| Godzilla | |
|---|---|
| Godzilla film series character | |
.jpg) TriStar's Godzilla (left) as featured in the 1998 film and Zilla (right) as featured inGodzilla: Final Wars. | |
| First appearance | Godzilla (1998) |
| Last appearance | Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) |
| Based on | Godzilla byToho Co., Ltd. |
| Adapted by | Dean Devlin Roland Emmerich |
| Designed by | Patrick Tatopoulos |
| Portrayed by | Kurt Carley (suit actor)[1] |
| Voiced by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | |
| Species | Mutated amphibious reptile |
Godzilla (/ɡɒdˈzɪlə/ɡod-ZIL-ə)[a] is a giant monster, orkaiju, based onToho Co., Ltd.'scharacter of the same name. The character first appeared in the 1998 filmGodzilla, released byTriStar Pictures. Designed byPatrick Tatopoulos, it was modeled afteriguanas with a slimtheropod appearance rather than the thick, bipedal designs of Toho's Godzilla. It is the second incarnation of Godzilla to be reimagined by an American studio, afterHanna-Barbera's 1978 animated seriesGodzilla. Initial reception towards the 1998 film and its version of Godzilla were generally negative, however, both would receive reappraise in later years. Reception for the animated sequelGodzilla: The Series was more favorable.
In 2004, a new iteration of TriStar's Godzilla was featured in Toho's 2004 filmGodzilla: Final Wars asZilla (ジラ,Jira). That version has since appeared in various media under the “Zilla” trademark, but with the variants from the 1998 film andGodzilla: The Series retaining theGodzilla copyright and trademark.
During the production of the 1998 film, special effects artistPatrick Tatopoulos was contacted by director Roland Emmerich and asked to create a new design for the Godzilla character. According to Tatopoulos, the only specific instructions Emmerich gave him was that it should be able to run incredibly fast.[9] Emmerich intended to depict the character as an animal rather than a monster.[10] Godzilla was originally conceived by special effects directorEiji Tsubaraya, special effects designersAkira Wantanabe and Teizo Toshimitsu and producerTomoyuki Tanaka as a robust, erect-standing,plantigrade reptilian sea monster, played by an actor in a rubber-latex full-body suit. Based on the instructions Emmerich gave him, Tatopoulos reimagined it as a lean,digitigrade bipedal iguana that stood with its back and tail parallel to the ground, rendered via computer animation.[11] The monster's distinctive facial features include a prominentlantern jaw, inspired by the fictional tigerShere Khan fromDisney's animated adaptation ofThe Jungle Book.[12]
TriStar's Godzilla color scheme was designed to reflect and blend in with the urban environment.[9] At one point, it was planned to usemotion capture to create the movements of the computer-generated monster, but it ended up looking too much like a man in a suit.[13] The Baby Godzilla scenes utilized a combination of CGI and purpose built costumes donned by actors.[14] Kurt Carley portrayed thesuitmation sequences for the adult Godzilla in the 1998 film[1] whilevoice actorFrank Welker,foley artist Gary A. Hecker, and the film'ssound designer Scott Martin Gershin provided additional vocals for both Godzilla and its offspring.[15][16][2] Upon pending approval for the design, at the time,Shōgo Tomiyama commented on the new look, saying "It was so different we realized we couldn't make small adjustments. That left the major question of whether to approve it or not."[17] Though TriStar's Godzilla was referred to by the film's characters as a "he", Patrick Tatopoulos stated on a DVD audio commentary that the effects crew sculpted female genitalia into the CG model of the creature.[18]
In the 1998 film and animated series, TriStar's Godzilla is portrayed as a territorial,piscivorous, 180 feet (54.86 m) tall[19][20] mutated lizard. Atypical of Toho's giant monster characters, TriStar's Godzilla is not immune to conventional weaponry, and instead relies on its cunning and athleticism to outflank its enemies. It can travel long distances over land and sea, burrow underground and reproduce viaparthenogenesis, and is able to lay over 200 eggs,[21] unlike its offspring in the animated series which was unable to reproduce.[20] It possesses an ignitable radioactive breath weapon called "Power Breath", although its offspring could breathe a green atomic Power Breath in the animated series (where also the parent, resurrected as acyborg called Cyber-Godzilla, possessed a blue version), in which it was pitted against arogues gallery of original monsters, after the producers were unable to secure the rights to adapt Toho's classic monsters.[22] It was also featured in advertisements alongside theTaco Bell chihuahua.[23]
During production ofGodzilla: Final Wars, directorRyuhei Kitamura asked producer Shōgo Tomiyama whether or not they were allowed to include TriStar's Godzilla in the film. Tomiyama checked Toho's contract withSony and saw they were allowed to use it, stating, "since this was the 50th anniversary film, I thought ‘Why not include the American Godzilla?'" This incarnation of TriStar's Godzilla was named "Zilla".[24] This decision was made because they also felt that Emmerich's film had taken the "God" out of "Godzilla" by portraying the character as a mere animal, however, Kitamura admitted to "liking" the 1998 film and Emmerich's works.[25] The name "Zilla" was chosen for the character by Tomiyama as a satirical take oncounterfeit Godzilla products that use"Zilla" as a suffix.[26]
A 3D scan of theTrendmasters "Ultimate Godzilla" toy was used as reference for Zilla.[27] In the film, Zilla engages Toho's Godzilla in a battle intended "to show which Godzilla is stronger".[24] Zilla would fight Godzilla again in a slightly longer battle, and even team up with Godzilla to fight other monsters, in the comic series byIDW Publishing titledGodzilla: Rulers of Earth running between 2013 and 2015.[6]
