By the time Godzilla’s career had reached 1967, the salty tempered saurian had pretty much done it all. He’d been cast as a villainous metaphor for the Hiroshima bomb, he’d inexplicably changed his ways to become a full-fledged hero, Hell, he’d even taken a trip to space at one point and fought invading aliens! However, for his eighth appearance, Toho studios figured that, for the Big G’s next outing, it was time for that city-levelling, super lizard to confront his most testing struggle of all, that of parenthood.
Godzilla had set out on endeavours sillier than this in the past (Invasion Of Astro-Monster’s infamous happy dance) and would go on to continue to do in his future (behold his innovative travelling method seen in Godzilla Vs. Hedorah), but while these were isolated moments in more traditional Godzilla films, the act of our divai-sh kaiju becoming a reluctant poppa was the basis of the film’s entire plot.
However, while numerous Kaiju fans vocally condemn the movie, there’s no denying that Son Of Godzilla works tremendously well when it targets its youthful market with a well-placed radioactive smoke ring.
On a remote Island, far from prying eyes, Dr. Kusumi and his team of sweating scientists are attempting to solve the possible disaster of food shortage by finding out a way to control the weather. As Doctor Evil-ish as this concept seems, the group is dead-set on achieving this for benevolent reasons, but find their research hampered by nosy reporter Goro Maki, who literally parachutes in looking for a scoop.
However, Goro immediate realises that his headstrong nature may have immediately landed him in hot water as the island seems to not only be the home of a lone native girl who takes leisurely swims before disappearing without a trace, but also is the base of operations of a cluster of giraffe-sized praying mantis the reporter names Kamacuras. Matters get even crazier when the scientist’s first test run to change the weather goes wrong and plunges the already sweltering island into an intense heat wave that supersizes the Kamascuras to gargantuan proportions – but equal to that is the giant egg the huge bugs manage to unearth that hatches to reveal what looks to be a (really ugly) baby Godzilla.
Enter Godzilla, summoned by the child’s sonic, pre-hatched cries who, in true Maury Povich tradition, proves not to be the father, but instead shows weirdly strong parenting instincts for a creature that regularly punches out other monsters as a day job.
However, while Godzilla alternates between teaching “Minilla” how to blow radioactive breath, saving him from hungry Kamascuras and day-sleeping like a trailer park dad, the scientists, Goro and the native girl, Saeko, realise that they have to escape the island if they’re going to survive – especially considering that Kumonga, area’s resident, alpha male, giant spider has awoken to see what all the din is about.
Once upon a time, I was once one of those disgruntled fans, angered that the franchise had taken such an obvious, kid-friendly turn that took the last, lingering rough edges of the King of the Monsters and sanded them down by having him look after someone else’s lil’ bastard. However, as the years went on, my disdain for Son Of Godzilla faded as I gradually came to appreciated the movie for what it was – an attempt to pander to Godzilla vastly growing child fan base. Sure, it’s painfully obvious and the anthropomorphism of Godzilla barely stops at him driving to the doctors and demanding a paternity test, but for what it is, it works well enough.
Essentially, it’s the second, Godzilla offering from director Jun Fukuda who previously gave us the noticably uneven Ebirah: Horror Of The Deep, but his far more colourful, jaunty style lends itself far more to this kind of buffoonery than his earlier attempt and matters are bolstered more by returning composer Masaru Sato, whose bouncer themes are similarly more suited this destructive daddy day care stuff rather than your more typical monster mash.
Despite my thawing reactions to this film (ironic considering the weather changing macguffin at play), there’s still some dodgy stuff here; in order to save funds, the movie is once again set solely on a generic island and the majority of the cast are virtually interchangeable as they mostly take the form of excitable, Japanese boffins fearing for their lives. However, Akira Kubo is a solidly nerdy hero and is given capable support by a cheerful Bibari Maeda who establishes a meaningful bond with Minilla by shooting fruit into his maw with the unerring skill of a pro basketball player sinking a three pointer.
As always, it’s usually the monster cast who prove to be the most fun and both the Kamacuras and Kumonga prove to be a nice visual change from the usual man-in-a-suit trappings as both mantis and spider respectively are essentially huge marionette which, especially in Kumonga’s case, is perfect in realising the creeping, football field-sized arachnid.
However, opinions tend to diverge once we turn our attentions to the Godzilla family and while Godzilla Sr. still can bring the pain as well as ever, repeatedly body slamming giant insects like he’s Hulk Hogan, he’s also burdened with one of the worst facial designs of his entire life. With a squished, pig-like features and a set of eyes that betray a huge love of recreational barbiturates, he frankly looks a fucking state and is living proof to how much parenting ages you. Still, as weird as he looks, it’s nothing compared to the bleary-eyed humunculi that resembles a toad that some sadist had decided to repeatedly kicked into the vague shape of a biped. Of course, this being a more child-friendly movie in the Godzilla cannonn, we are “treated” to numerous scenes where an increasingly more irritated Big G (which ironically mirrors our own attitude toward the creepy little bugger) trying to parent the little “Minilla” through some questionable and amusingly dated comedy abuse. Need to teach your child how to blow radioactive fire but you’re desperate to get your sleep on? Simple, just stamp on the infants tail as hard as you can to produce the desired effect…
While Godzilla lovingly beats his child, blissfully free of any child protection officers and the humans scurry around trying to freeze the island (resulting in a spot of Minilla Ice?), children of the time probably ate it all up like a bag of skittles and that’s what you have to remember about Son Of Godzilla.
Armed with its sizable levels of goofiness, you can’t say that the movie doesn’t succeed on it’s own merits despite the zany tone making it somewhat of a core to sit through for the more cringe-sensitive fans who think that maybe Toho should’ve considered putting Minilla up for permanent adoption. However, while hardly a chip of the old block, Son Of Godzilla is well made and reliably does what it says on the tin.
No kidding.
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