Mothra (1961)

Don't start nothin', won't be nothin'!

If Godzilla is King of the Kaiju, Mothra is the Queen. Lighter in tone than Godzilla (1954), yet still with a message of caring for the Earth and cooperation, Mothra carved out her own story.

The synopsis tells most of the story. An unscrupulous relic plunderer kidnapped the Shobijin after an expedition to an island in a nuclear testing zone. The tiny twins had been befriended on their island by a reporter and a linguist who attempted to come to their aid in Tokyo. The Shobijin tried to warn them that Mothra would be coming for them and anyone in her way would be in great danger. Their pleading left the dastardly villain unaffected only causing him to double down on his efforts to keep the fairy priestesses to himself for his own profit.

Unlike Godzilla, who came to town obliterating buildings for seemingly no reason, Mothra was on a rescue mission. She arrived in her caterpillar form before transforming into her beautiful self. Tokyo and a major city in Rolisica (an amalgam of Russia and the US) took the brunt of her actions as she searched for her besties.

Mothra had one of the strongest casts in Kaiju filmdom. It's a good thing there was a strong cast as Mothra doesn't show up until over halfway through the movie. Koizumi Hiroshi who appeared in many Godzilla movies played the good-hearted linguist Dr. Chujo Shinichi. Kagawa Kyoko, from Tokyo Story, was the fearless photographer who worked with intrepid reporter, Bulldog, well played by Frankie Sakai. Hirata Akihiko from the original Godzilla made a welcome appearance. Shimura Takashi who starred in several Kurosawa movies, was the cranky news boss. Finally, the idols from their time, The Peanuts, twin sisters Emi and Yumi, brought the kind fairies to life. Their song "Mosura" woke their giant protector telepathically calling her to them.

Though there was destruction of buildings and cars, and the requisite helicopter blowing up, unlike in Godzilla, humans are not shown being killed. Mothra's story is gentler for a mass destruction movie as much of an oxymoron as that is. Song and dance numbers, a child looking to protect the Shobijin, and a big, beautiful monster made this movie more kid friendly, a direction Toho would continue to take the movies in, especially the Mothra movies as she evolved into a heroine.

The miniatures and Mothra were obvious toys, some more intricate and carefully created than others, but this was 1961 and viewers' imaginations played a big role in the success of these movies. I enjoyed Mosura, a somewhat slow-paced monster movie about a giant Moth stopping at nothing to save her friends.

21 February 2022

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