Mothra (1961)

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Amateur movie with Big budget

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

As a fairly old film, this movie is interesting in setting up its own Universe with Godzilla and Rodan. I'm glad to have seen all of their original movies now. The original "Godzilla" film depicted the title character as just this monster that wanted to destroy. Mothra actually has a lot more depth, even though I will admit it's pretty awkward. The plot of this movie is that some tiny singing people (probably fairies) are taken from an island to perform. They use telepathy to get Mothra to free them. Now, I admit that sounds like a really dumb premise. It actually does make it a lot more interesting.We get a much greater sense of why Mothra is destroying everything. The effects aren't bad either. I will admit that when it became a pupa, it looked like a giant peanut. Well, I like peanuts anyway. Much of this is dialogue and that can be pretty distracting. It was kind of predictable too. I mean, Mothra first appears as a larvae, so it's pretty obvious by its name that it's going to turn into a moth later. Still a nice first entry. ***

Wow, it's taken me a long time to get around to the original "Mothra" and I was surprised to see that it was actually filmed in color, unlike the 1956 film "Godzilla, King of the Monsters". Even though I'm late to the party, I always considered Mothra to be part of the iconic monster trio of Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan, so I've finally completed the trilogy.When I saw "Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth" a few months ago, I wondered whether Mothra was male or female, so it was pretty cool that this picture answered the question. Mothra's a 'she', having the power of telepathic communication with a pair of twin fairy island girls who have been kidnapped by an unscrupulous Japanese businessman in order to cash in on the discovery. The caterpillar form of Mothra wreaked it's own brand of destruction on the city of Tokyo, while the colorful moth version headed over to the Rolisican island city of New Kirk in search of the twins.Not too much scientific mumbo-jumbo is offered regarding the existence of Mothra, but I did get a kick out of the introduction of the atomic heat gun used to attack the cocoon on the Japanese tower. There was also that business about the specially constructed box designed to stop the telepathic communication between the fairy girls and Mothra. The fact that the girls always spoke in unison was another nifty touch. Older viewers might also experience a bit of nostalgia seeing that old Mobilgas logo sign dangling in the wind during the Mothra rampage.Well, I realize all these Japanese monster movies were intended for a largely juvenile audience but they're kind of cool to catch every now and then even for seasoned movie fans like myself. I'll take one in every now and then, so until next time, I guess it's Sayonara.

Reminding myself of the time that a former employer told me he tried to get his teenaged sons to watch Godzilla and their response that the monster was nothing more than a man in a rubber suit, I went into "Mothra" expecting mediocre special effects, bad dubbing with stereotypical Japanese accents while speaking English (indeed, all the "l's are pronounced as "r's" and vice versa), and too much exposition and not enough science fiction. Yes, enough of those elements are there, but like the first "Godzilla" in retrospect, the film is actually quite enjoyable.When some stranded Japanese are picked off the mountain range of a remote Pacific island, their rescue reveals that there's something going on the island which requires further research. Upon their return, they discover a beautiful jungle past the rocky mountain range where two foot high princesses are worshiped by jungle natives. The princesses are abducted and begin their song which is actually a call to their rescue to a mysterious creature named Mothra that the natives who survive do an exotic musical number to in order for the creature in the giant egg to break through and rescue the two beauties.These lovely ladies are put on display in a freak show, coming out in a floating Cinderella coach like vehicle wearing obvious doll clothes. In fact, when the life-sized Japanese men pick the girls up, they are obviously dark-haired dolls the size of barbies, and when the military attack the invading monster (a giant caterpillar), the tanks are obviously kid's toys as well. Mothra is seen hatching, swimming across the ocean, destroying a navy vessel and finally slithering across Japan like a slug. Finally, she spins a cocoon which is scorched by the navy and is let loose with her giant wing span creating winds that threaten to destroy the country.Cheesy fun, "Mothra" is a film that can be looked at both nostalgically for the type of fun cinema that us baby boomers had growing up before computer effects took over and how more was made out of less. You don't leave a film like this feeling like you need a bottle of aspirin to get over the headache that the loud noises leave you with, and there's also a lot left to the imagination as well. The two Japanese princesses are extremely sweet, sort of a stereotype of Japanese women as totally subservient, while the villains are extremely one dimensional, like the Japanese soldiers of those 1940's World War II propaganda films. At one point, they are all laughing maniacally, but like the old saying goes, "He who laughs first ends up laughing last."

"Mothra" is another gem of a film from Toho Studios. This was their third big (no pun intended) star-Japan's answer to America's big three: Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman. A ship is stranded off an island ravaged by an atomic test. The survivors are radiation-free due to a juice given to them by the natives. An expedition led by a ruthless, greedy businessman goes to the island. They meet the twin fairies (played by the Peanuts-the Ito sisters). The girls are stolen by the businessman and exploited. With the help of a reporter and scientist, they call to Mothra for help. The monster costume in the larva and adult stages is spectacular. The acting is decent as is the dubbing (thanks to veteran voice actor Peter Fernandez). The miniature sets as usual are top-notch. The film has a crisp picture and is in color. The musical score enhances the action on-screen. A very good film to watch if yo're a fan of Japanese Sci-Fi films.