Godzilla vs. Mothra

This article is about the 1992 film. For the 1964 film, seeMothra vs. Godzilla.

Godzilla vs. Mothra
Theatrical release poster byNoriyoshi Ohrai
Japanese name
Katakana	ゴジラvsモスラ
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn Gojira tai Mosura
Directed by	Takao Okawara
Screenplay by	Kazuki Ōmori
Produced by	Shogo Tomiyama
Starring	Tetsuya Bessho Satomi Kobayashi Takehiro Murata Megumi Odaka
Cinematography	Masahiro Kishimoto
Edited by	Miho Yoneda
Music by	Akira Ifukube
Production company	Toho Pictures
Distributed by	Toho
Release date	December 12, 1992(1992-12-12)(Japan)
Running time	102 minutes
Country	Japan
Languages	Japanese English
Budget	¥1 billion ($8 million)
Box office	¥3.77 billion

Godzilla vs. Mothra(ゴジラvsモスラ,Gojira tai Mosura,also known asGodzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth)is a 1992 Japanesekaijufilmdirected byTakao Okawara,with special effects byKōichi Kawakita.Distributed byTohoand produced under their subsidiaryToho Pictures,it is the 19th film in theGodzillafranchise,and is the fourth film in the franchise'sHeisei era.The film features the fictional monster charactersGodzilla,Mothra,andBattra,and starsTetsuya Bessho,Satomi Kobayashi,Takehiro Murata,Megumi Odaka,Shiori Yonezawa, Makoto Otake,Akiji Kobayashi,Koichi Ueda, Shinya Owada, Keiko Imamura, Sayaka Osawa, Saburo Shinoda andAkira Takarada,withKenpachiro Satsumaas Godzilla. The plot follows Battra and Mothra's attempts to stop Godzilla from attackingYokohama.

Originally conceived as a standalone Mothra film entitledMothra vs. Bagan,the film is notable for its return to a morefantasy-based, family-oriented atmosphere, evocative of olderGodzillafilms. Although he did not return as director, Ōmori continued his trend of incorporatingHollywoodelements into his screenplay, in this case nods to theIndiana Jonesfranchise.

Godzilla vs. Mothrawas released theatrically in Japan on December 12, 1992. The film received critical acclaimand became thehighest-grossing Japanese film of 1993.Godzilla vs. Mothrawas releaseddirect-to-videoin the United States in 1998 byColumbia Tristar Home Videounder the titleGodzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth.The film was the second highest-grossing film in Japan in 1993, withJurassic Parkbeing the highest-grossing.

It was followed byGodzilla vs. Mechagodzilla IIwhich was released on December 11, 1993.

Plot

In mid-1992, following the events ofGodzilla vs. King Ghidorah,ameteoroidcrashes in theOgasawara Trenchand awakensGodzilla.Six months later, explorer Takuya Fujito is detained after stealing an ancient artifact. Later, a representative of theJapanese Prime Ministeroffers to have Takuya's charges dropped if he explores Infant Island with his ex-wife, Masako Tezuka and Kenji Ando, the secretary of the rapacious Marutomo company. After the trio arrives on the island, they find a cave containing a depiction of two giant insects in battle. Further exploration leads them to a giant egg and a pair of diminutive humanoids called theCosmos,who identify the egg as belonging toMothra.

The Cosmos tell of an ancient civilization that tried to control the Earth's climate 12,000 years ago, thus provoking the Earth into creating Battra. Battra, a male divine moth similar to Mothra, but much more fearsome in appearance, destroyed the civilisation and their weather-controlling device but then became uncontrollable, and started to harm the very planet that created him. Mothra was then sent by the Earth to fight Battra, who eventually lost. The Cosmos explain how the meteoroid uncovered Mothra's egg, and may have awoken Battra, who is still embittered over humanity's interference in the Earth's natural order.

The Marutomo company sends a freighter to Infant Island to pick up the egg, ostensibly to protect it. As they are sailing, Godzilla surfaces and heads toward the newly hatched Mothra larva. Battra, also as a larva, soon appears and joins the fight, allowing Mothra to retreat. The battle between Godzilla and Battra is eventually taken underwater, where the force of the battle causes a giant crack on thePhilippine Sea Platethat swallows the two.