The "Zilla" trademark has led to confusion from fans over Toho's treatment of TriStar's Godzilla and the possibilities of rebranding. Matt Frank (co-writer and illustrator ofGodzilla: Rulers of Earth) clarified, "Toho makes zero distinction between 'Zilla' and 'Godzilla 1998' with the exception of title alone. Ever since 2004, Toho's official stance has been that any future incarnations of the character be referred to hereafter as 'Zilla'."[24][28] Keith Aiken (co-editor of SciFi Japan) also clarified that "'Zilla' is a variation of the '1998 Godzilla' but stressed that only the incarnations from the 1998 film and the animated series retain the Godzilla copyright and trademark.[29][24]
The design and characterization of TriStar's Godzilla was negatively received.[30] Film critic Richard Pusateri ofG-Fan Magazine coined theacronymGINO ("GodzillaInNameOnly") to distinguish it from Toho's Godzilla.[31] while other publications referred to it as the "American Godzilla".[26][32]
Tom Breihan fromDeadspin stated that TriStar's Godzilla "wasn't motherfucking Godzilla at all," elaborating that the character was treated like a "tapped animal", lacked Godzilla's signature blue atomic breath, ran and hid, caused less damage, and that Emmerich and Devlin had "completely missed the entire point" of Godzilla.[33]
These sentiments were echoed by veteranGodzilla suit actorsHaruo Nakajima andKenpachiro Satsuma, and byShusuke Kaneko, director of the '90sGamera films. Nakajima ridiculed the character design, stating: "Its face looks like an iguana and its body and limbs look like a frog".[34] Satsuma walked out of the film, saying "it's not Godzilla, it doesn't have his spirit".[35] Kaneko opined "[Americans] seem unable to accept a creature that cannot be put down by their arms",[36] and later alluded to the character in his filmGodzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack as a monster that Americans mistook for Godzilla.[37]Thomas Tull (producer ofLegendary'sGodzilla series) criticized the design of TriStar's Godzilla, stating, "I’m always puzzled as a fan when you take things so far it’s unrecognizable."[38] Toho publicist Yosuke Ogura later called TriStar's design a "disaster."[39]
The animated version of the character was more positively received than its live-action predecessor, due to being closer in line with the spirit ofToho's Godzilla, possessing the ability to breathe atomic fire, battle monsters, and withstand attacks.[40][41] However, the negative response to both Emmerich'sGodzilla as well as theDisney remake ofMighty Joe Young released that same year, had caused giant monster movies to fall out of vogue for several years after, with films such asPeter Jackson'sKing Kong remake being postponed until 2005.[42] Poor merchandise sales for the film led to a cancellation of a toy line based onGodzilla: The Series, and resulted in significant financial losses for toy manufacturer Trendmasters.[43] Nicholas Raymond fromScreen Rant described Toho's subsequent treatment of TriStar's Godzilla as "a clear sign that Toho doesn't regard the 1998 Godzilla as the King of the Monsters. It would appear that to them, he's just a giant lizard."[39]
In later years, the 1998 film and its version of Godzilla would receive reappraise from journalist and fans that grew up with the film.[3][44][45][46] Ten years after the film's release, director and co-writerRoland Emmerich felt the film was better than what critics said it was and said that the film is a favorite amongst his friends' kids.[47] While promotingGodzilla: Final Wars, director Ryuhei Kitamura admitted that he "liked" both the 1998 film and Emmerich's films.[25] In 2024, filmmakerTakashi Yamazaki, director and writer of Toho's 2023 filmGodzilla Minus One, spoke favorably of the 1998 film. He felt that on its own merits, the 1998 film is "fun" and "quite well executed" and was technologically a huge achievement but understood why some are hesitant to consider it part of the franchise.[48]
Despite the 1998 film's initial negative reception, its animated sequelGodzilla: The Series earned successful ratings and was more popular with fans of Toho's Godzilla.[49]
TriStar's Godzilla has only made two film appearances inGodzilla (1998) andGodzilla: Final Wars (2004) and was vaguely referenced inGodzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001). TriStar originally planned to produce a trilogy,[50] andTab Murphy was commissioned by Emmerich and Devlin to write a story treatment forGodzilla 2. However, the sequels were cancelled due to the 1998 film's poor reception and TriStar let their remake/sequel rights expire on May 20, 2003.[24] An animated television series,Godzilla: The Series, was produced instead and served as a sequel to the 1998 film.[51] It featured the surviving offspring from the 1998 film as the new Godzilla, as well as a reanimated cyborg version of its parent, named "Cyber-Godzilla".[51]
For the video gamesGodzilla: Save the Earth andGodzilla: Unleashed, developer Simon Strange decided not to include Zilla due to the character's unpopularity among fans. Strange received criticism from fans for not including Zilla inGodzilla: Unleashed.[52][53] In 2024, the children's web seriesGodziban introduced a bright pink female Zilla character named "Zillala" as a co-host for itsGo! Godzi Godzi BANBAN segment.
Prior to release of the 1998 film, anticipation for the film was high and several companies licensed merchandise from both Sony and Toho, expecting the film to be the biggest hit of the year. While products sold well initially, they began to decline after the film's release; the decline in sales was attributed to the film's negative reception from critics, audiences, fans, and theater owners. As a result, several retailers were stuck with unsold merchandise, and a toy-line, based on the animated series, byTrendmasters was cancelled due to low advanced orders from retailers.[27]
In 2023, Spiral Studios licensed the character from Toho as "Zilla" for a 124 cm statue.[54] In 2024, Bandai released two versions of the character for their Movie Monster Series line; one as Godzilla (1998) and the other as Zilla (2004).[55]
