Mothra (1961) User Reviews (66)

Better than Average Toho film

[cpetr13 · 8/10 · 4 April 2006]

I think what makes this movie special is not the "giant insect" aspect but the mysticism involved. Godzilla is a legend in the original at least but Mothra is actually a deity--and a hands-on deity at that. Inlikethe other creatures in this bestiary, Monthra is beloved of those who live with it and is protected by it, often by direct intercession.

Unlike the other monsters, Mothra can die, and has done so. But it continues to protect its people by reproducing the old fashioned way--it lays eggs. IT is also intelligent and intuitive, and its nature is NOT aggressive or violent. It's almost Buddhist in nature.

The only other time they tried to work this kind of mysticism into these movies was with King Cesar--a giant cocker spaniel with contacts. The beast was just too goofy to be taken seriously.

Mothra is a great addition to the canon.

A '60s classic

[ebiros2 · 8/10 · 21 October 2005]

Mothra is a movie based on a fantasy novel "Glowing fairies and Mothra" co-authored by Shinichiro Nakamura, Takehiko Fukunaga, and Yoshie Hotta. Name of the main protagonist Zenichiro Fukuda are combined names of these three co-authors (Chinese character Yoshi is also pronounced Zen in Japanese). The co-authors reportedly never received much loyalties from this movie.

If the original Godzilla was the '50s classic kaijyu movie, this is that of the '60s, spawning many movies that follows featuring Mothra.

This movie was created on the following year Japan signed the "Treaty of mutual cooperation and security between Japan and U.S." of 1960 and reflects the politically charged atmosphere against US at the time in Japan. For instance, country Rorisika is a combined name of Russia, and America (in the original novel, the name was even more obvious Russirica, but was changed for the world wide release of the movie), and New Kirk city is an obvious synonym for New York city. US and Russia by the way were the only countries in the world performing hydrogen bomb experiments at the time, and No. 2 Genyomaru's, encounter with the test was also a hidden criticism against these experiments.

In the original novel, the location where Mothra spews the cocoon is the parliament building, but this was viewed as a political statement against the said treaty, and was changed to Tokyo tower. The movie features a real life twins The Peanuts (Emi and Yumi Eto) who were popular singers in Japan at the time. The Mothra song they sang were written by Tomoyuki Tanaka, Ishiro Honda, and Shinichi Sekizawa first in Japanese, and Indonesian student residing in Japan at the time translated it into his language. The original manuscript of this handwritten song is now displayed in Yuji Koseki (who was the composer for this song) museum in Fukushima city Japan.

The plot and special effects are tour de force. One of Mothra's lava costumes had 8 men in it with Godzilla suit actor Haruo Nakajima taking the lead. Mothra is the first kaijyu that's not just out for destruction, but is a protector of the environment. When the Mothra lava spews silk, it really looks real. The silk was made from rubber contact cement thinned down with solvent and shot out of Mothra's mouth using air brush. Actor Hiroshi Koizumi reprises his role as Shinichi Chujyo in 2003 movie Godzilla vs Mecha Godzilla Tokyo SOS after 42 years this movie was made.

Still after half a century, this is one of the best kaijyu movie ever created.

Perhaps the Greatest Competitor to Godzilla?

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 12 May 2014]

Shipwreck survivors are found on Beiru, an island previously used for atomic tests. Amazingly free of radiation effects, they believe they were protected by a special juice given to them by the natives.

Nothing much to say about this one. I only knew Mothra as an adversary to Godzilla and was interested in seeing the film where he debuts and predates his epic fight with the lizard of destruction. It is a good story and gets to the heart of the Mothra myth with the singing fairies that summon him.

While maybe not as iconic as Godzilla, Mothra is a kaiju worthy of his own film series (which he has), and those interested in Toho's work really ought to check it out.

An anti-monster movie. Lots of fun.

[boris-26 · 27 February 2001]

MOSURA (1961, released in the USA as MOTHRA) is like no other monster movie. It's colorful. Most of it's settings are bathed in storybook like colors, has a pleasent, happy ending where the monster lives!

