Happy Godzilla Day 2024—Toho celebrates the giant monster
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Toho International is celebrating Godzilla Day on Nov 3
On November 3, Toho Studios loves to celebrate the release of Godzilla’s first movie, Gojira AKA “Godzilla,” which came out on this day in 1954. In fact, his latest Japanese movie—Godzilla Minus One—hits the big screen on this day in Japan to celebrate the franchise’s anniversary. (It comes to America in December.)
Of course there’s lots of Godzilla news to celebrate right now. Further reading below…
Below, we have info about the upcoming movie, info about the history of Godzilla, one of my favorite Godzilla-related music videos (chock full of great moments from Godzilla and King Kong), and more related links to articles about Godzilla, Kong, and other giant monsters.
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WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE GODZILLA MOVIE?
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GODZILLA MINUS ONE Official Trailer
About the movie Godzilla Minus One
Toho desribes the latest Godzilla movie, Godzilla Minus One, like this:
After the war, Japan’s economic state has been reduced to zero. Godzilla appears and plunges the country into a negative state.
Hitting America theaters December 1, Godzilla Minus One is written, directed, written, and features special effects by Takashi Yamazaki. Produced by Toho Studios and Robot Communications, the movie stars Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, and Kuranosuke Sasaki.
Godzilla has made a huge impact on popular culture
The giant monster Godzilla is known as the “King of the Monsters,” being the lead character of one of the longest-running series in the history of movies. He first showed up 69 years ago, and has been in like 40 movies ever since, on top of appearances in TV shows, video games, comic books (as well as being referenced or parodied in other media).
One of the Godzilla franchise’s powers is that the various projects often offer a different emphasis or even come from a different genre. In fact, Godzilla himself can change directions from being the hero to being the bad guy or even fitting somewhere in the middle.
My favorite Godzilla movies include Gojira (1954), Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964), Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964), Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965), Destroy All Monsters (1968), Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971), GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), and the Hollywood movies Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021).
The newest Godzilla movies are the Toho film Godzilla Minus One (2023) and the MonsterVerse follow-up Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire (2024).
Godzilla has also appeared in lots of comic books—but the one I really want to call out is his run as a licensed character in the Marvel Comics series Godzilla: King of the Monsters. During that fun comic book, Godzilla crossed paths with S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and more. It was cool.
Further reading: 25 Monsters Who Are Marvel Superheroes
“Here We Go” ft. Eminem (Godzilla vs. Kong) - Baytee Remix | Chris Classic
Further reading online
Latest Godzilla Film Reveals 15 Snapshots and Release Date! | Movie News (Tokyo Otaku Mode)
Best Kaiju Movies: Top 5 Giant Japanese Monsters, According To Experts (Study Finds)
Best Godzilla Toys Reviews for 2023 (The Jerusalem Post)
The Best Kaiju Movies of All Time (TVovermind)
How To Watch Godzilla In Order (CitizenSide)
Don’t Watch These 10 Horror Movies If Giant Things Scare You (Dread Central)
How the Godzilla Franchise Has Stood the Test of Time (MovieWeb)
How All 3 Cloverfield Films Are Connected (And wait—what about the 4th movie?) (Monster Complex)
GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE - Legendary Titans Roar Into Battle On New Promo Banner (Comic Book Movie)
"Gamera Rebirth" Review - The Iconic Kaiju Returns in a Compelling Animated Series (Bloody Disgusting!)
10 Funniest Giant Monster Movies, Ranked (Collider)
Gamera: Every Kaiju, Ranked (DualShockers)
The 10 Best Movies About Giants, Titans, and Colossal Beasts (whatNerd)
John Barry’s score for the 1976 Dino De Laurentiis remake of King Kong gave the controversial film an emotional weight that is impossible to miss.