kaiju is a Japanese media genre that focuses on stories involving giant monsters. The word ''kaiju'' can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monster ...

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...

pop culture icon Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop' ...

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the produc ...

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedb ...

comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is a 1956 ''kaiju'' film directed by Terry O. Morse and Ishirō Honda. It is a heavily re-edited American localization, commonly referred to as an "Americanization", of the 1954 Japanese film '' Godzilla''. The film was a Japanese- American ...

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform action ...

human condition The human condition is all of the characteristics and key events of human life, including birth, learning, emotion, aspiration, morality, conflict, and death. This is a very broad topic that has been and continues to be pondered and analyzed f ...

Mechagodzilla is a fictional mecha character that first appeared in the 1974 film ''Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla''. In its debut appearance, Mechagodzilla is depicted as an extraterrestrial villain that confronts Godzilla. In subsequent iterations, Mechagodzill ...

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...

Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsEiji Tsuburaya met

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the produc ...

contract actor Shiro Amikura in the Toho Studios cafeteria and nicknamed him "Gojira," combining the Japanese words for gorilla (since he thought Amikura looked like a Gorilla) and whale (since Amikura told Tsuburaya that whale meat was his favorite food). In a 1998 BBC documentary on Godzilla, Kimi Honda, the widow of the 1954 film's director Ishirō Honda, dismissed the employee-name story as a tall tale, 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". Godzilla's name was written in ateji as , where the

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subse ...

are used for phonetic value and not meaning. The Japanese pronunciation of the name is ; the Anglicized form is , with the first syllable pronounced like the word "god" and the rest rhyming with "gorilla". 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.

Characteristics

Within 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 Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Mig ...

for 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 Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

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 ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

'', an ''

Iguanodon ''Iguanodon'' ( ; meaning 'iguana-tooth'), named in 1825, is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur. While many species have been classified in the genus ''Iguanodon'', dating from the late Jurassic Period to the early Cretaceous Period of Asia, ...

'', a ''

Stegosaurus ''Stegosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of herbivorous, four-legged, armored dinosaur from the Late Jurassic, characterized by the distinctive kite-shaped upright plates along their backs and spikes on their tails. Fossils of the genus have been fou ...

'' and an

alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis'' ...

to form a sort of blended

chimera Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimaira (Greek for " she-goat") originally referred to: * Chimera (mythology), a fire-breathing monster of Ancient Lycia said to combine parts from multiple animals * Mount Chimaera, a fire-spewing region of Lycia or Cilicia ...

, inspired by illustrations from an issue of ''Life'' magazine. To emphasise the monster's relationship with the atomic bomb, its skin texture was inspired by the

keloid Keloid, also known as keloid disorder and keloidal scar, is the formation of a type of scar which, depending on its maturity, is composed mainly of either type III (early) or type I (late) collagen. It is a result of an overgrowth of granulation ...

scars seen on the

survivors of Hiroshima ''Hibakusha'' ( or ; ja, 被爆者 or ; "person affected by a bomb" or "person affected by exposure o radioactivity) is a word of Japanese origin generally designating the people affected by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the ...

. The basic design has a reptilian visage, a robust build, an upright posture, a long tail and three rows of serrated plates along 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 grey with bone-white dorsal plates up until the film '' Godzilla 2000: Millennium''.
Making of the Godzilla Suit!
'. Ed Godziszewski. ''YouTube'' (December 24, 2010) In the original Japanese films, Godzilla and all the other monsters are referred to with

gender-neutral pronoun A third-person pronoun is a pronoun that refers to an entity other than the speaker or listener. Some languages with gender-specific pronouns have them as part of a grammatical gender system, a system of agreement where most or all nouns have a va ...

s equivalent to "it", while in the English dubbed versions, Godzilla is explicitly described as a male. In his book, Godzilla co-creator

Tomoyuki Tanaka was a Japanese film producer. He is best known for co-creating the ''Godzilla'' franchise and its associated spin-offs. Early life Tanaka was born on April 26, 1910, in Kashiwara, Osaka. As a child, he would often walk miles to the nearest t ...

suggested that the monster was probably male. In the 1998 film ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...

'', the monster is referred to as a male and is depicted laying eggs through

parthenogenesis Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek grc, παρθένος, translit=parthénos, lit=virgin, label=none + grc, γένεσις, translit=génesis, lit=creation, label=none) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and developmen ...

