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.
See main article: -zilla. "-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.
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.
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 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.
See also: Godzilla (comics). Many books have been released pertaining to Godzilla and the Godzilla series, including various collection books and manga.
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.
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.
See main article: List of Godzilla 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 and . 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 , the first of a trilogy of Godzilla games. It has since been followed by two sequels, and . 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 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 "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 as a part of the limited time "Operation Monarch" game mode. In both Warzone and , a Godzilla themed bundle was released, including a skin for operator Shigenori Ota.[28]
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.
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]
In 1977, Blue Öyster Cult had a major hit, "Godzilla", from their album Spectres. The song is a tongue-in-cheek tribute. Scottish indie group Ballboy included a song called "Godzilla vs. The Island of Manhattan (With You and I Somewhere in Between)" on their 2008 album I Worked On The Ships. On the album cover of Stomping Ground for the band Goldfinger, the members of the band are featured as human versions of Godzilla monsters; one member is even seen using Godzilla's trademark atomic breath and Mothra is seen in the background. The album cover of Teri Yakimoto for the band Guttermouth features a picture of Godzilla.
The French metal band Gojira acquired their name from the original Japanese name of Godzilla. Brazilian metal band Sepultura has a song titled "Biotech is Godzilla", co-written with Jello Biafra, which remarks on the impacts of biotechnology in contemporary life. The song is featured in their 1993 album, Chaos A.D.. R&B recording artist Ginuwine sampled Godzilla's roar on the song "What's So Different" from his 1998 sophomore album 100% Ginuwine. Rapper MF DOOM recorded an album titled Take Me to Your Leader under the alias King Geedorah, inspired by Godzilla's famous three-headed nemesis, King Ghidorah.
Oakland, CA rapper Yukmouth titled his third album Godzilla. The rapper also used the monster's name for an independent record label, but closed it down after receiving legal pressure from Toho in May 2007. In the musical The Book of Mormon in the song "Two By Two", Mothra is referenced when one Latter Day Saint is given his mission to Japan. Pharoahe Monch's song "Simon Says" uses sound clips from the movie Godzilla vs. Mothra. The heavy metal band Iron Maiden uses Godzilla footage on their music video "Number of the Beast". Pop singer Kesha has a song describing a relationship with Godzilla on her 2017 album, Rainbow.
Godzilla is mentioned in the lyrics of "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny". Punk rock band Adrenalin O.D. have two instrumental songs titled "A.O.D. Vs. Godzilla" and "A.O.D. Vs. Son of Godzilla" on their albums The Wacky Hi-Jinks of Adrenalin O.D. and HumungousFungusAmongus. The 2001 German documentary film Berlin Babylon featured industrial music performed by Einstürzende Neubauten; one of these musical pieces is called "Godzilla in Mitte" - the monster used here as a metaphor for the extensive rebuilding projects in Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In 2019 American rock band Think Sanity released their debut album featuring songs about Godzilla, Mothra, and Hedorah. The songs are titled "Sad Kaiju", "Mothra", and "Sludge" respectively. The monsters are also mentioned by name on the track "News at Six" in which they are comically described by newscaster Chip Bentley as destroying a nearby town. The band has mentioned in interviews that they have also written songs based on Biollante, King Ghidorah, and Rodan as well.
In January 2020, American rapper Eminem released the album Music to Be Murdered By. The album includes a track titled "Godzilla", featuring rapper Juice Wrld, which was released as a single later that month.
Blue Öyster Cult released the song "Godzilla" in 1977. It was the first track, and the second of four singles, from their fifth studio album Spectres (also 1977). Artists such as Fu Manchu, Racer X and Double Experience have included cover versions of this song on their albums. American musician Michale Graves wrote a song titled "Godzilla" for his 2005 album Punk Rock Is Dead. The lyrics mention Godzilla and several on-screen adversaries such as Mothra, Hedorah, Destoroyah and Gigan.[30] The Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura has a song titled "Biotech is Godzilla" on its 1993 release Chaos A.D.[31]
Composer Eric Whitacre wrote a piece for wind ensemble titled "Godzilla Eats Las Vegas!" The work was commissioned by Thomas Leslie of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and was premiered in 1996 by the university's wind band. Annotations on the score instruct performers to dress in costume and a "script" is provided for the audience. Since the piece's premiere, it has been performed by notable ensembles including the United States Marine Band and the Scottish National Wind Symphony.[32]
The French death metal band Gojira named the band after Godzilla's name in Japanese.[33] The song "Simon Says" by Pharoahe Monch is a hip-hop remix of the "Godzilla March" theme song. The instrumental version of this song was notably used in the 2000 film Charlie's Angels. The British band Lostprophets released a song called "We Are Godzilla, You Are Japan" on its second studio album Start Something. The American punk band Groovie Ghoulies released a song called "Hats off to You (Godzilla)" as a tribute to Godzilla. It is featured on the EP Freaks on Parade released in 2002.
The American artist Doctor Steel released a song called 'Atomic Superstar' about Godzilla on his album People of Earth in 2002. In 2003, the British singer Siouxsie Sioux released the album Hái! with her band The Creatures; the album had a Japanese theme with a song dedicated to the monster, simply titled "Godzilla!". The record label Shifty issued the compilation album Destroysall with 15 songs from 15 bands, ranging from hardcore punk to doom-laden death metal. Not all of the songs are dedicated to Godzilla, but all do appear connected to monsters from Toho Studios. Fittingly, the disc was released on August 1, 2003, the 35th anniversary of the Japanese release of Destroy All Monsters.
