The Rebirth of Mothra - Mothra vs. Ghidorah!... Kind Of!

We're taking a bit of detour from as we watch the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy, and where better to than start with the original Rebirth of Mothra? Nowhere. This was a rhetorical question. So, how's the actual movie? Well, it's nothing outstanding or anything. Any movie Mothra will be in has a lot to stack up against. Her own solo movie is a monster classic and all of her numerous appearances alongside Godzilla almost make you forget she existed before appearing in Mothra vs. Godzilla. So any movie with her in it is going to have a lot to work against. As its own work, it's alright. It does a lot to please audiences and has some great moments of spectacle and a surprisingly good score, but, that is honestly it. It doesn't do anything particularly game-changing or evolve Mothra as a character much if at all, honestly. Well, she does get to fight her first opponent without the help of Godzilla, which is sort of a big deal, but it's not much. Honestly, the Rebirth of Mothra is just kind of okay. What we get in this movie is a really interesting reinvention of the Mothra mythos with some Ghidorah thrown, and of course a new Ghidorah to be introduced too. The main issue we'll see with this movie is improper spacing. And while by no means this movie is not a bad one, it's just kind of a mixed bag.

The hidden away Mothra has mustered the energy to make a new egg and carry on her species, and with perfect timing too. Humans destroying a forest stumble upon the ancient seal hiding away the ancient Mothra priestess, Belvera. After she is awoken, she uses the rediscovered seal to control the evil space dragon, Desghidorah. After losing against him, Mothra must die, and her son known as Mothra Leo must now challenge Desghidorah to save the world from the evil monster's life draining powers.

Alright, let's start with that interesting reinvention of the Mothra mythos I was talking about. First and foremost, we have the Elias, the ancient race of miniature people who serve as Mothra's priestesses. What you will find that's quite interesting is that Mothra technically has three, Moll and Lora played by Sayaka Yamaguchi and Megumi Kobayashi respectively (pictured left with Lora on the left and Moll on the right.) And then we have the third Elias, Belvera, played by Aki Hano (pictured right.) Moll and Lora are Mothra's direct priestesses, basically being the Shobijin with fancy new names. They aren't particularly special or notable, but their biggest draw and watch makes them such a deviation is Belvera. She is their older sister, and despite loving nature as much as them in the past essentially became Battra. Viewing humans as dangerous and destructive, she does everything she can to try wiping us out. Sure, it's not exactly the most original dynamic or anything, but it is a new one. Belvera is definitely the most fun to watch of the three however. Despite being the oldest sibling, she acts like a child and pouts, kicks her mount, Garugaru, and is just hilariously over the top. Again, it's not the most amazingly original dynamic or anything, but it is a change from the source material, and it's not a bad take.

Speaking of new takes, we get two completely new takes on two classic monsters of the series. Of course, there's Mothra, who there are actually two of in the film. Of course, there is the original Mothra, the one who created the new egg with her remaining power. Her design is practically the exact same as every other Mothra before. But what is a completely new update is Mothra Leo, her son. Mothra Leo is pretty cool, honestly. Outside of his completely new color scheme, he is pretty powerful. He basically gets all of his mother's powers, but at the end seals Desghidorah away on his own AND heals the Earth. Of course we have to go through the Larva into Imago form, but that is remarkably fast, as he grows into full size in about five minutes of screen time. He'll get some more forms later on, but for a starting appearance? Not bad. And of course, there's Desghidorah. So, this is kind of hard. On one hand, pretty interesting design. On the other hand, it isn't really Ghidorah. Sure, he's got three heads and is from outer space, but he's all black, walks on all fours, can't even fly from the start and breaths FIRE. Then again, he has a sweet backstory, being the monster who wiped out the dinosaurs and poses a real threat returning to real Earth. But then he gets really annoying real fast with a roar that just gets used WAY too much because this might be the first Ghidorah to never learn how to roar with one mouth. Honestly, not a bad monster, but I'm fine with not using him again unless it was like a mutated version of some other Ghidorah.

Above I mentioned the film's surprisingly good score. Right here, you can find the entire soundtrack on YouTube. I definitely think watch the movie before you listen to any music from the movie, but it's great stuff. In particular, I love love love love LOVE the piece of the original Mothra's death. Look, Mothra dies. Mothra dies A LOT. But every time she does, it does always sting. It's Mothra! You know her, you love her, and even if she doesn't know you, she'll still risk herself to save you. And this is the same Mothra we get in the movie. Of course, it isn't the Mothra from Godzilla vs. Mothra and Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla who appears very briefly, but she is still clearly Mothra, and works her hardest to save everyone if possible. So as a result, that emotional attachment to Mothra is still there. So even though we were just introduced to this one, when we watch Mothra die, it still hurts. Made worse by a piece that just stabs you in the heart and looks you in the eye the entire time. The entire score itself is honestly pretty great. Well, most of it. Honestly, this movie's version of the Mothra song is REALLY weak in my opinion and not one I'd particularly go out of my way to hear again, but aside from that, it is a really solid score that I could enjoy without the movie.

Honestly, the Rebirth of Mothra isn't the greatest movie in the world, but its got heart. It's not gonna change anyone's entire spirit or save the planet like it really wants to do, but it's not a bad time. I won't say go out of your way to see it or anything, but if it's on, might as well stick around for the show in my eyes.

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Next up, we got us a sequel! With the financial success of the original, Toho wanted to keep making that cash. So next up, they got to work and made a sequel the following year. So come back tomorrow and we'll be reviewing the direct sequel, the Rebirth of Mothra 2!