Mothra - Lepidopterophobia

So, I think I can say we're back on the right track today. We've honestly been kind of off to a rough start with this marathon so far, but it has been very fun. At the very least so far, we've watched two really great movies and everything else has just been kind of a mixed bag. Well, I'm really happy to say that after today, we officially got THREE good movies on our watched list so far, as today we talk about Mothra!

Infant Island is a mysterious land; despite being continually devastated by nuclear weapons test from Rolisica, a crew who returns after being shipwrecked on Infant Island is completely free of radiation. A joint effort of Rolisican and Japanese scientists goes to the strange land and finds two twin fairies, the guardians of the Island who beg for no more nuclear tests. But as a greedy scientist kidnaps them, Mothra hatches from her egg and is headed to Japan to get her fairies back to Infant Island by any means necessary.

Mothra was a joy to watch. A lot of the movies in this series so far have been understandably darker than one might expect, though I already knew that'd be the case. But Mothra however is a lot more lighthearted than all of the other movies put together. This is the point in the series when Toho stopped trying to actively make the movies for a more mature audience, instead realizing that if they appealed to younger viewers, that their films would be more profitable. And that really works in Mothra's favor. Mothra is one of VERY few kaiju that is purely good. She only causes destruction when it is necessary or being mind controlled, and only does what is needed so she can be with her fairies. So it only makes sense this one would feel more lighthearted. Mothra isn't Godzilla. I mean, duh, but what I mean is that Godzilla just kind of does what Godzilla does. He's a true neutral character. Mothra however is lawful good. She literally only does bad things if she is forced into that position. If this movie was as dark as Godzilla or Rodan, it just wouldn't work. So, I'm really glad they saved the tone for Mothra.


This more optimistic tone starts with the human cast. My favorite character in the movie is Frankie Sakai (pictured left) as Senichiro Fukuda. He works for a newspaper and is ready and willing to do anything to get his story. And I do mean anything. Sneak onto a boat intended only for scientists, get into a fight with men bigger than him, chase a mouse (yeah, it's brief, but it does happen), he is a tenacious  and he's really enjoyable to watch. Honestly, all the people are. But he was the main highlight for me. I also didn't know the movie was actively going to try being funny. I mean, it only makes sense. Sakai was on a career high when Mothra came out, basically being the biggest comedian in Japan at the time. So, it'd only make sense he'd bring his comedic talents to Toho films eventually. And he really does a great job here, being just funny enough to make you laugh, but still knowing when to play it serious and be able to play it honestly. Of course, I have to mention the Shobijin Fairies, played by Emi and Yumi Ito (pictured lower left). At this time, the two sisters were part of their singing duo, the Peanuts, and so it was definitely a blessing that they could add their talents to the movie. Despite not being actresses by trade, they do a really great job. It helps that they get plenty of time to sing in the movie, which, the music is great by the way. But when they aren't singing, they show exactly what they need to show and play every scene exactly how it needs to be played. Another stand out performance is the main villain of the film, Frank Nelson, played by Jerry Ito (pictured top right). He is a REAL scumbag. He's the king of guy who clearly didn't listen to his parents when he was little, because he is willing to do anything for a quick buck. He is the "scientist" who actually kidnaps the Fairies. I put scientist in air quotes because he doesn't even have a clear backstory, he has know real history and is basically under the radar. So when he does show up here, it's clear that he's here to do bad and feel great doing it. Ito wouldn't appear in anymore films in the Toho's kaiju series (partially because Nelson straight up gets shot to death at the end of the movie), which is a real shame, especially because his absolutely nasty looking face would make any villain of this series more detestable.

This movie's got a lot of really memorable scenes too that I really enjoy. My favorite has got to be when the Shobijin first sing. Nelson kidnaps the two in hopes of making them to be showbiz girls, putting them in fancy dresses and making them sing in front of sold out crowds every single night. But of course he's such a dimwit that he really doesn't get that what he's doing is causing more destruction. When the Shobijin first sing, they sing the famous Mothra song, which you can hear here. While all Nelson sees is the two girls doing their job and singing, Senchiro hears them singing for Mothra and knows that they're in for trouble. They aren't singing for a show; they're singing for help from their sacred moth protector. Mothra also is pretty awesome in this movie. Mothra as a larva just runs everything over, and it's pretty entertaining to watch. She slams through boats, swims through fire, runs over tanks, breaks dams, so on and so forth. The Shobijin warn the humans early on that Mothra can and will do anything to see them returned safely to Infant Island, so when we at last see Mothra reigning destruction, it's really fun to watch, because you just stare and the see the Shobijin weren't joking around at all. And once Mothra grows into the full Imago stage, it is a pretty awesome sight, especially 'cause we get to see even more fun destruction. Mothra really gives us the business in this movie, and it's awesome to see. Because despite being a normally peaceful and nice monster, Mothra still is a giant titan. And she makes her time on screen very much enjoyed. You also gotta praise the effects work in the movie too. Mothra's two distinct forms took a lot of work to make happen, both versions kick just as much butt on screen as the other. The larva Mothra was operated like a giant Chinese dragon with actors operated the puppet from the inside, walking forward and moving as needed. Apparently this puppet was up to 40 ft. long. I can't imagine how heavy it must have been. The imago Mothra is performed entirely with a puppet, and seeing her devastate cities is awesome. Most Mothra puppets through out the series aren't actually that mobile, but this one is, at some points even tilting and dodging accordingly to dodge missiles. Mothra is a super entertaining monster to watch, and overall, so was the movie.

Mothra was an absolute pleasure to watch. Mothra's always been one of my favorites, but without seeing her debut film, I always felt like a fake fan. But this movie was really enjoyable all around. Some pretty marvelous effects, one of the most standout casts of the entire series, well structured scenes and an excellent score make this really worth it.

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Well, that was a lot of fun. I'm a bit at odds with myself over tomorrow's film: Gorath. I've always wanted to watch it, and I don't really have a better reason to watch it any other time. But I do still have to ask myself if it really deserves a spot on this marathon. Well, we'll see when we get there. Till then, thank you for reading, and make sure to come back tomorrow!