Search - Godzilla's Revenge on DVD

Godzilla Teaches Us About The Plight Of Latchkey Kids!

Robert I. Hedges | 06/28/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Of all the Godzilla films, this one is by far the most suitable for young kids. Essentially it is a movie about the evils of latchkey children. Our little hero, Ichiro, is shy and always beaten up at school. He visits Monster Island in his dreams several times where he befriends Minilla, the son of Godzilla, who is also shy and friendless. Ironically, both are picked on by bullies named Gabara. In the first dream, Ichiro dreams he is aboard "Pan American Flight One, nonstop to Monster Island", then hangs out in the jungle while Godzilla dukes it out with Kamacuras, the Praying Mantis monster, Gorosaurus, a kind of giant badger-lizard hybrid monster, Manda the snake, Anguirus, the spiny armadillo monster, and a nameless flying giant turkey vulture monster (as silly as the bird from "The Giant Claw".) That's all in the first five minutes or so. Ultimately Ichiro falls into a hole and is rescued by Minilla, who speaks good English, but try to ignore that he sounds exactly like Droopy Dog, or you may not be able to cease laughing until the movie is over. Minilla is worried about his neighborhood bully (allegory anyone?) Gabara, who happens to be a giant furry, cat-lizard with glowing pink electric horns. He is much scarier than the Gabara in Ichiro's neighborhood. He is much sillier looking, too. Between his dreams Ichiro is either going to school, hanging out with a creepy toy maker, or playing in an abandoned warehouse, where he collects used vacuum tubes. (The movie never explains what the deal with the vacuum tubes is.) He also gets mixed up with a couple of thieves who have stolen 50,000,000 Yen (about enough for a McDonald's Happy Meal today) and has to outwit them. To get through the trauma of being kidnapped by thieves, he calls on the power of Minilla, and re-visits Monster Island, where this time Godzilla gets to play baseball with Ebirah, better known as the Crab Monster, and wrestle around in silk with Kumonga, the tarantula monster. Godzilla also teaches Minilla how to breathe fire in a touching male bonding experience. Ultimately Ichiro defeats the robbers, and is a hero, having learned a valuable lesson that you have to stand up for yourself. Besides the lesson in pre-adolescent self-confidence, and some amusing monsters, this is one of the lesser works of Ishiro Honda. If you are a Godzilla completist, it's fine, but you can safely see it last."

Lighten up, folks!

Snappy | Leeds, AL United States | 08/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this movie. It's extremely corny, most of the footage is stock, but it is so entertaining. I think the Godzilla gang really had fun making this one.Minilla is ridiculous,but remember, this is in a kid's dream sequence. His dreams WOULD be made up of stock footage and ridiculous characters, wouldn't they? I think this one is a great big thank you to all the kids who helped make Godzilla famous.

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Great movie for LITTLE kids

Cathy Wittman | Lubbock | 02/16/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"From an adult or older child's perspective this movie might deserve one star, but my four year old boys love it. They have watched it dozens of times since their Uncle Randy gave it to them during the holidays. For us that is the real test as to whether or not it is a good KIDS movie- do MY kids watch it and enjoy it? And yes, they do.One of my boys is more sensitive than the other about "scary stuff" (he still doesn't want to watch Monsters Inc). He didn't find this movie to be too scary or intense, but it still keeps his interest, and it keeps the interest of my other son who isn't as sensitive. I think this was a good introduction into Godzilla movies for them (and remember, folks, this is a GODZILLA movie- it will have cheesy SE, dialogue, and plot. That's what makes them so great...).There are several good messages in the movie. In the end Ichiro stands up to his bully just like Minya does. The bad guys get caught by the police. The fact that Ichiro doesn't get to spend much time with his parents is a good topic to discuss. It can help our boys develop empathy for other children who don't get to spend as much time with their mom and dad as they do. Hopefully it will teach them to have empathy for any child who doesn't "fit in" just like Ichiro didn't.This movie might not be enjoyable for some older children and adults. I think Godzilla's Revenge is best suited for four to seven year olds; although, my husband and I can sit through it with the boys just fine."

Stock footage bonanza!

Nigel D. | 06/03/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If everyone would stop talking negitive about all the stock footage used in the film and sit down and think about the Godzilla movies that they took the footage from, it really isn't that bad. They took lots of the monster scenes from "Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster" and "Son of Godzilla" which were not the best of the Godzilla series and I really don't like to watch all the way though all that often. In this film, all the best battling scenes of those films are mixed together into one on this film without all the talking and boring storyline that graces the films they originated from. This story line is much more enjoyable, it stars a little boy who dreams of seeing Godzilla on his home island. He falls asleep and has a dream which consists of Godzilla battling a number of monsters and meets Godzilla's son and they quickly become friends and watch Godzilla battle though out the film. First Godzilla battles giant spiders (from "Son of Godzilla"), then he goes and fights a giant condor and then battles Ebirah: The Sea Monster (from "Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster"), which is one of Godzilla's best fight scenes of all his career of being in the movies. Then battles giant praying mantasis (from "Son"), and more. They did shoot some new monster footage for the film which features a new monster Gabera, who is a pretty dumb monster (both in look and intelligence) who bullies Godzilla's son Minya (and doesn't even do that well... always falling down and bumping his head). The old and new footage is edited together well and features a great opining score... a kind of jazzy sounding song with all the monster's roars appearing every so often which Toho released on a single back in 1969. If you buy the Simtar version of this film... you wont be dissapointed with the quality. It is in the SP mode, great crisp picture, excellent sound quality, and digitally remastered from the original theatrical negitives. Trust me, this film is a great Saturday afternoon film, with some of the greatest battle scenes of any monster film that comes before or after "Godzilla's Revenge"!"