#Gozilla Head

[iyo221]

The other day, I went to Shinjuku Tokyo and I saw FUCKING EXCITING THINGS✨✨✨🥹🥹🥹 I almost scream when I find it!!!

[fawnydoe]

i keep forgetting godzilla isnt canonically a woman

[quinnynation]

Carrington x reader dating hcs with a YouTuber reader? Maybe who makes those speed paint voice over videos like Emma Artly

take a look at my girlfriend ᯓᡣ𐭩 headcannons

pairing : boyfriend!carrington x artist!youtuber!gf!reader [no smut !!]

divider credit : pics from pinterest, starry night divider from @thecutestgrotto

🖌 first things first, that man is not only your muse

🎨 but your BIGGEST cheerleader

📝 watches you sketch with the BIGGEST puppy-dog eyes

🖍 his constant yapping somehow leads you to the most creative ideas

🖌 "imagine if like gozilla had a cat yk? like okay picture it-" *frantically searching for apple pen*

🎨 every valentines day you post a video and its just a slideshow of either the COUNTLESS sketches you have of him, OR, a montage of everytime he's interrupted your voice overs but like animated yk

📝 he's constantly helping you come up with art challenge ideas

🖍 "draw your ocs but blindfolded while driving" "...i don't know about the driving part but-"

��� once you let him do your voiceover for a speed-drawing you did

🎨 "i think she's adding shading" "...oh no she's drawing his head" "hey wait...IS THIS ME?"

📝 his secret skill is finding your apple pen in your bedsheets

🖍 "FOUND IT!"

a/n : i love when you guys get specific with readers/requests its so fun for me /gen (lower case intended !)

[balanceoflightanddark]

hi, I just want to say that before I read your ATLA/Godzilla crossover works, I've never even touched the Gozilla/kaiju franchise. Not that I thought that they were bad, but more like it wasn't my area of interest? I was always more of an ATLA and a magical girl animes kind of person. But now I'm devouring that shit like no tomorrow, I'm drinking it up like water's going out of fashion. I'm watching the official films, scouring for fan theories, looking for more of this deliciousness. Like, reading the way you described Godzilla as this otherworldly and oddly sympathetic character just imploded my mind. I never saw the parallels between him and Azula until you wrote it out in that gorgeous fanfic. Literally life changing.

Hey! Thanks for the message and I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. I'm hoping to finish the next chapter this week, but I've got college to work on. Hopefully, it won't be as bad as last semester, but you get the idea.

Anyways, Godzilla/ATLA. Technically I'm not the first one to do this neither am I the only one who's working on an idea. Plus I think I'm aware of a couple Legend of Korra crossovers with Godzilla, but I wanted to give my own spin on the idea. I grew up on Godzilla and other various kaiju movies so I figured I could do the idea some justice. It's been an idea that's floated in the back of my head for years, but I haven't really gotten around to writing fanfics until a couple years ago.

So you can totally blame Shadow Lugia for this fic existing.

Now the thing about growing up around kaiju films is that you start to notice some of the most common themes and ideas. It's here I really started to put the connections between Godzilla and Azula. Granted he's not the ONLY character that Azula has a lot of similarities with (Adora, Stitch, Toothless, Mewtwo, Cassandra Cain), but he's the one I've grown attached to just as much as I grew attached to Azula. But, yeah. The similarities are all there. Being framed as a monster. Essentially being a product of a brutal, imperialistic society. Metaphors for being a weapon. You get to know both long enough, you start to connect the dots. Helps that Godzilla does have several human characters that are right up Azula's alley.

looks at Akane from Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla

And no, I am not sorry for the obsession with kaiju films. In fact, I am going to go ahead and FEED said obsession with a few of my recommendations:

-Heisei Gamera Trilogy: Basically three of the best non-Godzilla films out there, really pushing what kaiju films are capable of. They start out good with Guardian of the Universe, before defying the trilogy decay rule and peaking with Revenge of Irys. Which is what one of Godzilla's oldest rivals deserves.

-Daimajin: This one's unique in that it's actually a samurai film for the most of the movie before the giant statue gets up, starts walking, and proceeds to massacre the main villain. Then it turns into the kaiju equivalent of a slasher film. I haven't seen the other two films in the Daimajin trilogy yet, but apparently they're just as good.

-War of the Garguantas: A Toho film with kaiju not starring the Big G. The two monsters Sanda and Gaira are developed to the point they feel less like forces of nature and more like characters in their own right. Helps they sort of have a Zuko and Azula sibling rivalry dynamic going on. And yes, it's just as tragic.

-King Kong 1933: The great granddaddy of kaiju films along with The Lost World. It's kind of questionable in a few areas, but it helped establish the overall themes of the genre while delivering a lot of iconic scenes. I'd also recommend the 2005 remake, Mighty Joe Young (basically a successor to King Kong with some of the same story beats but an overall different tone and characters) along its 1998 remake from Disney if you want more giant ape shenanigans.

-Cloverfield: A found footage film where the perspective is from a bunch of civilians just trying to survive a kaiju attack. It's really terrifying with a focus on what people would do in the middle of a giant monster raid.

-Pacific Rim: A film where alien kaiju invade Earth and humanity build giant robots to fight them. Directed by Guillermo del Toro who used classical paintings of giants for inspiration. And where the fight scenes can best be described as works of art.

-Monster Island Buddies: This is an adult online series featuring Godzilla and his friends. It's stupid but features a LOT of kaiju cast from basically the entire genre and can actually be surprisingly meta and cleverly written.

Anyways, thank you again so much for reading. I hope to get back to it soon when I get the chance. Feel free to message me if you've got any more questions or just want to chat. And glad I could introduce you to Godzilla.

[chrisemrysfics]

This is pretty much self-tagging since I saw this game on dash and thought "hey, can I figure out 10 movies I love and find a gif for each" so I decided to do it. So just have fun considering yourself tagged if you want to do this yourself!

Note: there is no real order to the movies, it's just 10 of the movies I've loved as they pop into my head!

rules: without naming them, post a gif from ten of your favorite films and then tag ten people to do the same.