A greedy showman/explorer Clark Nelson (Jerry Ito) finds twin fairies on an island off Japan. He displays them on the Tokyo stage, where they sing what sounds like a lullaby. It is actually a telepathic distress call to their god and protector, Mothra, a giant caterpillar. Mothra comes to Tokyo, searching for the girls and Nelson, destroying most of the city in it's path. The chase goes from Tokyo to Newkirk City (I guess this is suppose to be a little real life hamlet just south of Yonkers!) What I really love about MOTHRA is that it has many things most other monster movies don't. The hero is a comical, older, tubby reporter, a sort of Japanese Lou Costello. The monster is actually pretty. In the Japanese version, there is some wonderful slapstick and odd humor. THese elements make this film so unique. Director Inoshiro Honda was best friends with more famous and more respected Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. Kurosawa loved Honda's monster movies and according to rumor, yearned to make one himself.

Mosura: Passable Godzilla universe effort

[Platypuschow · 6/10 · 18 October 2018]

Though not a great fan of the Godzilla universe movies I cannot deny their quality, their charm and how much they accomplished with creating the universe in general.

Here we see the debut of Mothra getting her own film, a character who would go onto be one of the most commonly seen creatures.

It tells the story of a rich businessman who kidnaps two tiny ladies from their native land to use in show business. In doing so Mothra was summoned to retrieve them using any means necessary even if it means the entire destruction of Tokyo in the process.

Mothra actually looks good for it's day, there is no man in a goofy suit as usual and Mothra in both infant and adult forms look far better than you'd expect.

The cast are less generic than usual, the lead is fairly comedic and the whole thing feels above average within this original kaiju film.

Certainly one of the better films of the series that I've seen thus far, but still highly niche.

The Good:

Some of the sfx are quite good for their day

Character development is better than usual

The Bad:

Still highly cheesy

A few weak points in the plot

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Stowaways are not only not punished but they are given guns

A gigantic monster worm in a coccoon isn't newsworthy

The transitional phase for giant moths is a peanut

strange classic Japanese monster movie

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 5 May 2017]

After a typhoon, four shipwreck survivors are founded on Infant Island. This site had been used by Rolisica for atomic testing but the men show no ill effects. They recount that previously unknown natives had protected them by feeding them a special juice. A joint expedition is sent and strange things are discovered including two miniature women. The natives are massacred and the two fairies are kidnapped. The giant moth creature Mothra is hatched by the natives.

The colors are bright. The story is strange. Mothra doesn't appear until halfway through the movie. The tiny singers are the strangest cinematic creations and that's in the same movie as Mothra. There is a lot of miniature and green screen work. This is a classic Japanese monster movie.

Mothra (1961) ***

[JoeKarlosi · 7/10 · 12 May 2014]

Definitely one of Toho's finest giant monster movies of all. An evil businessman (Jerry Ito) abducts two adorable foot-tall twin fairies from their remote island, in an unscrupulous plan to exploit them for his own monetary gain. The two "peanuts" call to their protector Mothra for aid, and the title monster travels to Japan to save the little ladies, while leaving unintended harm and destruction in its path.

Mothra is a sympathetic character which became popular and went on to co-star in many more Toho adventures. The female creature starts out as a gigantic crawling caterpillar, but late in the movie emerges out of its self-spun cocoon, as a huge and colorful flying moth that causes intense catastrophic winds when flapping its wings. Jerry Ito is a perfect hateful lead villain, but he is counterbalanced partly by the agreeable presence of comedian Frankie Sakai on the side of the good guys. The story is involving, and the pacing very comfortable. I have always been a big fan of the charming little song that the twin fairies sing in honor of their savior, Mothra. The English language version is well dubbed, and there are some differences between the U.S. and original Japanese versions; but either one is good and enjoyable.

*** out of ****

Hush little fairies, don't sing a word - Mothra's gonna fly in and bring the hurt

[pyrocitor · 7/10 · 25 January 2016]

Film theorists postulating that giant movie monsters serve as figurative representations of the destructive force of female emancipation post-WWII will assuredly have a good chuckle with Ishiro Honda's Mothra, one of the most sturdy, well-crafted, and enjoyable of the Godzilla brethren. A reworking of the King Kong colonial island theft story, Mothra distinguishes itself from most of its contemporaries by pouring the satirical subtext on hard, while still delivering its fair share of trashy large-scale property destruction.

