Mosura

Though not a great fan of the Godzilla universe movies I cannot deny their quality, their charm and how much they accomplished with creating the universe in general.

Here we see the debut of Mothra getting her own film, a character who would go onto be one of the most commonly seen creatures.

It tells the story of a rich businessman who kidnaps two tiny ladies from their native land to use in show business. In doing so Mothra was summoned to retrieve them using any means necessary even if it means the entire destruction of Tokyo in the process.

Mothra actually looks good for it's day, there is no man in a goofy suit as usual and Mothra in both infant and adult forms look far better than you'd expect.

The cast are less generic than usual, the lead is fairly comedic and the whole thing feels above average within this original kaiju film.

Certainly one of the better films of the series that I've seen thus far, but still highly niche.

The Good:

Some of the sfx are quite good for their day

Character development is better than usual

The Bad:

Still highly cheesy

A few weak points in the plot

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Stowaways are not only not punished but they are given guns

A gigantic monster worm in a coccoon isn't newsworthy

The transitional phase for giant moths is a peanut

A greedy businessman captures two little(and I mean little) fairies from a remote, thought-to-be deserted island, only to showcase them to public much like Carl Denham does with King Kong. Of course Nelson Clark's scale is miniature. The Japanese people represented by some scientists and a chubby newspaper reporter and his sidekick photographer try to rescue the girls and return them to their home before Mothra, a giant caterpillar then moth, comes to Tokyo to retrieve them, leaving devastation in its wake. Inshiro Honda directed this marvelous film, and his directorial touch is very evident. The film has many beautiful color backgrounds, some great music(love the song the Ito sisters sing), solid acting from all, and some pretty nice miniature sets. The "monster" itself really is good, despite its destruction of the Japanese countryside, part of Tokyo, and New Kirk City in Roscilica(Beats me where the names here came from). A film very unlike its Godzilla counterparts in spirit.

I think what makes this movie special is not the "giant insect" aspect but the mysticism involved. Godzilla is a legend in the original at least but Mothra is actually a deity--and a hands-on deity at that. Inlikethe other creatures in this bestiary, Monthra is beloved of those who live with it and is protected by it, often by direct intercession.

Unlike the other monsters, Mothra can die, and has done so. But it continues to protect its people by reproducing the old fashioned way--it lays eggs. IT is also intelligent and intuitive, and its nature is NOT aggressive or violent. It's almost Buddhist in nature.

The only other time they tried to work this kind of mysticism into these movies was with King Cesar--a giant cocker spaniel with contacts. The beast was just too goofy to be taken seriously.

Mothra is a great addition to the canon.

This is a very unusual movie because the monster isn't an evil killing machine as was the case with Godzilla. The only reason for the destruction is because of Mothra's uncontrollable urge to rescue its priestesses. Mothra is what I call part of the holy trio of the Toho monsters (the other two being, of course, Godzilla and Rodan). This is the first film in which the audience actually roots for the monster and the true monster is the villian, Clark Nelson. This not only is a wonderful science fiction film but a very humorous parody about the consequences of over commercialization.

Definitely one of Toho's finest giant monster movies of all. An evil businessman (Jerry Ito) abducts two adorable foot-tall twin fairies from their remote island, in an unscrupulous plan to exploit them for his own monetary gain. The two "peanuts" call to their protector Mothra for aid, and the title monster travels to Japan to save the little ladies, while leaving unintended harm and destruction in its path.

Mothra is a sympathetic character which became popular and went on to co-star in many more Toho adventures. The female creature starts out as a gigantic crawling caterpillar, but late in the movie emerges out of its self-spun cocoon, as a huge and colorful flying moth that causes intense catastrophic winds when flapping its wings. Jerry Ito is a perfect hateful lead villain, but he is counterbalanced partly by the agreeable presence of comedian Frankie Sakai on the side of the good guys. The story is involving, and the pacing very comfortable. I have always been a big fan of the charming little song that the twin fairies sing in honor of their savior, Mothra. The English language version is well dubbed, and there are some differences between the U.S. and original Japanese versions; but either one is good and enjoyable.

*** out of ****