Source: Tenor (couldn't find a gif on tumblr)

Now I love to bend the rules (as seen by doing this without being tagged), so I'm going to list the movies under the cut with little notes on my choosing process~

Godzilla 1998 (I'm fond of this one as this was the first Gozilla movie I've ever watched, and I also watched the animated series related to this movie as a kid)

Avengers Infinity War (I enjoy all Avengers movies to various degrees, but I'd say this one is my favorite)

Jurassic World (I love the Jurassic franchise in general, but I did enjoy a lot this specific one, I do love its follow up, but I chose to go with this one)

Dragonheart (again, I did enjoy the other movies, but I chose to go with this one)

Pirates of the Caribbean (as you might guess by now, love the series itself, other movies have scenes I adore, but I can't help wanting to pick the first one if I have to put only one)

Thor Ragnarok (my favortie of the Thor movies so far)

Eragon (its been forever since I've seen it, but I do recall that I loved the whole idea behind the books and that's why i enjoyed the movie)

Deadpool&Wolverine (tbh I was starting to have issues thinking of movies that don't relate to each other, I already gave myself a free pass with a Thor movie when I already had an Avenger movie since I can argue Avenger movies are about all of them and Thor movie is about Thor, so I went "Deadpool has its own movies and I loved most the third so here" XD)

Godzilla Minus One (since I already decided to give myself more free pass, I put another Godzilla movie, and while I do enjoy the Monsterverse, I really enjoyed Minus One so I decided to put this one instead)

Aliens: Resurrection (It got really hard to think of movies, and still try to not put a movie relating to previous ones, and I was also trying to not put aniated movies, then my brain went "you did enjoy these movies" and this specific one was actually the first one I watched so this ended up my last one)

[mineralsrocksandfossiltalks]

DAY 7: Monster Bash

Today's competitors are actually fictional! We have Gozilla

Vs Indominus Rex.

Why aren't these consideres dinosaurs? Let's take a looks!

1.) The original godzilla was dubbed a " sea monster" and as we have already established, dinosaurs do not come feom the sea.

2.) It's not even really an animal because it sustains itself using nuclear radiation which living things just don't do. Hence, monster.

3.) I think of it as thw animal equivalent of like a comicbook antihero.

4.) Indominus rex is a freaking mess. First off it has amphibian and cephalopod DNA in it (impossible, mind you but let's pretend like they did that it is) that means it isn't purely anything. It's a chimera which is, in fact, a monster.

5.) Indominus has pronated wrists. This is a mammalian wrist position, not an avemetarsalian one. Pronation would break a real dinosaur's wrists.

6.) Indominus has jaws that resemble sauroptigians, like Nothosaurus more than that of an archosaur. I hate it's jaws so much. They are build to have powerful biting muscles. It's...I have a lot of feelings. Maybe I'll rant morw on the painful thing that it is if people ask haha. For now, here's a Nothosaurus head for comparison.

If you want GODZILLA to move on, REBLOG.

If you want INDOMINUS to move on LIKE.

[fahrenheit-aqua]

Ratings + Insights on the Kaiju Paradise gootraxian redesigns

So the 3.1R update came out and gave me a bunch of furries to brainrot about. And as an enjoyer of Furry Character Design myself, I felt like reviewing most if not all of them.

Know that these are all personal opinions and art is, as always, subjective and disagreeing is okay!

anyways....

KAIJU

Originally a pretty good design. Average "gozilla-esque" look, the redesign is essentially a polishing so it fits more with the newer gootraxians. Looks cute, looks cool, still looks iconic. 10/10

CATTE

Once again, just a polishing of the original design, I like the whiskers, they're cute! Though I'm not sure if I'm a big fan of the washed out colors, and the bucket standing straight on their head. The one ear sticking out was cute. 8/10

FED

A design polish. Which is the treatment that the whole Wolf Quartet as I like to call them got. Well at least now I know that they're wolves. Still a pretty plain design, though the eyes look cool. 5/10

FIG

Can't get more "just a polish" than that. Fig is a pretty anecdotal gootraxian in itself... The texturing of the fur is a nice addition. 10/10

GHOSTFOX

At first I thought it didn't really need the polishing treatment. Until I got another look at its render and yeah, lol. Their face looks weirdly elongated, and the tails have become wispy, likely to emphasize the 'ghostly' look. Though I very much preferred the old fuzzy tails that emphasized the death by electrocution. But I guess it's one or the other.... 6/10

GLUBBY

Formerly known as Feizao, as it's more of a replacement than a redesign (because I'm including them too. Why not?)

Aside from the obvious design having to derive completely from the original, I feel like Glubby is cute and interesting! But it is dragged back completely by how poorly it translates to the 3D roblox models, making it look.... ugly. Unfortunately. 5/10

HAZZY

A really good redesign, holy shit!! I used to really dislike Hazzy because of how plain it looked and it was a pain to unlock it. But the buff not only made it grow on me a bit, the redesign made it actually top tier to me haha...

The hazmat suit patterns, stitches, fucked up and evil attitude are all incredible additions. 11/10

TOXIC RABBIT

A gootraxian that was in dire, dire need of a redesign holy shit lmao. Well it certainly looks more like a rabbit now, but once again, why the desaturated colors...? There's also not much of the evil gremlin energy is used to have. 5/10

SPRINKLEKIT

I started playing Kaiju Paradise, honestly, kind of late... So I didn't exactly experience Conekat firsthand. What I can say from what I see.... Sprinklekit is so much more superior, sorry Conekat fans.

Though I've heard Conekat could merge and have 3 heads so... points goes to them. I do like the sprinklekit variants though, strawberry is my favorite. 10/10

SLIMEPUP

Ah yes, the slimepup. Simple but effective and cute design, the lime color is actually my favorite! The floppy ears definitely makes it look more like a pup. Its artwork is reeally cute! buuuuuut, the design really doesn't translate well to roblox models, unfortunately.... 6/10

SLIMEHOUND

The slimehound looked super cool in artwork.

3D model had me disgusted.

2/10

SHORK

A very plain design that desperately needed an upgrade. And that is a good upgrade indeed! It's still shork, but at least it's not... boring. 10/10

SHADE

Another one of the wolf quartet. Shade is a little cooler than Fed to me. Its redesign is pretty good, it has its own color coding now! Congrats on losing your achromatic palette, Shade! 10/10

PLANTIX

Just a polish, and a very straightforward one too. The new tail looks really cute, I could play as plantix just to look at the flowers on it. 10/10

MOCHA

Mochi is. Very forgettable to my eyes, sorry Mochi fans...

The redesign makes it look more goat-like, I like goats. Oh, and the fur pattern resembling latte art is a really neat touch. Now I know it's a coffee dragon! Mochi/Mocha is boring to me, but it's undeniably a good design. 10/10

LEMONSHORK

Congrats on her transition!

More seriously, I think all the shorks have had the best redesigns haha. I always liked lemonshork design-wise, but the redesign actually looks like it smells and tastes like lemon. True advertising! 11/10

MANIC

Carneline was... my favorite gootraxian among them all. Its design was cute, effective and unique, its color palette was really good and balanced. I understood it being cut from the game so I wanted to welcome Manic with open arms.