King Geedorah (a.k.a. MF DOOM) released Take Me to Your Leader, a hip-hop album featuring guests from the group Monsta Island Czars, another Godzilla-themed hip-hop group. These albums include multiple Godzilla samples throughout the series. Taiwanese American electronic musician Mochipet released the EP Godzilla Rehab Center on August 21, 2012, featuring songs named after monsters in the series including Gigan, King Ghidorah, Moguera and Hedorah.
In 2019, American rock band Think Sanity released their debut album featuring songs based on Godzilla, Mothra, and Hedorah. The songs are titled "Sad Kaiju", "Mothra", and "Sludge", respectively. The monsters are also mentioned by name on the track "News at Six" in which they are comically described by newscaster Chip Bentley as destroying a nearby town. The band has mentioned in interviews that they have also written songs based on Biollante, King Ghidorah, and Rodan as well.
The largest megamullion, located 600 kilometres to the south-east of Okinotorishima, the southernmost Japanese island, is named the Godzilla Megamullion. The Japan Coast Guard played a role in name, reaching an agreement with Toho who owns the rights to Godzilla. Toho's Chief Godzilla officer Keiji Ota stated that "I am truly honored that (the megamullion) bears Godzilla's name, the Earth's most powerful monster."[39]
J.W. Marriott opened on April 24, 2015, in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo a 30-storey Hotel Gracery.[40] The hotel is in the background of a massive kaiju statue.[41] The structure of the hotel was built by Shinjuku Toho Kaikan theater in Kabuki.[42] The Mayor of Tokyo District Shinjuku Kenichi Yoshizumi awarded an actor in a Godzilla suit special resident and tourism ambassador status, presenting a residency certificate to Toho executive Minami Ichikawa on behalf of Godzilla.[43]
From 1994 to 1998, Sanrio Puroland featured the 3D motion simulator film Monster Planet of Godzilla, which featured Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan and utilized their Heisei-era suits and puppets.
On October 10, 2020, an attraction called Godzilla Interception Operation Awaji opened in Nijigen no Mori theme park on Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. It features a theater with an exclusive short film, a zipline that leads guests into the mouth of a huge Godzilla statue, a shooting game and the Godzilla Museum.[44]
As part of Seibu-en's 2021 overhaul, a Godzilla motion simulator opened at the park titled Godzilla the Ride: Giant Monsters Ultimate Battle.[45] Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, the attraction puts guests in the middle of a battle between Godzilla, Rodan and King Ghidorah, with Godzilla's design bearing a close resemblance to the one that would appear in the 2023 film Godzilla Minus One.
In 1992, a Nike commercial aired featuring Godzilla and Charles Barkley going head to head, playing basketball in a cityscape. Charles Barkley gave Godzilla an elbow to the face on the way to a slam dunk after the latter tried to slap the ball away from Barkley using his tail. The advertisement received positive reception and inspired a brief T-shirt line, a series of wall posters and its own comic book version from Dark Horse Comics.
Pharoahe Monch released his first single in 1999 called "Simon Says". The song became a major hit; however, he was later sued for the use of a Godzilla sample for the beat and forced to remove the song from the album as a result.
In 2002, Toho Studios sued Rugrats creators Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó over Reptar's similarities to Godzilla. This lawsuit resulted in Reptar making less appearances in subsequent Rugrats episodes.[46] [47]
In 2010 the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society named their most recently acquired scout vessel MV Gojira. In May 2011, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was served with a notice from the copyright holders of the Godzilla franchise, regarding the unauthorized use of the trademark. The Society promptly changed the vessel's name to the MV Brigitte Bardot in honor of the French fashion model, actress, and singer whom Paul Watson, the founder of Sea Shepherd, took on an anti-sealing trip in 1977.[48]
A Seattle video game retailer was founded as Pink Godzilla Games and was known by that name for many years, until Toho, owner of the Godzilla franchise, claimed that the store was infringing upon its trademark. Pink Godzilla announced in 2009 that it would change its name to Pink Gorilla, rather than engage in a legal fight.[49]
Voltage Pictures were sued by Toho in 2015 for unauthorized usage of Godzilla's image and stills from Godzilla films in emails and press documents sent to potential investors for the upcoming film Colossal.[50] A settlement between Toho and Voltage Pictures was reached that October.[51]
The character Godzilla has received acclaim and is one of the most recognizable symbols of Japanese popular culture worldwide. Audiences respond positively to the character because he acts out of rage and self-preservation and shows where science and technology can go wrong.
As the series progressed, so did Godzilla, changing into a less destructive and more heroic character.[52] [53] Ghidorah (1964) was the turning point in Godzilla's transformation from villain to hero, by pitting him against a greater threat to humanity, King Ghidorah.[54] Godzilla has since been viewed as an anti-hero.[52] Roger Ebert cites Godzilla as a notable example of a villain-turned-hero, along with King Kong, Jaws (James Bond), the Terminator, and Rambo.[55]
Godzilla is considered "the original radioactive superhero" due to his accidental radioactive origin story predating Spider-Man (1962 debut),[52] though Godzilla did not become a hero until Ghidorah in 1964.[54] By the 1970s, Godzilla came to be viewed as a superhero, with the magazine King of the Monsters in 1977 describing Godzilla as "Superhero of the '70s." Godzilla had surpassed Superman and Batman to become "the most universally popular superhero of 1977" according to Donald F. Glut.[56] Godzilla was also voted the most popular movie monster in The Monster Times poll in 1973, beating Count Dracula, King Kong, Wolf Man, The Mummy, Creature From the Black Lagoon, and Frankenstein's monster.[57] In 1977, a survey in Los Angeles found that 80% of boys aged between four and nine years old were Godzilla fans.[58]
Godzilla was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1996 MTV Movie Awards. He is one of only three fictional characters to date ever granted the award. He also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004. 20 years later it was now awarded an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in the 96th Academy Awards for Godzilla Minus One.