Godzilla in popular culture
As an enduring and iconic symbol of post-World War II cinematic history,[1] the fictional giant monster Godzilla has been referenced and parodied numerous times in popular culture.[2] Godzilla and other atomic monsters have appeared in a variety of mediums, including cartoons,[3] film, literature, television, and video games.
Name usage
"-zilla" is a well-known slang suffix, used to imply some form of excess to a person, object or theme;[4] some examples being the reality show Bridezillas and the Netscape-derived web browser Mozilla Firefox. "-Zilla" is rumored to mean "reptilian" as shown in the kaiju name, "Zilla". It has no word before its meaning, therefore it is not purely a suffix. This puts into question whether or not the shows/browser above are abusing the term.
The Mesozoic dinosaur Gojirasaurus quayi is a coelophysid named in Godzilla's honor. Over five meters in length, it was originally considered one of the largest theropods of the Late Triassic period.[5] The species was discovered in New Mexico by paleontologist Kenneth Carpenter, who is an admitted Godzilla fan.[6]
Dakosaurus andiniensis is a marine reptile of the Jurassic Period. It had a uniquely defined head similar to that of theropod dinosaurs, which has led to researchers nicknaming the species "Godzilla".[7]
On at least two occasions, the name Godzilla has been used as a nickname for athletes. Former Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Olaf Kolzig went by the nickname "Godzilla" (sometimes shortened to "'Zilla") and had a depiction of the monster painted on his goalie mask. Japanese former baseball player Hideki Matsui also had the nickname "Godzilla" which represents his powerful hitting. Matsui had a cameo in the film Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla.
The Nissan GT-R sports car was famously nicknamed "Godzilla" by the Australian motoring publication Wheels in its July 1989 edition – a name that has stuck to this day. This became one of the subjects of the car games.
Film and television
Godzilla has been featured in 38 films from 1954 to the present. The Godzilla films have carved out an enduring and resonant place for themselves in cinematic history.[8] In the United States, Godzilla films from Toho had been airing on television every week since 1960 up until the 1990s.[9]
Motifs from the series have been echoed, parodied or paid tribute to in numerous later films. Godzilla movies were frequently a target for commentary by the Mystery Science Theater 3000 television series, which parodied B-movies.
Bambi Meets Godzilla is the title of a humorous 1969 Canadian cartoon created entirely by Marv Newland. In 1994 it was voted #38 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field. Only two minutes long, this cartoon is considered a classic by many animation fans.[citation needed]
Hanna-Barbera created an animated TV series about Godzilla in 1978. The series only lasted for two seasons.[10] Tri-Star and Sony created another animated TV series in 1998 that was a sequel to the first American remake. This series also only lasted for two seasons.[11]
Godzilla has appeared in many Robot Chicken parodies. In one, for instance, Godzilla and his wife are lying in bed and his wife says "I don't know, maybe if we use some toys?", then Mechagodzilla walks into frame cheering with a dildo coming out of his chest.[12]
Godzilla made a cameo appearance (in a clip from Godzilla vs. Biollante) in the 1996 comedy, Mars Attacks!. Godzilla also made an appearance in the Happy Tree Friends episode, 'Wingin' It' when he attacks (and presumably devours) Flaky. A Godzilla action figure was present all throughout the sitcom Roseanne from the series premiere to the series finale.
Steven Spielberg cited Godzilla as an inspiration for Jurassic Park (1993), specifically Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), which he grew up watching.[13] During its production, Spielberg described Godzilla as "the most masterful of all the dinosaur movies because it made you believe it was really happening."[14] Godzilla also influenced the Spielberg film Jaws (1975),[15][16] and he also included Mechagodzilla in his 2018 film Ready Player One and Godzilla and Rodan frequently in the cartoon series Animaniacs, which Spielberg produced.
Godzilla has been cited as an inspiration by actor Tim Allen and filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton.[17]
The 2007 film Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 featured a cameo appearance from Godzilla.[18]
A snowed up version of Godzilla known as Snow Godzilla makes a couple surprise appearances in the 2019 Japanese anime film Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion the Movie: The Marvelous Fast ALFA-X That Comes From the Future. Godzilla also made a guest appearance in the show Crayon Shin-chan as an antagonist.[19]
In 1991, two Godzilla films, Godzilla vs. Megalon and Godzilla versus the Sea Monster, were shown on the movie-mocking TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000.
A parody creature resembling Godzilla, alongside another parody character resembling what appears to be a hybrid between Ultraman and Kamen Rider, appears in the television special Olive, the Other Reindeer during the song "Merry Christmas After All", during part of which Olive, Santa and the other reindeer are shown passing through Tokyo delivering gifts. The two characters are shown to be friendly and taking part in the song and dance routine shown to include numerous figures, both real and fictional, in the show in various locations visited by the team as they make Santa's annual trip around the world.