But the design just... didn't translate well. It's also so... Monochromatic, so much redder. And the eyes have a busy design. The cyan sclera with fuschia irises is a simplistic yet perfect design. The purple fur contrasting with the red crystals was real neat too.

Manic doesn't look bad, it's just... not as good as Carneline.

....At least Manic's hot in its concept artwork... 2/10

DAGODA

Just like with Glubby, gotta push the drama aside. I really like raptors so there's bias there... People think Dagoda's ugly, I personally really like it! It's no Fashui (one of my old favorites), but it's no big downgrade either.

Although I wish it at least had a few glowing features, given it's a power outage/blackout gootraxian, and that's what made them special. The little lightbulb tail on Fashui is what made it cute...

7/10

MELONSHORK

Okay, I said all the shorks had the best redesigns... BUT.

Melon shork has... the opposite problem of toxic rabbit!

Why are the colors so saturated??? It looks closer to an actual watermelon, but it just looks... not that great. The pastel colors were much nicer. Maybe some thicker, more abundant stripes would make it more melon-y? I don't know...

4/10

PSEUDOSHORK

Now THAT is a redesign I fell in love with instant-fucking-ly. This might actually be the best redesign, if not just my favorite!

From a plain pink shork to this absolute murder gremlin, who bleeds gatorade and laughs at death. The asymmetrical fangs are a really cool touch too.

Top tier/10 Would make this my fursona.

HEBI

Okay, I respect Carneline and Panther's creator to have stepped down and dissociated from the whole concept but daaaamn why were those designs so good...

Panther was peak, unfiltered edginess that was still somehow cool.

And just like with Manic, my issue is the eyes... Hebi doesn't look like a shadow-lurking predator, but more like... a goth clown. Don't get me wrong, it's a really good design on its own! But compare it to Panther?... Man, I miss being edgy.

5/10

BUCK

Why is it red?

Why did they make it red?

It's a blackout gootraxian, not power outage. Why is it fucking red?

??/10

JAMMER

Ooooh the blackout wolves... They have been done dirty. The new patterns and fur colors look nice but Jammer looks too... silly. Too cute... I miss the cool attitude it had! And the outline glow really doesn't look nice either. It feels out of place, it doesn't feel like the Jammer is actually glowing!

no VIP variant can salvage this.

0/10

NIGHTSHADE

I don't have much to say about this. It's just like Jammer. The blackout wolves were done dirty. At least Nightshade kept its original vibe. 2/10

NUCLEAR RABBIT

Absolutely nasty. And I mean it as a compliment. That rabbit will give me every disease and call me a slur. 10/10

SINOX

I didn't have a big opinion on Sinox until I actually saw it in a blackout ingame. And thought "omg it's fucking gorgeous!"

The back is super sparkly, on top of the particles it sheds. Sinox has been given so much more personality, and really went all the way with its concept! That being... a glowstick in a rave. 11/10

WISP

Same creator as Carneline and Panther, and somehow the original design is so.... bland and uninspired. How? That shork doesn't feel very "lantern" to me. On top of looking quite plain.

Wisp brings justice to that idea. This shork is indeed lantern!! Also I really dig the bones. Is it see-through flesh? Is it just not there? Who knows! This design bangs

10/10

[the-silver-peahen-residence]

"Now you know, we must take your children safely up to the elevator and contact the authorities," Zilla said. You have done enough for us."

"I also want to apologize to you all for scaring you!" San cries while Ni sighs and Ichi chuckle, "Indeed. Thank you for saving us." Said Ghidra as all three of their heads bowed to the children.

"I'm sorry, too," Rodan said. And thank you for helping my friends!"

"Yes! Same here! Thank you for resetting me and Zilla." Kang told Daichi and the gang. "We don't know what to do if you haven't."

"Believe us, we wouldn't want anything bad like this happening again so we are happy we did something." Megumi said with arms crossed.