Like many of the Honda flicks, Mothra starts slow, but compensates with its better than average script and (human) cast to sell it, thunderously debating the ethics of abducting a pair of adorably polite tiny island sprites to use as singing sideshow fairies (a subplot sold well by the enjoyable despicable Jerry Ito). But, once their songs are revealed as prayers to their island deity, the fun really starts. Although Godzilla has been variously theorized as a force of nature beyond morality (at least until the 2014 American abomination), the matriarchal Mothra is the first explicit example of the monster-as-protector trope, lending an intriguingly layer of moral vindication to her subsequent swathe of mayhem.

Mothra herself looks incredible, and the intricacy of her character design makes her eerily captivating to watch. Whether lurching across the ocean as a steadfast larval juggernaut, or fluttering about the city, she's a devastatingly beautiful maelstrom of destruction. Similarly, Honda makes ingenious use of innovative sound editing, with the Islander twins' eerie electric organ speech and Mothra's chirping lending the film a fantastically eerie feel.

Here, Mothra's target is not only Tokyo, but the fictional nation of Rolisica (any similarities to any existing United Sta-er, countries is purely coincidental). The symbolism - Mothra is born in Japan only to wreak havoc on the US-ahem-I-mean- Rolisica - is almost as fun as the destruction itself as the destruction itself (extensive miniatures work which is impressive, if not convincing), and Honda takes evident glee in having non-Japanese flee in terror for once. The film's veering into religious iconography in its climax is initially a bit jarring, but retroactively makes sense, juxtaposed with the Islanders' own totemic worship, and even the antagonist's worship of money.

Regardless, Mothra being a comparatively peaceful monster allows for about as happy an ending as the genre is likely to ever permit (complete with punchline and literal laugh track). As such, for being what it is - a campy, relatively silly kaiju escapade - Mothra's tongue-in-cheek sociopolitical subtext and comparatively sturdy storytelling, along with its genuinely spectacular character design, affirm it as a hugely fun, abiding genre classic.

-7/10

The first Mothra movie!

[OllieSuave-007 · 10/10 · 14 June 2003]

This is the first Mothra movie, a story where a corrupted businessman kidnaps tiny twin priestesses on radiated Infant Island to exploit them for profit gain. This angers the island's guardian goddess named Mothra, who awakens and goes in search for the kidnapped twins, threatening to leave a wake of destruction along the way.

For this movie, there is a great screenplay by Shinichi Sekizawa, imaginable effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, good directing by Ishiro Honda and a beautiful music score (though not by Akira Ifukube, Yuji Koseki composed an equally superb music score). This movie has the usual elements in any "kaiju" movie: military, city destruction, tropical islands, scientists, reporters, natives and villains.

We get to see the very first appearance of Mothra's tiny twin priestesses, played here by the "Peanuts," a popular Japanese singing-duo. Their serene and bewitching Mothra's Song is first sung here, and is an enchanting listening experience. A few more songs follow, and they're also sung beautifully. They take center stage in this story, singing as a plea for help from Mothra to rescue them from the greedy show-biz celebrity. Along the way, a reporter, photographer and a scientist team up in attempt to save the fairies to return them to their home before Mothra attacks! The male lead, played by Frankie Sakai, was hilarious and provided most of the comic relief in this action-packed monster flick.

The natives' rituals and chants to awaken Mothra are spellbinding and enchanting, some of the greatest piece of cinema work I've seen.

Overall, this film is a great introduction to Mothra, who would go on to appear in many other monster movies, most notably alongside Godzilla in his many sequels, produced by Toho.

Grade A

They Sure Hold A Grudge!

[rspress · 6/10 · 2 February 2006]

It seems that every monster the pops up and destroys Tokyo is the fault of the Americans in one way or another. Mostly it is atomic bombs that hatch the beasties but this time it is American Gangster types. This is the way the Japanese thought of America before the war at it shows in this movie as well although they try to disguise it by using different names and Japanese actors for the lead roles of the villains. Still American atomic ray guns do make an appearance.

Mothra is a likable monster if not one of the lamest of them. You often expect to hear the police say as mothra is on the rampage "Mothra is a mile away, he should be here in three hours, he is lumbering this way" or "Watch out for that deadly silk......it's sticky". Also why is it that the overweight Japanese kid figures everything out before everyone else does?

Still this lays the groundwork for the later Mothra movies. The little island girls are present. They sing their mothra song. Mothra comes, cocoons, hatches and kicks silk. If you like this genre and who does not like cheap models, bad acting and equally bad special effects and photography then you won't be disappointed.