Godzilla has been referenced multiple times in the American animated TV sitcom The Simpsons. Godzilla first appeared in the episode "Lisa on Ice" when Lisa imagines herself on Monster Island and is chased by various kaiju, including Godzilla. It has also been referenced in "Treehouse of Horror VI", "Mayored to the Mob" (where Godzilla can be seen signing autographs at the Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con), "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo" (in which the plane carrying the Simpson family is being attacked by Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra and Gamera), "Simpsons Tall Tales", "Treehouse of Horror XVI", "Homerazzi", "Wedding for Disaster", "The Real Housewives of Fat Tony", "Treehouse of Horror XXIV" and "Treehouse of Horror XXVI".
Godzilla appeared in the Family Guy episode "The Peanut Butter Kid". In a cutaway gag Godzilla arrives to attack Haiti only to discover that it is already in shambles and return to the ocean.
Godzilla's roar in non-Toho media
- In the Japanese anime series Shinzo, the monster Grandora has the same roar as Godzilla.
- The end of Hercules (1958) has a monster guarding the Golden Fleece that emits Godzilla's roar.
- In Godzilla effects creator Eiji Tsuburaya's 1966 television series Ultra Q, several of the featured kaiju emit either Godzilla's roar or a variation of it.
- In the 1982 film The Last Unicorn, Godzilla's roar is heard coming from a green dragon that Prince Lír fights during a song.
- In the Japanese anime series Mazinger Z, several of the villainous mechanical beasts use Godzilla's roar.
- In the OVA anime film Gall Force: Eternal Story, the roar can be heard when Paranoid Commander Dorn's ship transforms into a surface-walking mecha.
- When Mongo the Gingerbread Man's gumdrop button falls off in Shrek 2, he makes the same sound as Godzilla's roar.
- In the Pokémon episode "Ditto's Mysterious Mansion", the character Jessie gets mad and yells with Godzilla's roar at Ditto.
- In Danny Phantom, Godzilla's roar is frequently used for the more monstrous ghosts in the series.
- In Muteking, The Dashing Warrior episode 31, Takokichi turns into a monster like Godzilla.
- In The Simpsons' couch gag for the episode "Homerazzi" where Homer's evolution is featured, Bart and Lisa are depicted as dinosaurs, with both of them emitting Godzilla's roar.
- In The Simpsons episode "30 Minutes Over Tokyo" (Season 10, Episode 23, #AABF20), the family's flight home is briefly interrupted by a monster attack on Tokyo, featuring Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra and Gamera. Godzilla roars as he attacks their plane and again when they fly away. His roar is heard even a few seconds after the episode has faded to black.
- When in "Simpsons Tall Tales" Homer, in his role as the giant Paul Bunyan, fights Rodan, Rodan roars like Godzilla.
- In the first segment of The Simpsons Halloween episode "Treehouse of Horror VI", "Attack of the 50 Foot Eyesores", Homer steals the Lard Lad's giant doughnut. The Lard Lad gets struck by lightning and comes to life. Then he pulls his feet off the ground, stomps into the middle of the street, and emits Godzilla's roar.
- In Camp Lazlo, Elebug metamorphoses into a monster in the episode "Creepy Crawly Campy" and emits Godzilla's roar.
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Chemo emits a Godzilla-like roar in the episode "Clash of the Metal Men!".
- Godzilla's roar can be heard in the episode of Total Drama Island "Camp Castaways".
- In The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, the episode title "Giant Billy and Mandy All-Out Attack" refers to Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. In the episode "The Incredible Shrinking Mandy", when Mandy becomes a giant after Billy puts a curse on her, she goes to Sassy Cat Land and also does a Godzilla-like roar, scaring everyone away from the amusement park.
- The South Park episode "Mecha-Streisand" parodies the Godzilla series heavily and also features Godzilla's roar.
- In an episode of Catscratch ("The King of All Root Beer"), Waffle and Mr. Blik fight each other over the city. Godzilla's roar is also heard multiple times, along with Rodan's.
- Chappelle's Show features a skit in which Dave Chappelle appears as a giant version of himself and is labeled "Blackzilla" by a Japanese city he attacks. After fighting and beating the real Godzilla, the skit becomes complete with Dave making the signature roar of said movie monster.
- In the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "Yesteryear", Godzilla's roar was used as part of the sound of a Vulcan creature called the Le-matya.
- In an episode of Malcolm in the Middle Godzilla is referenced twice; first, when Malcolm comments on the Godzilla suit looking fake and later, when Lois trips on a Lego city, she bumps into the buildings and her voice is slowed down to sound like Godzilla's roar.