"True. I'm just happy everything is normal again." Nobara agreed. With that said, everyone was ready to head back up.

~~~~~Timeskip: A few hours later~~~~

It was morning once more after everyone left the Zoto Gozilla Mega Pizzaplex to the outside again. Police, paramedics and others were showing up after Ichiji came back with Gojo sensei to pick up the students.

When showing up, the two were shocked seeing how everyone looked. Megumi, Yuji, Nobara, Daichi, Miko, Hana, and Yuria were a mess, tired, and were coated in some dried up blood or something like it. However, their uniforms were torn up or looked messy. Even Hana was having Jub Jub carrying Miko who was still tired or fell to sleep.

They would get their reports as they were heading back. However, they did tell the police of the bodies under the Pizzaplex. Paramedics collected them and identified as the missing kids and some workers that was killed.

Even Kazuma went with the police so he can speak of the truth for what happened and how he was involved. Mr. Kame was shocked hearing this after he was helped but he knew he might have to close the PIzzaplex so it can be cleaned up and fixed up. He just hopes others would visit again when it did.

"So that's what happened..geez, that must have been a night..." Gojo said after hearing the story. Even Ichiji was shocked and worried seeing the students like this or being tired. However, Gojo noticed a bag or bookbag with some gifts from Mr. Kame and the animatroics. Even some plushies for everyone. Even Miko who wasn't awake at the time when getting hers. So they gave it to Daichi to hold since he also got some from them too as a sorry and a thank you. school.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I lost her." Kazuma said as tears rolled down his face, mourning the moth in his arms. Zilla places his hand on Kazuma's shoulder, "Kazuma. Don't apologize. I know Mothra did to save you because she cares about you. We all care for the people we care about. Also she is not lost."

"Huh?" "Mothra is still up there, somewhere in the sever." He said.

"Wait, so she's not.." Nobara started to ask to see Rodan nod.

"Yeah! Whenever we get seriously damaged, our minds get uploaded into a safe place where Mothra stores it while we get repairs!" Rodan said.

"Indeed!" Kang answered, "It happened when I get hurt! Mothra is good at protecting us!" He said. Zilla nods, "Indeed. Soon once Mothra is repaired, you will meet her again, Kazuma."

"What a relief so that means after that she'll be back Kazuma!" Hana smiled but he blinks saying nothing but looks down. In a moment, Rodan blinks seeing tears hitting Kazuma's shirt as he was happy.

"I..I'm happy...I'm so happy that she's going to be okay..."

[rakkiankh]

i thunk of ur godzillo au constantly and i thought it was important that u knew that

This made me smile! I hope that's a good thing lol

I admit I don't have anything done yet for chapter 4 but I do have some stuff for chapter 5 that I've been itching to write since the idea popped into my head

[grumpiiart]

Grumpii King Ghidorah

King Ghidorah fanart

[unluckyhoneybee]

You and Danny go to the beach with your baby twins for the first time in Perth. (Also, can they be called Aaron and Millie?)

On your first free day in Australia after meeting the family and friends he hadn't seen in months, Daniel proposed to go to the beach with the kids.

"Dad always came to play here when he was a bit older than you" He had one twin on each hip, both of them looking around impressed. It was their first time in the beach and the sounds of the sea and seagulls were exciting for them.

As you set two little chairs in the sun and opened the umbrella (I don't know if the beach umbrella is also called umbrella) he put some sun cream on the kids. Millie had already tried to put sand on her mouth and Aaron was starstruck with the waves.

"Millie! Don't throw sand to you brother" Millie was a carbon copy of Danny while Aaron was way more timid and introverted. "Having two kids it's to difficult, how do people with three manage?" you would roll your eyes because he was so dramatic.

He would try to build sandcastles with them but they were too young for them. Aaron only wanted to go to the ocean and Millie was in gozilla mode with Danny's castle. "We will go soon, Aaron. No Millie, don't step on that!"

You carried Millie to the water and he carried Aaron. At first you let the kids on the shore, taking a thousand pics of them and letting them discover what the sea was. He was sitting with them and smiling like a kid. He was so happy to have his own kids there with him.

"Oops. It's splash sometimes, Aaron. It's okay" "You got salt in your eyes, baby?" "Millie, please. Don't do that to your brother"

With Aaron sitting between Daniel's legs and Millie trying to ran away, you took the most perfect photo of them.

"Look how beautiful mum looks" He would tell them. "Oh Danny..."

"Is it cold, baby?" As brave as she was, Millie got a bit scared when you took her to deeper waters. Daniel was looking from the shore, waiting for Aaron to be ready.

"Baby Millie is scared?? How is that even possible?? She is the honey badger Jr!" And it was so true. The same mop of black curls sit on her head and the same hungry eyes. She wanted adventure and to have fun, no regrets. Until now, when she hugged your neck and didn't let go.

You had to go back and switch twins with Danny.

"She loves me more" "And Aaron loves me more" "Because you are boring" "Our boy is not boring!"

Grabbing your hands, Aaron wanted to 'walk' around, kicking the water with his feet and laughing hard. "Look at him! He loves it"

Meanwhile, Millie was still hugging her dad's body and pouting. "Millie, baby. It's okay. The sea is super big, but Dad won't let anything happen to you." she looked up with big brown eyes.

When Danny tried to put her back in the water, she cried again. "Oh honey" and something clicked on his head. "Baby, give me Aaron too"

Again, with one twin on each arm, he went deeper. With her brother with her, Millie was happier. Both of them were laughing and splashing g water together. You heart was melting because again, Daniel was so happy to see the kids enjoying so much one of his favourite places.

"They are the cutest. We are coming back soon. Right?" "Of course, baby"

While you drove back home, he was sitting between the baby seats, Aaron was sleeping with his hand around his dad thumb and Millie was looking through the window with tired eyes. Touching her little nose, he made her fall sleep.

"Naps on the car when you are going back home are the best." "They loved it so much" "I hope you took photos because I'm covering home's walls with them" "I did" "That's my girl"

[skyfire-the-pokemon-biologist]

Skyfire gave Pix a thumbs up. They put their head on the bug gozilla's shoulder.

Skyfire closed their eyes and decided to wait until something happened.

RP BETWEEN ME AND @skyfire-the-pokemon-biologist

(Oliver ran to the town where the rampage was occuring, a somewhat large one known as Bimont, nestled at the foot of a mountain. They saw plumes of smoke coming from somewhere.)

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck-

@skyfire-the-pokemon-biologist

[submitabug]

Godzilla and Rodan recreate the Pietà

[kimberlyannharts]

NuDragonzord looks way too much like the American Gozilla from the 90s than it should lmao.

yeah, that’s what I was getting at when I was saying it feels more in your face about the Godzilla inspiration than the original Dragonzord - like obviously that’s what Dragonzord was invoking with its design and mannerisms, but at the same time it wasn’t just Godzilla with metal skin - it had its own design elements and things it didn’t share with Godzilla that made it its own thing. for instance, the Dragonzord’s head crest thing and its lack of spines along its back (which you’ll notice the new dragonzord is the complete opposite, no head crest and big green spines)

this new Dragonzord is so reminiscent of Godzilla almost to the point of being distracting. if it has atomic breath I’m out lmao

[glapplebloom]

RUN! ITS GOZILLA!

It looks like Godzilla, but due to international copyright laws, it’s not.

STILL WE SHOULD RUN LIKE IT IS GODZILLA!

Though it isn’t...

AHHHH!!!

Its a week before Spike’s Birthday and he got himself the ingredient for a special Birthday Dinner for himself: A Fire Ruby. He’s been aging it for months and plans on having it for his dinner. But Rarity comes in looking for a book on old fashions for an inspiration and sees the ruby.

