin everybody's day. The special effects in this installment of the the series would not be equalled until the 1990s.

Versions: The American version is largely the same as the Japanese version. It even includes an extra scene of the U. S. Navy shooting missiles at Godzilla. It's currently out on DVD and video from Classic Media. The Japanese version can be found on video.

Reviews: Stomp Tokyo, Barry's Temple of Godzilla.

Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster

Spunky dance contestants find themselves aboard a hijacked boat while searching for a friend lost at sea. The boat has been stolen by a bank robber on the lam, but at least he’s useful when they stumble upon a mysterious island whose natives have been enslaved by a terrorist syndicate! Godzilla and Mothra guest-star in this campy tale of intrigue which also happens to feature a giant shrimp monster that does the terrorists’ bidding. Classic ‘60s story and style.

Those of us with a weakness for giant monsters will find this a particularly enjoyable film, despite the ruinous condition of the Godzilla suit and the fact that Godzilla's presence kind of takes a back seat to the human action. Recommended for those parties when the non-initiated ask to see a Godzilla movie.

Review: Stomp Tokyo.

Destroy All Monsters

Destroy All Monsters was probably the last great Godzilla movie. In the year 1999, all of the world's monsters have been imprisoned on one island. Aliens release the monsters and demand all governments surrender to them. Earth's scientists release the monsters from alien control, but the aliens retaliate by unleashing King Ghidorah. The climactic monster battle is the most ambitious kaiju scene ever filmed.

Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth

Toho resurrected their second most popular monster in what was their most successful Heisei film. An archeologist is hired by a heartless tycoon to go to a remote island and find a lost civilization. He succeeds, though the whole civilization consists of a giant insect and two six inch tall psychic twins. Then an evil version of Mothra called Batra makes the scene. A fun movie, though so much is going on that Godzilla is pushed into the background.

Rebirth of Mothra

Kaiju fans were given plenty of warning that Rebirth of Mothra was made for kids. Yet still they bitched and moaned when the rainbow-winged moth monster was given a Wizard of Oz makeover, with children in the lead roles. Also returning with Mothra are those damnably perky Cosmos twins, or whatever kind of twins they're callin' 'em this time around.

The story is an environmentalist tale of an ancient monster who wants to destroy everything in nature. He's called Death Ghidorah and he comes with a fairy of his own, apparently a sister to the twins. Good thing Mothra and the kids are around to put a stop to her nefarious plans.

Yes, there's some giant monster action going on here and the Technicolor visuals will light up your cathode ray tube, but we'll warn you a second time: silly fanboy, Mothra's for kids.

Rebirth of Mothra II

Recipe for Rebirth of Mothra II: Take one part Godzilla, one part Raiders of the Lost Ark, and one part Pokemon. Combine and shake liberally. Serve to your children.

That's right, the twins are back for more Mothra action in this hot-on-the-heels sequel to Rebirth of Mothra, and once again this is a film that shouldn't be taken seriously. The standard "save the environment" message is wrapped in an adventure story involving a submerged city, a pesky fluffball of a sidekick, and a coupla giant monsters who are destined to rumble. Standard-kaiju fans might have a bit more fun with this installment, as the secret-city sequences are intriguing and the final fight is actually pretty kick-ass. Enduring the treacly dialogue, however, might well inspire the stuffier Godzilla fans to run screaming.

Rebirth of Mothra III

King Ghidorah comes to Earth and kidnaps a bunch of children. Only Mothra can come to the rescue, and go back in time and fight King Ghidorah as he kills off all the dinosaurs. (Stupid palentologists, always miss the obvious stuff!) While the first two movies in the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy have been released on DVD in the U.S., Rebirth of Mothra III has not. It appears on the Sci Fi Channel occasionally.

Godzilla , Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack

It's a giant monster jamboree! In this new continuity Godzilla attacks Japan after leaving the island alone for nearly fifty years. His reappearance triggers the return of Japan's guardians; Mothra, Baragon and Ghidorah!

Despite bringing some of the most vibrant incarnations of the classic Godzilla monsters to the screen, director Shusuke Kaneko was unable to give the same life to this series as he did to Gamera in the 1990s. Although the "mystical guardians" element puts an interesting spin on the old characters, it makes one wonder if Kaneko has any other plot ideas. We can see the reasons for casting Godzilla as the villain, but after so many years of rooting for him, it feels kind of weird.

Still, GMK features some of the scariest Godzilla moments we've seen in a long time (especially the kitchen sequence), and some of the slickest giant monster battles yet. Definitely worth watching.

Reviews: Stomp Tokyo.

Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.

As Japan prepares Mechagodzilla for another assault on Godzilla, the Cosmos twins ask Japan to scrap the robot so the original Godzilla's bones can rest in piece. Instead, they offer Mothra to fight Godzilla if he appears again.

This move features some of the best monster action of the series yet, though trying to figure out what's going on with the humans can be challenging. Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. is a direct sequel to Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002), and features a cameo by the turtle from Yog: Monster from Space (1970).

Godzilla: Final Wars

Allegedly the last Godzilla movie for the foreseeable future, Godzilla: Final Wars is a big budget blow-out with Godzilla and twelve other monsters.It was supposed to be in honor of the 50th anniversary of Godzilla (1954) but it's more in line with the 30th anniversary of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) in terms of goofy tone.

Giant monsters appear all over the world, overwhelming the Earth Defense Forces. Earth's salvation comes in the form of aliens from Planet X, who make all the monsters disappear and warn humanity that an astral body called Gorath is on a collision course with our planet. Are the aliens sincere? Of course not! When the aliens' true motives are uncovered the only force on earth that can stand up to them is Godzilla!

Among the classic monsters appearing (at least briefly) are Anguirus, Ebirah, Gigan, Hedorah, Kamacuras, King Seesar, Kumonga, Manda, Minilla, Mothra, and Rodan. There's also a new monster called Monster X which is revealed to be a new version of King Ghidorah.