Godzilla: The Series

Okay, so he doesn't look like he did in the '50s. If you really want to see how Godzilla should be done, tune in to this series. This has some of everything: well-developed characters we can actually identify with, clever stories that will thrill you, make you laugh, and might even teach you a thing or two, and (of course) fantastic monster creations. In the past, Godzilla has been presented as being totally bent on destruction (IMHO) or has been reduced to last-minute save-the-day status (in the '70s Hanna-Barbera cartoons). Here he is an independently-thinking creature. Although he takes it upon himself to protect the HEAT team (and the planet), he is a monster first and foremost, with a huge appetite and unpredictable actions. After countless episodes, he is still a mystery. This series keeps my glued to the tube every time.

This Godzilla series was great and much better than previous efforts (the earlier animated series and even the movie). This series picked up where the Sony movie left off. In this series, the HEAT team and Godzilla faced new monsters: giant bat and bee, mutated seas creature, that kind of stuff.

I remember when this used to air on t.v., it was always on way too early in the morning and I rarely got to see it. All I had of this show was a VHS copy of one of the episodes. Now I got two DVD's, but unfortunately there is only three episodes on each disc, for a total of 6 out of 39, wow that sucks. I can't even find any other episodes, did they just release the 3 DVD's? where's the rest of the seasons. They should be boxed together and re-released on Blu-ray, but that's not likely to happen any time soon.

This was a great idea for an animated series, continuing the story of the surviving Godzilla and pitting him against other monsters. The monsters aren't as grand as the Toho one's, but that doesn't matter much, I'm just glad to see Zilla fighting other monsters. There is even a Mecha-Godzilla, which was made from the original Godzilla, funny how that happened later in the millennium series with Kiryu. There is even a three part episode that is a remake of Destroy all monsters, so we get some references to the original Japeneese Godzilla films. Heck we even see the American Godzilla in Tokyo.

The animation looks fantastic, I wish it was still done like this, now-a-days it's all done with CGI, which looks like crap, much like most of the animated programming lately. This show has one of the greatest, if not the greatest opening credits for any t.v. show in history.

The characters are okay, nothing special. I do find nick's voice to feel out of place with the other voice actors, he sounds so stock, if you know what I'm talking about....generic is what I mean. I like the N.I.G.E.L. robot, he's cool, and he is also voiced by Tom Kenny, that I didn't know.

I think this show needs to be discovered by more people, it is actually pretty good. Even with me being older now, I still find this show very entertaining. I would like to know James Rolfe's opinion on this series, he wasn't too fond of the movie, but this offers more than the movie did, at least in terms of monsters.

I recommend this, although I am disappointed in the lack of episodes on DVD, it's still worth checking out.

Godzilla the series

Picking off moments from the end of the 1998 GODZILLA movie, Dr Nick Tatopolus discovers and befriends the last remaining baby Zilla. It imprints on Nick as his parent but is chased away when the military comes calling. Baby Zilla soon grows to full size and although he displays an undying loyalty to Nick, Nick can no longer hide it. While the army is hell bent on exterminating this beast, new monstrous behemoths start to emerge across the world, some the result of mutation, some ancient, others extraterrestrial. Teaming up with former co-scientists Elsie and Craven, along with mysterious French secret agent Monique, Nick forms the H.E.A.T team aiming to track down these giant creatures for scientific purposes before the military blows them apart. But not all these monsters are friendly, and that's where the now adult Godzilla comes in to take them down.

Clearly inspired by the Showa era of heroic Godzilla movies, as well as the Hannah Barbara GODZILLA power hour cartoon, Godzilla the series ranks among the better animated shows based on movies. It is arguably better than the movie itself, returning a generic giant monster premise to its Japanese roots. Where most animated adaptations/continuations dumb down the story (see Robocop, Rambo, Star Wars Droids), this shows ups the ante in action, scale and enjoyment.

The plots could be a tad formulaic: new threat shows itself, H.E.A.T team investigates, gets into trouble, Godzilla helps, monster attacks, fights Godzilla who may or may not be evenly matched, godzilla ultimately wins thanks to its own cunning or human assistance. Thankfully, the execution is too notch. For a start, the characters are well written with snappy dialogue and good chemistry among the voice actors. There are hints of character development across the series. They start off one dimensional but as episodes go along, they change slowly, subtly adding depth to their personalities. For example, Nick outgrows his geeky personality into a confident action leader type by the second season.

On the production side, Godzilla the series looks quite good for a 1999 animated show. Animated by korean studio DR Movie, this show displays a good balance of art detail and animation fluidity. Shadows are consistent, clothing show folds; only the backgrounds come across a little half baked. The backgrounds are flatly colored with the odd scene looking a tad unfinished. Though the character designs may also take some getting used to, coming across like Rugrats mixed with bad early 90s Japanese anime, the monster designs are marvelous. You can tell that most time and effort went into the monsters themselves. They are drawn with an insane level of expertise and animated very smoothly.

Fans agree that this series is what many wished the 1998 Godzilla remake delivered. It is not shy to delve into darker territory, such as the acclaimed "monster wars" 3 part saga, and manages to balance a coherent plot with some timely humor. (Poor N.I.G.E.L). Initially only selected episodes were released on DVD. But now, A complete series DVD set has been released to coincide with the 2014 GODZILLA movie from legendary studios. The late 90s and early 2000s was a new renaissance for American animation, with GODZILLA THE SERIES right there among the best.

Godzilla the Series takes place where the near-blockbuster movie left off. Nick Tatapolous finds the original Godzilla's one surviving egg. During its hatching, the baby Godzilla implements Nick as its adopted father.

This could've gone into corny areas, as did several other tv show's and the other godzilla cartoon from the 70's, with Godzilla always being there for them no matter what, and always a good guy. NOT SO HERE. Godzilla, though seeing Nick as his "father", also sees the entire planet as his own nest. So, whenever a monster attacks Nick, or starts taking its own land, Godzilla will fight it off. but it also means that mankind definitely gets in Godzilla's way, and there is often little NIck can do, since its not like he can just call an independent thinking creature like Godzilla off. And thankfully, in the series, Godzilla does breath his radioactive fire. And he is much meaner and more assertive against enemies than the movie Godzilla. But several characters from the movie are back in the seires, and are much more interesting at that. The rarely seen Elsie Chapman and Mendel Craven are more 3 dimensional here, as are Audrey Timmons, Animal, and Major HIcks. Several episodes even devote more than ample time on character's histories and relationships to each other, such as an episode where a major character is Elsie's one time fiancee, or plenty of episodes where newcoming characters Monique Dupree, a frech secret agant, and Randy Hernandez, an early 20's hacker, hit it off, but not so well as in most relationships. And the majority of the monsters are great and original. One problem though is that they are often shown in all their designs glory in the first few minutes of an episode. All in all, the series has more plot twists and refreshing script work than the movie. I strongly suggest that everyone watches it and gives it the attention it deserves.