She just can’t help but fall in love with it and sort of manipulates Spike into giving it to her. Granted, I don’t think she did it intentionally and ultimately it was Spike’s decision to give it to her...

I don’t blame him. And he got affection from her as compensation. The first kiss he got from her (on the cheek).

On his Birthday, Spike got a ton of gifts for the first time. Twilight is usually the only one to give him a present (a book) so multiple gifts of different subjects is new to him. Now you wonder what about Shining Armor and her parents? Well, we’ve seen he doesn���t really participate in the family like the others. They probably gave him snacks as a baby.

Or maybe Celestia told them to not give Spike too much stuff. Because after the gifts from the main cast, the Cakes, and Cheerilee, Spike seeks more and more. It gets so bad he has a collection of random junk the next morning, an a sudden growth spurt neither one knows about.

Zecora (the third person Twilight went for help to) figures out this is triggered by his natural greed as a dragon. He’ll want more stuff, which in turn will make him grow, which in turn more stuff and so on. To cure him, he has to stop practicing Greed. Twilight and her friends try their best to prevent it.

They failed miserably. Spike grows to a big dragon, big enough to fight Godzilla if he enters Ponyville, and proceeds to wreck havoc on the town. Even the Wonderbolts were called in only to fail because Spike is not a mindless monster. But one person was able to get through to Spike...

Spike himself. Seeing the Sapphire Ruby he gave Rarity, he is reminded about how he gave her that gem. That one act of generosity was more satisfying to him than all the stuff he stole from Ponyville. With that memory overriding his greed, he reverts back to normal. And since it was a Tuesday, Ponyville is in needs of repair. 

It ends with Spike learning that its better to give than get. Well, almost... Overall, its going to be a while before Spike gets an episode that everyone would like but its still a fun time. And if you’re a Sparity Shipper, this episode if your foundation.

As for how it fits in GLAB, this is Spike’s first birthday Party as Celestia always kept it private between them. The week before Rarity was looking for apples to help keep her fed as she worked on her designs when she saw the Fire Ruby. While Applejack looked in disgust thinking Rarity tricked him, it remains the same there.

But between the adults who were at the Prime Party plus his new Student Friends Spike got a lot more gifts. So it eventually got to the point that Spike was growing up and getting Greedy. Apple Bloom kept him still to send to Zecora since she would know more than anybody and Zecora tells her that to stop the growth you got to make him stop practicing greed.

Now normally I can just let Apple Bloom put Spike in a shield until he wears himself out, but that wouldn’t be fun. So because she tried to contain him, it was beyond the time limit of the ring and she’s out of power. She heads back to the Apple Farm as Spike goes on a rampage. Everything from others trying to stop him to Rarity getting kidnapped and Spike curing himself happens. And before they could fall, Apple Bloom comes in to save the day. And that’s how it fits in GLAB Canon.

[hpoelzig]

Pondering GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS (2019)

Director Michael Dougherty amply demonstrates his credentials as a Godzilla fan in bringing to the screen a film that lovingly references myriad aspects of the various Toho series since 1954. This lavish and detailed homage to the legacy of Godzilla is full of nods that aficionados will find delicious and our favorite daikaiju have never looked more conscious and gloriously alive. It is crafted in an American summer blockbuster style in its breathless pacing so that one has to be quite sharp to spot all the goodies he’s woven into this third episode of Legendary’s MONSTERVERSE. While Gareth Edwards’ 2014 GODZILLA employed a Spielbergian touch, Dougherty offers the most Toho-esque installment so far in this franchise. 

Essence of Toho

In my review of the 2014 Edwards film, I had speculated that a MONARCH-centered approach would be best going forward, and indeed that has been the case with both KONG: SKULL ISLAND and this film. Dougherty has taken that Toho Showa series’ leap into “super science,” with defensive masers, secret bases around the globe enveloping recumbent daikaiju, and the ORCA device, meant to communicate with the Titans. This approach, sort of sci-fantasy, enlarges the sandbox in which he can play and recalls what has been part of so many prior Godzilla outings. MONARCH’s Argo, an immense flying wing, seems to echo the various “Super X” vehicles from the Heisei series, the Marvel Comics S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier Behemoth from their Godzilla: King of the Monsters series, as well as being a nod to both the flying wing from George Pal’s THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (the Northrop YB-49) and to the name of the ship from JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS, so well depicted by Ray Harryhausen. One particular delight for me was the Osprey’s arrival at the Castle Bravo facility, recalling the opening of DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, where a helicopter descended into a similar circular vertical tunnel to reach the hidden base on Monster Island. And, as Toho had done with its production design, these MONARCH scientific/military installations are full of gigantic screens surrounded by flashing lights from which “officially concerned” humans can monitor the global monster action at a safe distance.

Eggleton’s Impact

I was impressed by the painterly cinematography in this most Eggletonian-looking of Godzilla films—I actually expected to see Bob acknowledged in the credits as his visual style so permeates many scenes. Fans of his paintings cannot miss how much of the imagery is flavored by this extraordinary artist’s numerous works. That impressionistic sensibility Edwards had captured in the HALO descent to San Francisco scene infuses much of this movie. And his method for viewing the Titans from human perspectives to make their scale apparent was also deliberately maintained by Dougherty. Despite so much care having been lavished on the sweeping imagery, these sumptuous frames fly by in fractions of a second, which has sadly become the standard action film approach to editing and pacing. That for me is a disservice to those who clearly worked diligently to craft impressive and iconic visuals—such splendor should not be snatched away so swiftly from our hungry eyes. Lingering just a bit longer on some of these fantastic moments would have been so much more satisfying. When King Ghidorah seizes Rodan’s volcanic aerie and regenerates his missing head in a very bizarre, placental manner, his dominance over a foreground cross suggests his demonic power, much as FANTASIA’s Chernabog perched atop Mount Triglav—a gorgeous and potent symbol. He then sends out a call to rouse the world’s Titans to do his bidding as their “usurper king.” That pivotal moment passes far too quickly. Would that the two flanking heads have paused and then looked to the central dominant head, who would return their gazes, then look skyward and begin voicing “the call.” Then the other two would join-in, very deliberately, with some unearthly new sound reaching out to be that irresistible global conscription summons. That could have kicked the scene up significantly. The triple voiced sound used in the film was less of a command, rather a sort of keening, which quietly lingered in the following scenes of the other Titans awakening. For my tastes it should have had more of a dramatic emphasis—and have been audibly unique to the moment. Even somehow having King Ghidorah take note of his new troops as they each arise and perhaps respond audibly to his summons would have made his dominance much clearer and more exciting—perhaps cutting back to him as his heads express a knowledge of each new disciple’s activation?

Daikaiju Design