- The Japanese heavy-metal band Seikima-II used Godzilla's roar to begin their live shows. They have also used the roar in their song "Kemonotachi No Hakaba". Seikima-II vocalist and leader Demon Kogure, a fan of Godzilla, won a Godzilla roar-alike contest in 1983 and later made a brief cameo in Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989).
- Acid Mothers Temple 2006 album Starless and the Bible Black Sabbath features Godzilla's roar at the end of the final track.
- On the soundtrack album to the 1998 American Godzilla, Green Day remixed their song "Brain Stew" with Godzilla's roar.
- Sir Mix-A-Lot's song, "Posse on Broadway" samples Godzilla's roar repeatedly throughout the song.
- The punk band Adrenalin O.D. included Godzilla's roar on "Return to Beneath the Planet of AOD vs. Godzilla Strikes Again in 3D", the B-side to their single "A Nice Song in the Key of 'D'".
- The German EDM band Moskwa TV employed Godzilla's roar in one version ("Godzilla Remix") of its song "Generator 7/8".
- In an episode of the online series The Angry Video Game Nerd which focuses on Godzilla video games, the title character is overwhelmed by the poor quality of retro Godzilla games and rampages in his room, making frequent use of Godzilla's roar.
- In a few episodes of The Land Before Time television series, the T. rex Red Claw sometimes uses the American Godzilla's roar.
- In a Chowder episode, Godzilla's roar was used to describe Truffle when she plays Mahjong as a Mahjongasaur.
- In the video game New Super Mario Bros. 2, the Reznor's roar bears a strong resemblance to Godzilla's roar.
- In an episode of Young Justice, Ms. Martian uses Godzilla's roar while impersonating a large Marvin the Martian.
- In both the Hellsing and Fist of the North Star anime, Godzilla's roar can be heard throughout multiple episodes, often well hidden within the soundtrack.
- In the Netflix show Turbo F.A.S.T in the two-part episode "Turbo Drift", Skidnark references a bunch of Godzilla monsters such as MechaGodzilla, Regular Godzilla, Space Godzilla, Godzillasaurus and was going to say Minilla before Whiplash interrupted him by slapping him. Chet was stuck in a toy store, where he accidentally turns on a Voltron-like toy and a Godzilla-like toy with blades similar to Gigan's and which emitted Godzilla's roar.
- In the 2019 Netflix show She-Ra and The Princesses of Power in the episode "Destiny Part 1", a giant robot built by Entrapta scares off a group of Beast Island monsters emitting Godzilla's roar.
Literature
Many books have been released pertaining to Godzilla and the Godzilla series, including various collection books and manga.[citation needed]
Gojiro is the 1991 debut novel by former Esquire columnist Mark Jacobson. It reinterprets the Godzilla film series from the perspective of the daikaiju—not a fictional creature depicted on-screen via suitmation, but an irradiated varanid–turned–B-movie star named Gojiro (an homage to Gojira, the Japanese name for Godzilla).
Random House Publishing produced four novels for teens and young adults by Marc Cerasini based on Godzilla, respectively entitled Godzilla Returns (1996), Godzilla 2000 (1997) (which had no relation to the film that would later use that name), Godzilla at World's End (1998) and Godzilla vs. the Robot Monsters (1999). A fifth novel, also by Cerasini, Godzilla and the Lost Continent, which would have finished the series, was completed and planned for a release in 1999, but never published (it remains so to this day). These books, as well as four novels aimed at juvenile readers in their late childhood and early teenage years by Scott Ciencin, respectively entitled Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1996), no relation to the 1956 film of the same name, Godzilla Invades America (1997), Godzilla: Journey to Monster Island (1998) and Godzilla vs. the Space Monster (1998), and several picture books aimed at younger readers ages four and up, were produced during the late 1990s and the first half of 2000. Some of the novels written by Marc Cerasini present Godzilla as a force of nature much like in the Heisei series, neither truly good nor evil, with Mothra appearing in two of the books as a benevolent, supernatural and sentient creature who occasionally made a point to help people when other monsters threatened the Earth.
Comic book adaptations
Godzilla has appeared in Marvel and Dark Horse Comics, both times under the title Godzilla, King of the Monsters. Marvel's run of Godzilla, King of the Monsters was produced in the late 1970s and lasted 24 issues, while Dark Horse had the license for the creature's American appearances since the late 1980s onward and produced a 17-issue run, along with various other appearances and special issues. Dark Horse also produced a six-issue miniseries which was a translated version of a manga adaptation of the Japanese version of the 16th Godzilla film, The Return of Godzilla (a.k.a. Godzilla 1985 in its American release), under the title Godzilla and it was later collected into a trade paperback under the same title.
