History of Mothra Part 3: The Showa Series

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster - Original Japanese Movie Poster

Mothra's return to the big screen took less than one year. This time, she is one of four monsters with the others being Godzilla, Rodan and King Ghidorah. Rodan was another example of Toho getting high on their own supply as the monster had previously appeared in its own film in 1956. The Shobijin also return to serve as Mothra's heralds as they did in previous films. This film is most noted for introducing King Ghidorah who would become Godzilla's arch-nemesis throughout all of the franchise.

The plot is a little wacky in this one, but it's easy to follow. A princess from the tiny country of Selgina is en route to Japan when a bomb explodes on her airplane. Instead of dying, she is possessed by a Martian spirit with prophetic abilities. She predicts the appearance of Rodan and Godzilla who are spotted almost immediately thereafter. The two monsters cross paths and begin to battle, destroying much in the process.

The Martian's final prophecy involves King Ghidorah, a Three-Headed Monster from Mars. A large meteorite crashes to Earth shortly after her vision which blows up and releases Ghidorah. It's up to Mothra to convince Rodan and Godzilla to stop fighting each other and to help her gang up on King Ghidorah. Godzilla's eventual partnership with Mothra and Rodan signals the first appearance of Godzilla's new and more friendly persona which he would keep throughout the Showa Series. 

Verdict: Arthropop Approved

Favorite Scene: There is a great conversation between Mothra, Godzilla and Rodan in which Godzilla curses at Mothra and complains about being bullied by humans. The conversation is being translated by the Shobijin, which keeps it from being too cheesy. 

Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)

After three solid films, this turd happened. The plot in this one a mess. It involves a terrorist group of sorts enslaving natives from Infant Island, the home of Mothra. The terrorists control a giant lobster named Ebirah who keeps the prisoners from escaping and can defend against Mothra. Apparently, the should have spent less time worrying about Mothra and more time worrying about Godzilla who unbeknownst to the terrorists was napping in a nearby cave. Godzilla wakes up, fights Ebirah and triggers a bomb. Mothra only shows up at the end to rescue her fellow islanders. While it sounds simple, the script is so convoluted that it took me years just to assemble the above plot snippets. 

Verdict: Turd

Favorite Scene: When Godzilla first fights Ebirah, Ebirah opens by splashing water at Godzilla. Godzilla splashes back a few times before he remembers that he has atomic breath. 

Destroy all Monsters (1968)

Originally intended to be Godzilla's last battle, Destroy all Monsters had a bigger budget, more explosions and more monsters. 11 to be exact, all coming from previous Toho productions. While this obviously didn't end up being Godzilla's last outings, it would be the last film in the franchise helmed by Ishiro Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya.

The plot here is among the weakest in the series, but it hardly matters. The real attraction here is obviously the battle royale between all of these monsters. It doesn't really matter that they all live on an island called Monsterland or that they escape Monsterland while under the control of aliens from outer space. 

Mothra only appears in larval form this time around, but it fares pretty well for a caterpillar fighting 10 giant monsters. As with other multi-monster movies, the monsters must work together in the end to defeat King Ghidorah. Ghidorah is summoned to earth by the alien antagonists of the film as their final weapon. It takes the combined strength of Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, Gorosaurus (King Kong Escapes), Anguirus (Godzilla Raids Again), Kumonga, and Minila (Son of Godzilla) to finally bring him down. 

Verdict: Arthropop Approved

Favorite Scene: It's more than one scene, but the final battle in this one is a blast and overshadows most of the film's deficiencies. 

Destroy All Monsters Trailer

To be continued.