The designs of the quartet of classic Toho stars move to the top of my favorites, as each are detailed, expressive, and dynamic. Tweaking Godzilla’s look to enlarge his dorsal plates and having them flicker even when not powering up for a blast of nuclear plasma works well—he crackles with latent energy. While the 2014 look is an excellent, naturalistic one, changing the primary row of dorsal plates to repeat the 1954 design and then bumping up the secondary rows to Heisei-styled size makes him more in line with earlier Gozilla incarnations. I’d still like him to sport a proper tertiary row of plates that are clearly defined, which has been a common aspect of many incarnations of the King of the Monsters. Taking those sauropod-esque feet and enlarging the claws for more of a predatory aspect looks fearsome, and I like the shortening of the whip tail of the 2014 version to be more like the standard Godzilla profile. And having a new climactic revival of “Burning Godzilla” was a fine choice, reigniting that concept from GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH. King Ghidorah is masterfully realized, a proud successor to DRAGONSLAYER’s Vermithrax Pejorative, who can fly, stride or wing-walk with sinuous beauty. That aspects of his wings echo a William Blake image of the Red Dragon really makes for such resonance. The three heads being somewhat independent with unique personalities was also a superb concept. Ghidorah’s condescending curiosity regarding those nasty, puny humans he was seeing for the first time—even to licking their corpses to explore them—brought forth his diabolically sinister consciousness. His gravity beams and the neck-glow charge-up are splendid. Mothra in her bioluminescent glory is stunningly conceived, from impressively carapaced larva to majestic moth-mantis-wasp imago—magnificent, mysterious, and with a feminine puissance. Rodan as the fantasy firebird, a magma-veined pterosaur, fiendishly skeksis-esque in angry avian awareness, has such presence. Bowing like a courtier to both the usurper and finally to the true king, he exhibits a calculating, conscious persona. His thrilling barrel-roll to take out the pursuing jets was about the most spectacular image we’ve seen of him, ever.

As Toho had done in SHIN GOJIRA, Godzilla’s roars from the various series were employed, as well as his roars from the 2014 film. I was hoping for more of the very deep vocalizations from the 1954 original. Mothra sounded as she always has, with plaintive chirrups and screes. The cries for both Rodan and King Ghidorah were not the originals, and were for me a bit more “generic giant monster” voices. I would have loved to hear new recreations of those readily recognizable Rodan yawps and cackles, and much more forward versions of KG’s triple toned “bidi-bidi-bidi” voice—rather than the faint references buried in the raucous sound design. I rather expected more original Toho monster sounds than were used for both of them, since Daugherty was employing past iconic sounds for both Godzilla and Mothra and seemed to be teasing that during the film’s production. 

A Grim Setting

While there is some humor—not all of it apt— intended to break tension, the plot of this film builds upon the global revelation to the people of Earth that past super species were essentially their “gods,” knocking present day humans down a few notches on the dominance pyramid. The context is alarm and terror, though the MONSTERVERSE also offers awe and wonder as viewed through some of those studying the returning Titans. Serizawa remarks in a senate hearing that humanity should be viewed as Godzilla’s “pets”—and he means it. He respects “all forms of life” and sees our world as one that must have a balance which is inclusive of its natural organisms, regardless of where we might end up in Nature’s organic tapestry. Over the course of the film, much is learned about the fascinating past history of human societies who lived in harmony with the Titans. Toho implied some of this in their films—Mothra was regularly portrayed as an eternal goddess for the islanders she protected—but here it is made quite explicit and detailed. Godzilla’s temple lair in submerged Atlantis, with gigantic friezes and sculptures honoring him, is surely an enrichment of this ongoing saga. There is a dark side to this scenario wherein some see humans as being abusive to their world and thus in need of being forcibly “tamed,” and then there is the collective might of the military who want to subjugate these creatures and restore man’s preeminence—behavior that began in the original GOJIRA and sustained throughout most of the films. 

Dr. Emma Russell is an oddly polarized primary character. To begin, she seems a concerned mother who has rescued her daughter Madison from her husband’s descent into alcoholism, which had been incited by the death of their son Andrew during Godzilla’s San Francisco battle with the Muto’s. An aside: That plot aspect is reminiscent of a similar character motivation in the third of Kaneko’s Gamera trilogy, wherein a young girl’s commitment to invoking the destructive daikaiju Iris is sealed by her parents’ collateral death during a monster rampage in the first film where Gamera, an Earth defender, destroys his adversary Gyaos. That Emma is no “mother of the year” is quickly exposed when Allan Jonah’s eco-terrorists arrive to snatch she and her daughter (and her Titan controlling ORCA device) after they execute the innocent MONARCH crew studying Titanus Mosura. Emma has indoctrinated her daughter to comply with her pursuit of shattering mankind’s toxic presence by releasing the Titans as “antibodies” to the virus that is human kind. And Emma is in cahoots with these extremists, her obsession being the first cause setting in motion the slaughter of her MONARCH colleagues in China, Antarctica, and Mexico as well as the other locations wherein the Titans are roused to destroy their containment facilities. And countless others then perish around the globe as the revived Titans rage. The script makes her somewhat sympathetic as a mother—she is shown to love and be concerned with her daughter and mournful of her son—but one could not give her a pass for the oceans of blood on her hands. Nor should she be forgiven for making Madison a victim of Stockholm syndrome. Madison, comprehending the grievous practices kindled by her mother’s theories, does awaken to reject Emma’s deeds and then she strives at great risk to use the ORCA to solve the global catastrophe wrought by both Emma and Jonah’s fanaticism. There is a cut scene in the video release of Madison training with the eco-terrorists which would have underlined her submission to her situation—I would have included that for the parallel with Patty Hearst it presents. Madison ultimately is heroic, and her father Mark renews himself by stepping-up to guide MONARCH’s efforts to understand and control the Titans. He provides some crucial insights based on his knowledge of animal hierarchy and behavior. Ultimately, Emma seeks atonement through her sacrifice, which brings some justice to her character’s story, while Mark and Madison are reunited in a world reeling from cataclysmic destruction. A rather “heavy” arc to this family’s journey, and properly symbolic in dealing with present social concerns. I think that it seemed to be missed by many viewers who were more concerned with the pyrotechnics of the battling Titans, but for me it is a properly grounded human story which offers a grave context to the monster spectacles.

Homages A Plenty

There are so very many references in this film, both visually and via dialogue—“Easter eggs” abound! I’ll touch upon a very few, leaving exhaustingly listing them to other obsessive fans. I enjoyed the numbered MONARCH outposts having significance—the release year of the film in which the Toho daikaiju there contained was a delight and also the fun nod to THE THING in the Antarctica outpost numerical designation. Modernizing the Shobijin by having Doctors Chen and Ling, and generations of twins in their family, as “priestesses” of Mothra is an excellent touch. The new Titans are gleeful references to mythology and cryptozoology, demonstrating that many cultures have embraced daikaiju throughout history. Intriguing archaeological mysteries are touched upon such as 12,000 year old Göbekli Tepe, hinting at past humans dealings with Titans. Even an article in the jam-packed end titles is authored by Steve Martin, the character played by Raymond Burr in the American version of the 1954 film which was first to be titled GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS. 

