Godzilla and Friends

With the newest version of Godzilla scheduled to be released in another week and a half, we’ve been taking a look back at the some of the Big G’s previous adventures.  On Monday, Arleigh paid tribute to King Kong vs. Godzilla.  Yesterday, I reviewed the exquisitely odd Godzilla vs. Hedorah.  And today, we take a look at the 12th film in the series, 1972’s Godzilla vs. Gigan.

Gengo is a cartoonist who has a lot of talent and a really kickass girlfriend who happens to have a black belt in karate.  The one thing that Gengo does not have is a job because he can’t seem to convince any publishers to take a chance on characters like Shakura, a monster created from children’s discarded homework.  (Personally, I would have loved to have seen a movie called Godzilla vs. Shakura.)  However, things start to look up for Gengo when he is hired to help design an amusement park called World Children’s Land.

However, as Gengo quickly discovers, something is not right at World Children’s Land.  For one thing, the park manager says that, as soon as the park opens and everyone sees Godzilla Tower, there won’t be any more need for the real Godzilla or any of his friends on Monster Island.  Then, a young woman and her hippie friend approach Gengo and explain that the woman’s brother is being held prisoner somewhere in the park.  Finally — and perhaps most seriously — it turns out that park is actually being managed by a bunch of cockroaches from outer space.

The roaches have taken human form (though they still cast cockroach shadows) and spend a lot of time talking about how much they want peace but make no doubt about it, they’re planning on conquering Earth and doing away with all of humanity.  See, the roaches polluted their own planet and now, they’re looking for a new home.  But, before they can conquer the world, they have to destroy Godzilla.

And so, the roaches summon two monsters from outer space.  One of them is Ghidorah, a three-headed dragon who fought Godzilla in several films.  And I do have to say that Ghidorah is a fearsome creature:

Ghidorah!

However, as impressive as Ghidorah is, his friend Gigan is even more impressive.  Gigan is apparently a cyborg of some sort, complete with metal hooks for hands and a buzzsaw in his tummy.  Check him out:

Gigan

Fortunately, Godzilla has an ally in his fight against Gigan and Ghidorah. Anguirus appears to be a giant armadillo and, judging from a scene where he and Godzilla have a conversation (!), he appears to be somewhat surly.  However, Anguirus is simply too cute to be believed!

Awwwww! He’s not your typical armadillo!

Perhaps in response to the mixed reception earned by the frequently surreal Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Godzilla vs. Gigan is a much more traditional Godzilla adventure.  I would venture that if you asked most people to describe a typical Godzilla film, they’d probably describe Godzilla vs. Gigan.  Aliens invade Earth, evil monsters destroy Tokyo, and eventually Godzilla swims over from Monster Island to save the day.

But traditional as the film may have been, I still enjoyed it.  The monsters are memorable, the battle scenes are entertaining, and the cheap special effects (as well as the unapologetic use of stock footage) are far more charming than they have any right to be.  Listen, if you’re watching a movie like Godzilla vs. Gigan and expecting a coherent script or Avatar-style special effects then you probably need to lighten up a little.

On a final note, Godzilla vs. Gigan was released in the States as Godzilla on Monster Island and I have to say that I really like the idea of Monster Island.  Not only do all the monsters appear to get along as long as there’s no humans around but you have to appreciate the fact that Monster Island is exactly what it says it is (unlike, say, Greenland or Vermont).  I mean, if you go to a place called Monster Island and get eaten by a monster, you really have no one to blame but yourself.  Perhaps we need to set up a Shitty, Alcoholic Father Island or an Internet Troll Island so that we can keep all of the world’s real-life monsters separated from the rest of us.

Just an idea.

But until that happens, why not enjoy Godzilla vs. Gigan?