Masako and Takuya later discover Ando's true intentions when he kidnaps the Cosmos and takes them to Marutomo headquarters, where theCEOintends to use them for publicity purposes. Mothra enters Tokyo in an attempt to rescue the Cosmos, but is attacked by theJSDF.The wounded Mothra heads for theNational Diet Buildingand starts constructing a cocoon around herself. Meanwhile, Godzilla surfaces fromMount Fuji,while Battra frees himself from the Earth's crust and continues towards Japan.

Both Mothra and Battra attain theirimagoforms and converge atYokohama Cosmo Worldwhere they begin to fight once more. Godzilla interrupts the battle and initially attacks Battra. Mothra then briefly incapacitates Godzilla and comes to Battra's aid before returning to battle with Godzilla. Battra then returns the favor coming to Mothra's defense. Regrouping, the two moths decide to join forces against Godzilla, determining him to be the greater threat to the planet. Eventually, Mothra and Battra overwhelm Godzilla and carry it over the ocean. Godzilla bites Battra's neck and fires its atomic breath into the wound, killing him. A tired Mothra drops Godzilla and the lifeless Battra into the water below, sealing Godzilla below the surface by creating a mystical glyph with scales from her wings. The next morning, the Cosmos explain that Battra had been waiting many years to destroy an even larger asteroid that would threaten the Earth in 1999. Mothra had promised she would stop the future collision if Battra were to die, and she and the Cosmos leave Earth as the humans bid farewell.

Cast

• Tetsuya Besshoas Takuya Fujito(Đằng hộ thác cũng,Fujito Takuya)
• Satomi Kobayashias Masako Tezuka(Tay trủng nhã tử)
• Takehiro Murata as Kenji Ando(An đông kiện nhị,Ando Kenji)
• Keiko Imamura and Sayaka Osawa as theCosmos(コスモス,Kosumosu)
• Saburo Shinoda as Professor Shigeki Fukazawa(Thâm trạch trọng thụ,Fukazawa Shigeki)
• Akiji Kobayashias Ryuzo Dobashi(Thổ kiều long tam,Dobashi Ryuzo)
• Megumi OdakaasMiki Saegusa(Tam chi chưa hi,Saegusa Miki)
• Akira Takaradaas Joji Minamino(Nam dã trượng nhị,Minamino Joji)
• Makoto Otake as Takeshi Tomokane
• Shiori Yonezawa as Midori Tezuka
• Kenpachiro SatsumaasGodzilla
• Hurricane Ryuas the Battra larva

Production

The idea of shooting a movie featuring a revampedMothradated back to a screenplay written in 1990 by Kazuki Omori entitledMothra vs. Bagan,which revolved around a vengeful dragon called Bagan who sought to destroy humanity for its abuse of the Earth's resources, only to be defeated by Mothra, the goddess of peace. However, following the poor box office performance ofGodzilla vs. Biollante,the project was ultimately scrapped by Toho, under the assumption that Mothra was a character born purely out of Japanese culture, and thus would have been difficult to market overseas unlike the more internationally recognizedGodzilla.

After the success ofGodzilla vs. King Ghidorah,producerShōgo TomiyamaandGodzillaseries creatorTomoyuki Tanakaproposed resurrectingKing Ghidorahin a film entitledGhidorah's Counterattack,but relented when polls demonstrated that Mothra was more popular with women, which makes up a larger percentage of Japan's population compared to men. Tomiyama replaced Ōmori withTakao Okawaraas director, but maintained Ōmori as screenwriter. Hoping to maintain as much ofMothra vs. Baganas possible, Ōmori reconceptualized Bagan as Badora, a dark twin to Mothra. The character was later renamed Battra (aportmanteauof "battle" and "Mothra" ), as the first name was disharmonious in Japanese. Tomiyama had intended to featureMothrastarFrankie Sakai,but was unable to because of scheduling conflicts. The final battle between Godzilla, Mothra and Battra was originally meant to have a more elaborate conclusion; as in the final product, Godzilla would have been transported to sea, only to kill Battra and plunge into the ocean. However, the site of their fall would have been the submerged,Stonehenge-like ruins of the Cosmos civilization, which would have engulfed and trapped Godzilla with a forcefield activated by Mothra.