The character Warlock of the New Mutants took on the shape of Godzilla as he appeared in King Kong vs. Godzilla in Web of Spider-Man Annual #2 (1986). Marvel has recently re-released their series in book form as Essential Godzilla, King of the Monsters, which collects the entire 24-issue run in black-and-white. IDW Publishing has also produced various comics based on the Godzilla character since 2011; these include an ongoing mainstream storyline told in three series: Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters (12 issues), Godzilla (13 issues), and Godzilla: Rulers of Earth (25 issues). There were also seven five-issue miniseries, all with separate non-connected storylines: Godzilla: Gangsters and Goliaths, Godzilla: Legends (an anthology miniseries with five individual stories), Godzilla: The Half-Century War, Godzilla: Cataclysm, Godzilla in Hell, Godzilla: Oblivion, and Godzilla: Rage Across Time.
Games
Video games
The first Godzilla game was an unofficial game made by The Code Works for the Commodore 64 PC in 1983.[20] Godzilla would make his first official appearance three years later as one of the playable monsters in The Movie Monster Game by Epyx also for the Commodore 64 PC.[21] In 1983, a Godzilla knock-off called Goshzilla appeared in this game's predecessor, Crush, Crumble and Chomp![22] Godzilla would get his own games on the NES such as Godzilla: Monster of Monsters and Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters. He had his own game on the original Game Boy simply titled Godzilla. Godzilla would make an unauthorized appearance in early versions of the game Revenge Of Shinobi. Because of the copyright issues, he was removed from latter releases. For the newer consoles, he appeared in the game Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, the first of a trilogy of Godzilla games. It has since been followed by two sequels, Godzilla: Save the Earth and Godzilla: Unleashed. Godzilla has also appeared in Godzilla Generations and Godzilla Generations: Maximum Impact! in Japan. A game for the Tristar Godzilla was released, based on the cartoon show Godzilla: The Series and shared the name of the series when it was released on Game Boy Color. A sequel to this game followed with Godzilla: The Series – Monster Wars (also for Game Boy Color). Godzilla also appears in the game Kyoei Toshi,[23][24] and a Godzilla costume was also added to Fall Guys.[25][26]
The "Monster" disaster in the computer game SimCity depicted an unnamed green monster that resembled Godzilla. A scenario in the game: Tokyo, Japan 1954 parodies the original movie. The depiction of the monster in-game and on the boxart led to legal issues with Toho, with Maxis changing the Monster's design in-game and swapping it on the packaging for the "Tornado" disaster instead.
The Rampage series of video games is heavily inspired by both the Godzilla and King Kong films. Players take control of gigantic monsters as they destroy all the buildings in a city and survive onslaughts of military forces. One of the monsters is a female lizard/dinosaur monster named Lizzie, who resembles and is clearly based on Godzilla. In an issue of Nintendo Power in an advertisement for the Rampage: World Tour game for the Game Boy Color, they give the reason why Lizzie is destructive. It is because she broke up with Godzilla and is taking her anger out on the world.
The Pokémon series features Tyranitar, a Pokémon directly influenced by Godzilla. Its powered-up form, "Mega Tyranitar", bears an even greater resemblance to the King of Monsters, with similar body proportions. In addition, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet introduced two Pokemon based on kaiju. The first is the Paldea region's pseudo-legendary Pokemon, Baxcalibur, which evolves from Frigibax at Level 54 as a reference to how the first Godzilla movie came out in 1954. The other is Iron Thorns, a version of Tyranitar that comes from the future via time travel. Its appearance is based on Kaiju, like Tyranitar, but it may also reference the kaiju movies in Pokemon Black and White 2 that you can film at an in-game location called Pokestar Studios.
Game designer Hideki Kamiya (known for games such as Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, Ōkami, Bayonetta and The Wonderful 101) said he loved Godzilla and Ultraman as a child.[27]
In Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! "Iwajira", a boss in the game, gets his name from a combination of the word Iwa, which means "rock" in Japanese, and the end of the name Gojira, which is Godzilla's actual Japanese name.
Godzilla, alongside King Kong, were added to Call of Duty: Warzone as a part of the limited time "Operation Monarch" game mode. In both Warzone and Call of Duty: Vanguard, a Godzilla themed bundle was released, including a skin for operator Shigenori Ota.[28]
Other
Godzilla appears as an enemy in one of the final missions of the Williams pinball table Red & Ted's Road Show, in which the titular protagonists use a bulldozer to slow him down while he is attacking San Francisco.[citation needed]
The Magic the Gathering card game expansion set Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths has a crossover with the Godzilla series with a total of 19 promotional cards.[29]