. In the Legendary ''Godzilla'' films, Godzilla is referred to as a male. Godzilla's allegiance and motivations 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 a whim. It is not motivated to attack by predatory instinct: it does not eat people and instead sustains itself on nuclear radiation and an omnivorous diet. When inquired if Godzilla was "good or bad", producer

Shōgo Tomiyama Shōgo Tomiyama (富山省吾, born 1952 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese former writer and producer. Filmography Producer * ''Yuki no dansho - jonetsu''(1985) * '' Young Girls in Love'' (1986) * '' Totto Channel'' (1987) * '' Gorufu yoakemae'' ...

likened it to a

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoist ...

"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 is a rebirth. Something new and fresh can begin."

Abilities

Godzilla King of the Monsters (1956) Atomic ray

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 a laser-like high velocity projectile and unleashes it from its jaws in the form of a blue or red radioactive beam.''An Anatomical Guide to Monsters'', Shoji Otomo, 1967 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, was a

black belt Black Belt may refer to: Martial arts * Black belt (martial arts), an indication of attainment of expertise in martial arts * ''Black Belt'' (magazine), a magazine covering martial arts news, technique, and notable individuals Places * Black B ...

in judo and used his expertise to choreograph the battle sequences. Godzilla is amphibious: it has a preference for traversing Earth's

hydrosphere The hydrosphere () is the combined mass of water found on, under, and above the surface of a planet, minor planet, or natural satellite. Although Earth's hydrosphere has been around for about 4 billion years, it continues to change in shape. Thi ...

when in hibernation or migration, can breathe underwater and is described in the original film by the character Dr. Yamane as a

transitional form A transitional fossil is any fossilized remains of a life form that exhibits traits common to both an ancestral group and its derived descendant group. This is especially important where the descendant group is sharply differentiated by gross ...

between a marine and a terrestrial reptile. Godzilla 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 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,''

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is a 1991 Japanese ''kaiju'' film written and directed by Kazuki Ōmori and produced by Shōgo Tomiyama. The film, produced and distributed by Toho Studios, is the 18th film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and is the third film in the franch ...

'' (1991). Directed by

Kazuki Ōmori was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Career Born in Osaka, Ōmori studied at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and held a license to practice medicine. While in school, he began making films independently, with ''Kuraku naru ...

.

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the produc ...

magnetism,''

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is a 1974 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their effects subsidiary Toho–Eizo, it is the 14th film of the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and features ...

'' (1974). Directed by

Jun Fukuda was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for directing five entries in the ''Godzilla'' series starting with '' Ebirah, Horror of the Deep'' (1966) as well as the spy films '' Ironfinger'' (1965) and ''Golden E ...

.

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the produc ...

precognition,'' Godzilla vs. Biollante'' (1989). Directed by

Kazuki Ōmori was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Career Born in Osaka, Ōmori studied at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and held a license to practice medicine. While in school, he began making films independently, with ''Kuraku naru ...

.

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the produc ...

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 vs. Hedorah is a 1971 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Yoshimitsu Banno, co-written by Banno and Takeshi Kimura, and produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd. It is the 11th film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and features the fictional monster charac ...

'' (1971). Directed by

Yoshimitsu Banno was a Japanese film director, best known for the cult-classic ''Godzilla vs. Hedorah'' (1971), which he directed and co-wrote. Banno was a special guest at G-Fest, G-Fest XII in 2005. He was an executive producer on Legendary Pictures's American ...

.

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the produc ...

Roar

Godzilla has a distinctive disyllabic roar (transcribed in several comics as ''Skreeeonk!''), which was created by composer

Akira Ifukube was a Japanese classical and film music composer, best known for his works on the ''Godzilla'' franchise. Biography Early years in Hokkaido Akira Ifukube was born on 31 May 1914 in Kushiro, Japan as the third son of a police officer Toshi ...

, who produced the sound by rubbing a pine tar-resin-coated glove along the string of a

contrabass Contrabass (from it, contrabbasso) refers to several musical instruments of very low pitch—generally one octave below bass register instruments. While the term most commonly refers to the double bass (which is the bass instrument in the orchest ...

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 the monster Anguirus. From ''

The Return of Godzilla is a 1984 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Koji Hashimoto, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. The film features the fictional monster character Godzilla. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is t ...

'' (1984) to ''

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is a 1991 Japanese ''kaiju'' film written and directed by Kazuki Ōmori and produced by Shōgo Tomiyama. The film, produced and distributed by Toho Studios, is the 18th film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and is the third film in the franch ...

'' (1991), Godzilla was given a deeper and more threatening-sounding roar than in previous films, though this change was reverted from ''

Godzilla vs. Mothra is a 1992 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Takao Okawara, written by Kazuki Ōmori, and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it is the 19th film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and is the fourth film in th ...

'' (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 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.