Ishirō Honda,who directed the firstGodzillafilm and many others, visited the set shortly before dying.

Special effects

Koichi Kawakita continued his theme of giving Godzilla's opponents the ability to metamorphose, and had initially intended to have Mothra killed off, only to be reborn as the cybernetic mothMechaMothra,though this was scrapped early in production, thus makingGodzilla vs. Mothrathe first post-1984Godzillamovie to not feature amechacontraption. The underwater scenes were filmed through an aquarium filled with fish set between the performers and the camera. Kawakita's team constructed a new Godzilla suit from previously used molds,though it was made slimmer than previous suits, the neck given more prominent ribbing, and the arrangement of the character's dorsal plates was changed so that the largest plate was placed on the middle of the back. The arms were more flexible at the biceps, and the face was given numerous cosmetic changes; the forehead was reduced and flattened, the teeth scaled down, and the eyes given a golden tint. The head was also electronically modified to allow more vertical mobility.Filming the Godzilla scenes was hampered when the suit previously used forGodzilla vs. BiollanteandGodzilla vs. King Ghidorah,which was needed for some stunt-work, was stolen from Toho studios, only to be recovered atLake Okutamain bad condition.The remains of the suit were recycled for the first battle sequence.Godzilla's roar was reverted to the high-pitched shriek from pre-1984Godzillafilms, while Battra's sound effects were recycled from those ofRodan.In designing Battra, which the script described as a "black Mothra", artist Shinji Nishikawa sought to distance its design from Mothra's by making its adult form more similar to its larval one than is the case with Mothra, and combining Mothra's two eyes into one.

Release

Godzilla vs. Mothrawas released in Japan on December 12, 1992 where it was distributed byToho.The film sold approximately 4,200,000 tickets in Japan, becoming the number one Japanese film on the domestic market in the period that included the year 1993. It earned ¥2.22 billion in distribution income,and grossed¥3.77 billionin total.

The film was released in the United States asGodzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earthon April 28, 1998 on home video byColumbia TriStar Home Video.

Critical response

Godzilla vs. Mothrareceived critical acclaim upon its Japanese release.Review aggregation websiteRotten Tomatoeshas a 78% approval rating from critics, based on 9 reviews with anaverage scoreof 5.7/10.

Ed Godziszewski of Monster Zero said, "Rushed into production but a few months afterGodzilla vs. King Ghidorah,this film is unable to hide its hurried nature [but] effects-wise, the film makes up for the story's shortcomings and then some. "Japan Hero said, "While this movie is not the best of the Heisei series, it is still a really interesting movie. The battles are cool, and Battra was an interesting idea. If you have never seen this movie, I highly recommend it."

Stomp Tokyo said the film is "one of the betterGodzillamovies in that the scenes in which monsters do not appear actually make some sort of sense. And for once, they are acted with some gusto, so that we as viewers can actually come to like the characters on screen, or at least be entertained by them. "Mike Bogue of American Kaiju said the film "[does] not live up to its potential", but added that "[its] colorful and elaborate spectacle eventually won [him] over" and "the main story thread dealing with the eventual reconciliation of the divorced couple adequately holds the human plot together."

Home media

The film was released by Sony on Blu-ray inThe Toho Godzilla Collectionon May 6, 2014.

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
1993	Tokyo Sports Movie Awards	Best Leading Actor	Tetsuya Bessho	Won
	1993 Best Grossing Films Award	Golden Award and Money-Making Star Award	Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth	Won
	1993 Awards of The Japanese Academy	Newcomer of the Year	Keiko Imamura, Sayaka Osawa	Won
		Best Music Score	Akira Ifukube	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Takehiro Murata	Nominated

References

Bibliography

• Ryfle, Steve (1998).Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G.ECW Press.ISBN1550223488.
• Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008).The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography.Scarecrow Press.ISBN978-1461673743.

External links

• "ゴジラvsモスラ (Gojira tai Mosura) "(in Japanese).Japanese Movie Database.Retrieved2007-07-19.
• Godzilla vs. MothraatIMDb
• Godzilla vs. MothraatAllMovie
• Godzilla vs. Mothra on Wikizilla
• Watch the documentaryThe Men Who Created Godzilla: Kawakita's First Class Movie Story(1992) (Japanese with English subtitles)