History of Mothra Part 2: Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

The long and sequel-rich Godzilla franchise is generally divided into three series. The first of the these corresponds with Japan's Showa period (1926-1989) and is appropriately known as the Showa series. This period in Toho's Godzilla franchise began with his debut in 1954's Gojira and ended with Terror of Mechagodzilla in 1975, which was the 15th film in the series. Mothra appears early and fairly often in these films and is arguably the most memorable of Godzilla's adversaries during this era.

Mothra vs. Godzilla - Original Japanese Movie Poster

Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

Mothra vs. Godzilla was Toho Studios' fourth Godzilla film being immediately preceded by 1962's King Kong vs. Godzilla. As with most of Toho's Kaiju films of the era, the film is directed by Ishiro Honda with Eiji Tsuburaya serving as the special effects director, the same duo responsible for the film debuts of both Mothra and Godzilla. This film was the first in which Toho brought in a monster from one of their other productions, a practice that they would continue in many of their following films.

While much of the story was made up of regurgitated material from the original Mothra film, Mothra vs. Godzilla is a better movie in most ways and is widely considered among fans to be one of the greatest of all the Godzilla sequels. 

The film begins with the discovery of Mothra's egg, which has been washed ashore after a typhoon and salvaged by nearby villagers. A team of scientists quickly arrives to study the egg. Just as the scientists from the first film were joined by a greedy business man, so too are the scientists in this picture, an entrepreneur by the name of Kumayama.

Kumayama quickly buys the egg from the villagers that discovered it with the intent of making it a tourist attraction. The pint-sized Shobijin from the original film return for this one as well, this time to ask Kumayama to return the egg to its home on Infant Island. Kumayama ignores the request and captures the Shobijin.

Up until this point in the film, the story closely mirrors that of the original, but Godzilla shows up just in time to give the script the shake-up that it sorely needed. Godzilla does what he does best and levels a large portion of Japan. So incredible is his destruction that Japan's government throws in the towel leaving only one unlikely solution to the problem: Mothra.

The scientists from the beginning of the film travel to Infant Island where they meet with the Shobijin, who had recently slipped through Kumayama's fingers. The Shobijin and other inhabitants of Infant Island are initially reluctant to grant the help of their god Mothra, but eventually agree that Godzilla is a threat to all of humanity that must be stopped. However, Mothra is now old and weak and it is believed that this fight will be her last regardless of the outcome. 

Godzilla's rampage continues and eventually leads to the egg. Kumayama isn't around to stop him either because he has since been swindled and fatally wounded by his business partner, who would himself be crushed by Godzilla shortly thereafter. However, Mothra arrives to protect the egg. Mothra holds her own against Godzilla for a short while, but is eventually killed by a blast of Godzilla's atomic breath. However, the egg has survived thanks to Mothra, who finally perishes right beside it. Conveniently, the Shobijin arrive on the scene soon thereafter and explain that the egg is ready to hatch.

With Mothra dead, the military resumes its fight against Godzilla but are obliterated as quickly as ever. With all hope of survival nearly extinguished, Japan's attention turns toward the egg which hatches revealing not one, but two Mothra larvae. The larvae form a tag-team and face Godzilla. They take quite a beating but eventually immobilize Godzilla using their silk spray.

The film was a financial and critical success in both Japan and the United States. At this point in cinema history, audiences were hungry for monsters and special effects and this film delivered in both categories. The film has remained a favorite among fans of the series for many reasons. Firstly, while the story is very similar to that of the original Mothra film, it's not that bad. Godzilla was still viewed as a villain at this point in the series, making the colorful Mothra an easy character to root for. 

Secondly, elements like the Shobijin and the other inhabitants of Infant Island are fairly unique and memorable. The songs or prayers that the fairy-like Shobijin sing to summon Mothra are just as entertaining as the fight scenes. Touches like these are absent from many of the other Godzilla films which struggle to keep the viewers attention in between the battles.

Finally, this is the last of the Showa series to portray Godzilla as a villain, who transforms into a sort of anthropomorphic antihero beginning with the next film. People loved loved seeing Godzilla get destroyed in 1954 and while not as satisfying as Godzilla's death in the original, watching Godzilla get beat by two caterpillars is pretty entertaining. 

In contrast to the US releases of the preceding Godzilla films, the film was only slightly edited for its theatrical run in the states. However, American International Pictures, the studio responsible for the English version, decided to change the title of the film to Godzilla vs. The Thing. Throughout most of the film, Mothra is referred to as 'The Thing', which was a bit confusing. 

Original US Movie Poster

To further complicate the matter, Mothra's likeness did not appear on any of the posters for the film being replaced instead by a large tentacled and mostly-censored monster. The studio must have assumed that Americans would be less impressed with a giant moth than the Japanese were, but time has shown that this was far from the case as the character is a favorite of nearly all Godzilla fans.  

This would not be the last time that Mothra and Godzilla would cross paths as their next meeting would occur that very same year. 

To be continued.