MONARCH’s mission critical submarine is named USS Scorpion, after an American nuclear submarine which was lost under mysterious circumstances, and it has a Captain Crane, like The Seaview in VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. Its conning tower likewise has Seaview-esque planes and shape. The skeleton of Anguirus has a cameo, briefly glimpsed outside of Godzilla’s temple lair, and if only we’d gotten a better look at more of the Atlantean art paying homage to Godzilla—there seem to be monumental figures with Godzilla heads atop humanoid bodies holding some sort of ceremonial weapons which Serizawa passes on his way to revive his “old friend.” A sculpture of Pazuzu is glimpsed atop a step pyramid in that lost city—such artifacts all sadly obliterated to revive Godzilla. Some more time to drink in this elaborately detailed majestic setting would have been appreciated.

Several key plot events here are reshufflings from past Godzilla films. The concept of one daikaiju sacrificing itself to revive another was pivotal in GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA 2. There, Godzilla is tortured to near death by electrodes from Mechagodzilla which pierced his body and fried his secondary enlarged ganglial areas. Fire Rodan, nearly expired from his conflict with Mechagodzilla, as a dying act drapes himself atop the fallen Godzilla, evaporating into a sparkling mist and then both healing and resurrecting Godzilla, who now has an even more powerful, red-tinged plasma beam. In GMK, Godzilla is the “heel” who fights the more positive trio of Baragon, Mothra and King Ghidorah. Godzilla seemingly kills King Ghidorah, so Mothra makes a direct, suicidal flight at Godzilla who evaporates her with his plasma breath—shared imagery with Daugherty’s film, though here King Ghidorah and Godzilla have reversed roles. In Kaneko’s film, Mothra’s energy descends upon King Ghidorah in a sparkling cloud, reviving him and enhancing his wings and gravity beams for the final combat with Godzilla. That Godzilla thrives on exposure to radiation has long been part of the basic lore of many of the films, and his revival and enhancement through extreme exposure was no surprise as being primary to the MONSTERVERSE’s mythology. And the scene wherein King Ghidorah “powers-up” via biting electrical cables in the Boston battle reminds me of Kong being electrically revived in the original KING KONG VS. GODZILLA. Godzilla’s expression as King Ghidorah takes that bite, and then the massive arcs of electricity that spread out from his wings to clear the attacking human’s jets are both such memorable moments—which could have been given just a bit more time to accommodate earned “oohs and aahs.” 

The novelization of GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS goes into detail about some of the Titans only glimpsed or simply listed in the film, and one hopes they’ll emerge in the next or further MONSTERVERSE installments—if any. There is a beautiful, brief passage in the book which is told from Godzilla’s point of view. We see through his eyes his responsibility as the lord and protector of this world—the globe is his domain and he is aware of the entire planet, sensing time passing through the shifts in Earth’s tectonic plates. He is aware of the much younger Kong, but unconcerned as Kong is only responsible for Skull Island. We know Kong is the last of his kind, and Godzilla also seems to be as well, though in the comic prequel to this film the story of the Godzilla-esque skeleton infested with the two Muto spores was explained as being Dagon—perhaps his elder “cousin”? The Muto which killed him was vanquished by Godzilla between the 2014 and 2019 films in that comic, which also serves to explain the change in his dorsal plates, which Dougherty has said are continually growing, like antlers. It would be a delight if the Kraken, snoozing as it embraces a sunken nuclear submarine, and Mokele-Mbembe, designed according to the legends as part serpent and elephant, had scenes in the films to come. If Godzilla at some point must sacrifice himself to save the world, discovering another younger member of his species in the Hollow Earth regions would not be surprising and would also embrace that “son of Godzilla” concept used in Toho’s series. The sunken Atlantis being part of the subterranean world evokes Verne’s JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, and of course the 1959 film adaptation concludes with a gigantic lizard menacing the remains of the Lindenbrook party in its ruins. Perhaps there are other humans (humanoids) “down below” as well, in fascinating antediluvian cities, much as Toho posited with the Seatopians, or even like the subterranean Sumerians from THE MOLE PEOPLE? Possibilities abound!

The Score

We’ve been quite fortunate that the scores for Hollywood Godzilla films have been powerful, thematic, and thoughtfully composed works wrought by talented composers. Both Arnold and Desplat crafted magnificent music that expressively carried the action. McCreary’s is the first MONSTERVERSE score to incorporate iconic themes for both Godzilla and Mothra from the Toho scores, and these quotations were well-timed and heightened the drama. Additionally, his new themes are both strong and memorable. The thematic material for King Ghidorah constantly iterates the number three, and the general rising melodic line is even kin to that of Holst’s “Mars, The Bringer of War” from THE PLANETS. The chanting monks’ voices offer a mysterious sense of religious awe to support the diabolical “destroyer of worlds.” Rodan’s theme features whooping horns, as if to echo the “Samurai of the Skies” cries. Even the film’s opening quiet theme has that “Go-Ji-Ra” rhythm that was used in both the 1998 and 2014 films to craft memorable new musical signatures for the King of the Monsters. Most touching was the gorgeous choral music accompanying Serizawa’s Spock-esque sacrifice—which even visually rhymed the descent of the mini-sub with the photon torpedo casket sequence from THE WRATH OF KHAN. The MONSTERVERSE’s Serizawa is essentially a transmogrified Dr. Yamane from the 1954 GOJIRA, a man who studies and appreciates Godzilla as a living being. By having him sacrifice himself not to destroy Earth’s dominant Titan, but to revive him with a nuclear weapon and thus save humanity, works as a pragmatic inverse linking him to the original Dr. Seizawa, the self-immolating physicist who conceived of far too deadly a weapon in the Oxygen Destroyer. McCreary’s “requiem” suited that sequence to perfection. When Godzilla rises again and blasts forth his plasma beam into the sky, the Ifukube-based accompaniment was deeply moving, and the moment Godzilla looked to his human saviors was delightful. He seems to acknowledge their role, much as that of the people from a past civilization who had idolized him, and the soundtrack even has a fleeting phrase of Ifukube’s Godzilla theme much as it was scored for high woodwinds in the requiem from GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH—a very brief and subtle nod. McCreary’s triumphant symphonic apotheosis of his own opening Go-ji-ra theme over that concluding acknowledgment of the Earth’s true monarch brought me chills. Being followed immediately by McCreary’s magnificently over-the-top arrangement of B.O.C.’s song “Godzilla” to commence the end titles was fan service of the highest order. Its refrain, “History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of man!” is of course the underlying theme of the Legendary MONSTERVERSE. “Bravo!” Maestro McCreary!

Could Be Bettered

Some minor cavils. I prefer to hear the word Ghidorah pronounced in the more euphonious Japanese manner, with the three syllables (ghi-do-rah) given equal emphasis and the first one slightly higher in pitch. One can hear it when watching Toho’s original Japanese prints with English subtitles. Americans emphasize the second syllable (Ghi-DOR-ah), and thus the middle one sounds like the English word door, while the Japanese put the R on the third syllable. I’d have dropped that weak gonorrhea joke, and the “very long fortune cookie” line was a tad clumsy, and a bit out of place for the dignified Serizawa. In this film he seems to take a bit of a back seat to Dr. Mark Russell, once he’s on the scene, which is a bit of a disservice to his character for me. And that his sidekick Dr. Graham is so quickly dispatched by King Ghidorah during his emergence seemed a bit too casual—her character was a fine one, and I’d have enjoyed more from her going forward.