Size

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 – scale and filmed at 240 frames per second to create the illusion of great size. In the original 1954 film, Godzilla was scaled to be 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 tall, because producer

Joseph E. Levine Joseph Edward Levine (September 9, 1905 – July 31, 1987) was an American film distributor, financier and producer. At the time of his death, it was said he was involved in one or another capacity with 497 films. Levine was responsible for the ...

felt that 50 m did not sound "powerful enough". As the series progressed, Toho would rescale the character, eventually making Godzilla as tall as . This was done so that it would not be dwarfed by the newer, bigger buildings in Tokyo's skyline, such as the

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building The , also referred to as the for short, is the seat of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which governs the special wards, cities, towns, and villages that constitute the Tokyo Metropolis. Located in Shinjuku ward, the building was designed ...

which Godzilla destroyed in the film ''Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' (1991). Supplementary information, such as character profiles, would also depict Godzilla as weighing between . In the American film ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...

'' (2014) from

Legendary Pictures Legendary Pictures Productions, LLC (doing business as Legendary Entertainment or simply Legendary) is an American film production and mass media company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull in 2000. The company has collaborated ...

, Godzilla was scaled to be and weighing , making it the largest film version at that time. Director

Gareth Edwards Sir Gareth Owen Edwards CBE (born 12 July 1947) is a Welsh former rugby union player who played scrum-half and has been described by the BBC as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey". In 2003, in a poll of international ...

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 is a 2016 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, with a screenplay by Anno and visual effects by Higuchi. Produced by Toho Pictures and Cine Bazar and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the 31st film in the '' ...

'' (2016), Godzilla was made even taller than the Legendary version, at . In '' Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters'' (2017), Godzilla's height was increased further still to . In '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' (2019) and ''

Godzilla vs. Kong ''Godzilla vs. Kong'' is a 2021 American monster film directed by Adam Wingard. A sequel to '' Kong: Skull Island'' (2017) and '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' (2019); it is the fourth film in Legendary Pictures' MonsterVerse, the 36th film ...

'' (2020), Godzilla's height was increased to from the 2014 incarnation.

Special effects details

Godzilla Raids Again (1955) Behind the scenes

Godzilla's appearance has traditionally been portrayed in the films by an actor wearing a latex costume, though the character has also been rendered in

animatronic Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions. It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy ...

,

stop-motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames ...

and

computer-generated Computer-generated usually refers to a sound or visual that has been created in whole or in part with the aid of computer software or computer hardware. Computer-generated may refer to: * Computer animation * Computer art * Computer graphics * C ...

form. Taking inspiration from ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

'', 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 consisted of 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. The first suit was held together by small hooks on the back, though subsequent Godzilla suits incorporated a zipper. Its weight was in excess of . 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 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 the suits' weight, lack of ventilation and diminished visibility.

Haruo Nakajima was a Japanese actor best known for playing Godzilla in 12 consecutive films, starting from the original '' Godzilla'' (1954) until '' Godzilla vs. Gigan'' (1972). He also played various other giant monsters in ''kaiju'' films, including '' Mot ...

, 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. 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 was soaked within seconds.

Kenpachiro Satsuma , born is a Japanese actor who portrayed Godzilla in the Heisei films, from 1984 to 1995. Born in Kagoshima Prefecture, Satsuma began his acting career in the 1960s with small roles in samurai films. In 1971 he was offered the role of the smog m ...

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.Clements, J. (2010), ''Schoolgirl Milky Crisis: Adventures in the Anime and Manga Trade'', A-Net Digital LLC, pp. 117–118, Satsuma himself suffered numerous medical issues during his tenure, including

oxygen deprivation Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can ...

, near-drowning, concussions, electric shocks and lacerations to 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 is a 1994 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Kensho Yamashita, written by Hiroshi Kashiwabara, and produced by Shōgo Tomiyama. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it is the 21st film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, as well as the sixth ...

'', 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 the creature's head. The Cybot Godzilla consisted of a hydraulically-powered mechanical endoskeleton covered in

urethane Urethane may refer to: * Ethyl carbamate, a chemical compound which is an ester of carbamic acid * Polyurethane, a polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links *Carbamate In organic chemistry, a carbamate is ...

skin containing 3,000 computer operated parts which permitted it to tilt its head and move its lips and arms. In ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...

'' (1998), special effects artist

Patrick Tatopoulos Patrick Tatopoulos (born September 25, 1957) is a Greek-French production designer and director who lives and works in the United States. His designs have appeared in numerous motion pictures, including ''Pitch Black'', '' Underworld'', '' I, ...

was instructed to redesign

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...

as an incredibly fast runner. At one point, it was planned to use

motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...

from 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 In terrestrial vertebrates, digitigrade () locomotion is walking or running on the toes (from the Latin ''digitus'', 'finger', and ''gradior'', 'walk'). A digitigrade animal is one that stands or walks with its toes (metatarsals) touching the groun ...

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 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 off the ground with their feet bent forward. The film's special effects crew also built a scale animatronic Godzilla for close-up scenes, whose size outmatched that of

Stan Winston Stanley Winston (April 7, 1946 – June 15, 2008) was an American television and film special make-up effects creator, best known for his work in the ''Terminator'' series, the first three ''Jurassic Park'' films, ''Aliens'', '' The Thing'', th ...

's ''T. rex'' in ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 whe ...

''. Kurt Carley performed the suitmation sequences for the adult Godzilla. In ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...

'' (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 Wolf, wolves, which helped 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 the Monsters'', portraying the character through Motion-capture acting, performance capture. In ''

Shin Godzilla is a 2016 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, with a screenplay by Anno and visual effects by Higuchi. Produced by Toho Pictures and Cine Bazar and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the 31st film in the '' ...

'', a majority of the character was portrayed via CGI, with Mansai Nomura portraying Godzilla through motion capture.

Appearances

Cultural impact

Godzilla is one of the most recognizable symbols of Japanese popular culture worldwide and remains an important facet of Japanese films, embodying the ''

kaiju is a Japanese media genre that focuses on stories involving giant monsters. The word ''kaiju'' can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monster ...

'' 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 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 a filmographic metaphor for the United States, as well as an allegory of Nuclear power, 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 a less destructive and more heroic character. ''Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, 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 cites Godzilla as a notable example of a villain-turned-hero, along with King Kong, Jaws (James Bond), Jaws (''James Bond''), the Terminator (character), Terminator and Rambo (franchise), John Rambo. Godzilla 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 was also voted the most popular movie monster in ''The Monster Times'' poll in 1973, beating Count Dracula,

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

, the Werewolf fiction, Wolf Man, the The Mummy (Universal film franchise), Mummy, the Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Frankenstein's monster, Frankenstein Monster. In 1996, Godzilla received the MTV Movie Awards#MTV Lifetime Achievement Award, 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 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 (Blue Öyster Cult song), Godzilla" by Blue Öyster Cult. Godzilla has also been used in advertisements, such as in a commercial for Nike, Inc., Nike, where Godzilla lost an oversized one-on-one game of basketball to a giant version of NBA player Charles Barkley. The commercial was subsequently adapted into a Godzilla vs. Charles Barkley, 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 (character), Yonggary of South Korea, Pulgasari of North Korea, Gorgo (film), Gorgo of the United Kingdom and the Clover (creature), Cloverfield monster of the United States. ''Dakosaurus'' is an extinct Thalattosuchia, sea crocodile of the Jurassic, Jurassic Period, which researchers informally nicknamed "Godzilla".Gasparini Z, Pol D, Spalletti LA. 2006. An unusual marine crocodyliform from the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary of Patagonia. ''Science'' 311: 70–73. Paleontologists have written tongue-in-cheek speculative articles about Godzilla's biology, with Ken Carpenter tentatively classifying it as a Ceratosauria, 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 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 (restaurant), 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 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 in May 2011, due to legal pressure from

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the produc ...

. Gojira (band), Gojira is the name of a French Technical Death Metal, 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 Colossal (film), 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 ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 whe ...

'' (1993), specifically ''

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is a 1956 ''kaiju'' film directed by Terry O. Morse and Ishirō Honda. It is a heavily re-edited American localization, commonly referred to as an "Americanization", of the 1954 Japanese film '' Godzilla''. The film was a Japanese- American ...

'' (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 (film), Jaws'' (1975). ''Godzilla'' has also been cited as an inspiration by filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton. 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 11 July 2018 ().

Cultural ambassador

In April 2015, 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 was accepted on Godzilla's behalf by a Toho executive. Reporters noted that Shinjuku ward has been flattened by Godzilla in three Toho movies.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Official ''Godzilla'' website
by Toho, Toho Co., Ltd
Official website
of Toho Co., Ltd (Japanese)
Godzilla
on IMDb {{Authority control Animated characters Fictional dragonslayers Film characters introduced in 1954 Fictional aquatic creatures Fictional characters with accelerated healing Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities Fictional characters with nuclear or radiation abilities Fictional characters with superhuman strength Fictional prehistoric characters Fictional foster carers Fictional dinosaurs Fictional reptiles Fictional giants Fictional mass murderers Fictional mutants Fictional telepaths Godzilla characters Horror film villains Kaiju King Kong (franchise) characters Science fiction film characters Toho monsters

Overview

Name

Characteristics

Abilities

Roar

Size

Special effects details

Appearances

Cultural impact

Cultural ambassador

References

Sources

External links