The film brings back the Oxygen Destroyer, a wonderful nod to the original, and they hint at it being tested in the news crawl Madison and Emma have on in the background in their opening domestic scene at the China base. The news commentator’s reporting of “mass die-offs” must be from the military testing it. Rather than having it come as a surprise announcement when the incoming missile is announced by Admiral Stenz, I think that viewers should have been clued-in earlier, and rather easily. The audience primarily sees things from the point of view of the MONARCH characters. But if we go to that senate hearing scene, from which the MONARCH crew departs having been alerted to the eco-terrorist attack on their Mothra temple base—despite being warned that there will be consequences, that scene could have briefly continued. Admiral Stenz would reveal to the committee, once Serizawa and crew have departed, that the military now has a prototype weapon that they think could be used to exterminate the Titans. We’d cut from the blurred footage of the Mutos on the monitor to a graphic of the Oxygen Destroyer (what we saw later when Stenz alerts the Argo team), while Stenz declares this is their tested proposal for conquering the Titans. If one wanted to flesh it out, then perhaps running some brief footage of it killing fish or other forms of life with some dark accompanying music would be a strong punctuation. But even that wouldn’t be required, just that graphic and a Stenz voiceover would have done the trick. So, rather than ending on a weak joke about blurred Titan genitals, we’d have the Oxygen Destroyer’s revelation as added tension for its eventual use.

With such wonderfully detailed renditions of the Titans, particularly the four Toho guest stars, I think they went a bit too far in trying to fit them into their environments by surrounding them with clouds, mists, and fog. This gives the Titan scenes an overall soft and painterly feel, and I can enjoy that aesthetic choice, but seeing the creatures that were so very carefully designed, and whose movements are crafted in such a convincing manner, being obscured far too often I think was an error. Dialing that back somewhat would have been a wiser choice—show us what you’ve got! Particularly in the expert choreography of the battling Titans—which in some scenes appears to have been inspired by Matt Frank’s compositional style—being able to see how the tussles and tumbles progress with greater clarity would have enhanced the viewing experience.

Wishful Thinking

I would hope that there might eventually be a “director’s cut” in some future boxed-set home video release of the MONSTERVERSE films that would relax the pace of this film somewhat—taking time to linger on the beautifully crafted images so that we won’t have to freeze-frame to savor the glories on screen. And the storyboarded but unfilmed mid-credit scene of another Mothra egg being sung to by twin young girls in another hidden temple space beneath a modern city should be added-in or at least exist as part of the extras—possibly an animated version? If the box office returns from the next installment don’t justify further live action films, it would be fun to have a MONARCH-centered animated series exploring the numerous Titans and how humanity must deal with them. The cartoon series that followed the 1998 Emmerich GODZILLA film was quite an improvement over its progenitor, so I suspect something similar could happen with this franchise going forward once live action films are no longer produced.

The Coming Conflict

Daugherty has reportedly had some plot input towards Wingard’s upcoming GODZILLA VS. KONG, and so the end titles give us glimpses into what might be to come via various briefly shown illustrated articles. One explains that the newly emerged Titans were being drawn to Skull Island, so one has to wonder if that locale could at the conclusion become the “Monster Island” of the MONSTERVERSE? That it is a gateway to the Hollow Earth is an exciting prospect, for more mysteries abound there. Already the rumor that the APEX corporation, which funded Colonel Alan Jonah’s eco-terrorists, is now behind the construction of Mechagodzilla (the toys of this character have been leaked already), who will have an ORCA variant built-in to lure Titans to the slaughter. 

King Ghidorah can regenerate in an unearthly manner and the director has mentioned in interviews that his consciousness is spread through his body. Daugherty has said that whatever might have fed on the carcass head could perhaps become some sort of mutating “legion,” perpetuating King Ghidorah, from flies to any sea creatures that took a nibble, if the series goes on. The rumor mill suggests that materials from the brain of this dead head have been used to create a bio-tech controller to enhance Mechagodzilla. Now that we’ve gone to a Showa series sensibility, the film makers have a great deal of latitude for referencing some of the more fantastic concepts from earlier films. With the biggest blockbusters today being super hero fantasies, one need not try to pretend that MONSTERVERSE films are bounded by the laws of our Universe. The relatively more “realist” approach of Edwards’ 2014 GODZILLA has been evolved into a broadly fantastic approach, which reflects much of what Toho had done in all of its series.

Fan Reactions

It seems some Godzilla fans on message boards are now turning on Dougherty’s epic—everyone seems to want each new film to be their vision of the perfect Godzilla film and then disappointment sets in when it isn’t. Yet so many of the films throughout the ongoing saga of Godzilla have been silly, cheesy, daffy, and sometimes just dopey—yet many of we aficionados embrace them all for their charms, after all, we get to see more of Godzilla and his fellow daikaiju. They appeal to quite a wide range of viewers of all ages, and as one ages, different films might head a favorites list based on one’s evolving tastes. Better that more Godzilla tales are wrought and released, regardless of whatever flaws we might find. In GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS the incarnations of our old favorites and some intriguing new Titans are truly extraordinary, brought to vivid life with contemporary effects capabilities. Never before have these sorts of films been graced with such mammoth budgets and been seen by such large audiences around the globe—a golden age for Godzilla is upon us.

Huzzah Daugherty!

Despite its flaws, I find so much to love in this film, particularly that final scene. After Godzilla has vaporized his age-old rival and literally “smoked” his final head, the Titans summoned by Madison’s activation of the ORCA in Fenway Park arrive. Godzilla, battered and weary from his strivings has exhausted the energy gifted to him through his ally Mothra’s sacrifice—like Heracles after his many labors. This unbowed victor is at last confronted by the other awakened super-species. It looks like a further battle could ensue, as Rodan swoops down at last. But, that canny firebird knows his place and thus submits to the true king, with a nod and almost a courtsey-like gesture of his cape-like wings. The other Titans then “bend the knee” and Godzilla bellows his triumphant “skreeonk” as McCreary’s music superbly supports this coronation scene. I felt such a powerful frisson at that moment and do with each repeat viewing. The Titans demonstrate their consciousness, intelligence, and their sense of natural hierarchy in what is one of my favorite conclusions in the entire canon of Godzilla films.

So, I salute Daugherty and all the others involved in what for me is a grand outing for all of the Titans and a very fine addition to the roster of Godzilla’s adventures. I’ve watched it many times since I saw that first Thursday night preview screening, and I continue to enjoy it immensely. Like all of the earlier films, I don’t dwell on what I see as flaws, but I celebrate the unique wonders that have been wrought, and these abound in this Toho-redolent GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS. 

The bar has been raised. Batter-up, Adam Wingard—let the MONSTERVERSE continue!

—Peter H. Gilmore