For fans of giant bugs only

[funkyfry · 5/10 · 28 October 2002]

Fairly poor cousin of Godzilla, with much less fighting and destruction than usual. However, the film is raised slightly above the level of many of its type by the fact that we can actually sympathize with Mothra -- after all, they've busted into the virgin territory of tiki-land and stolen the midget twins -- and therefore we understand why Mothra is doing what she's doing. This is something many of the makers of giant monster movies in the 50s missed, and was a big element in the success of "King Kong", "Mighty Joe Young" and other earlier monster flicks -- if we don't care about the big monster, the movie doesn't matter much.

Mosura (1961)

[SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain · 8/10 · 27 December 2011]

They'd done Godzilla. They'd brought us color monster madness with Rodan. Now Toho continue to improve their Kaiju films with Mothra. Once again Mothra is the result of nuclear radiation, but those themes are just around to explain her size. The main plot is Mothra's rescue attempt of two miniature women taken from her island. Strange? Certainly, but it's nice to see the monster with a clear agenda and some actual motivation. The models and effects are the best so far. Remote controlled vehicles, green screen, monster puppets, are all thrown in to give us some truly exhilarating city smash ups. Even when "people" are obviously dolls, it's OK. Films don't have to be a replacement for the imagination. I was never dragged out of the film's universe, and the scenes of the dam bursting had me appreciating film making more than any CGI filled computer game-a-like. The use of a fictionalized nation allows you to easily ignore any overbearing political agendas. It isn't as dark as the previous efforts. But when your monster is a big moth, you don't get as much horror. Luckily, it also manages to create a more atmospheric and artistic approach. Mothra's initial hatching is juxtaposed with a beautiful and rather trippy song. A tale of, once again, man's mistakes. Only this time, it's the exploitation of these mistakes that brings destruction.

A new universe

[ericstevenson · 7/10 · 3 September 2017]

As a fairly old film, this movie is interesting in setting up its own Universe with Godzilla and Rodan. I'm glad to have seen all of their original movies now. The original "Godzilla" film depicted the title character as just this monster that wanted to destroy. Mothra actually has a lot more depth, even though I will admit it's pretty awkward. The plot of this movie is that some tiny singing people (probably fairies) are taken from an island to perform. They use telepathy to get Mothra to free them. Now, I admit that sounds like a really dumb premise. It actually does make it a lot more interesting.

We get a much greater sense of why Mothra is destroying everything. The effects aren't bad either. I will admit that when it became a pupa, it looked like a giant peanut. Well, I like peanuts anyway. Much of this is dialogue and that can be pretty distracting. It was kind of predictable too. I mean, Mothra first appears as a larvae, so it's pretty obvious by its name that it's going to turn into a moth later. Still a nice first entry. ***

Much to enjoy, but...

[grnhair2001 · 5/10 · 8 March 2018]

What I like about the Mothramovies is the look, the island culture, the dancing, singing. There's a lovely style to it. Mothra herself is kind of cool, a goddess rather than a monster.

What is less appealing is that this first movie-- as well as the others --is slow. Nothing much happens for the first half. The plot isn't that strong, and it is paced horribly.

And so I find myself waiting for the next musical number, the next interesting minor-key song to Mothra, or the next modern dance number with dozens of dancers.

The Antithesis of Kaiju Eiga

[Sargebri · 25 February 2003]

This is a very unusual movie because the monster isn't an evil killing machine as was the case with Godzilla. The only reason for the destruction is because of Mothra's uncontrollable urge to rescue its priestesses. Mothra is what I call part of the holy trio of the Toho monsters (the other two being, of course, Godzilla and Rodan). This is the first film in which the audience actually roots for the monster and the true monster is the villian, Clark Nelson. This not only is a wonderful science fiction film but a very humorous parody about the consequences of over commercialization.

A solid rather than fabulous kaiju effort

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 29 August 2016]

Of all the Japanese kaiju, or giant monster movies that I've seen, MOTHRA has to have one of the most ridiculous menaces: a giant caterpillar that ends up cocooned before turning into a giant furry moth. Is it scary? Nope. Are the special effects decent? Not really, which is why the titular menace remains hidden for much of the film, with the giant moth itself only appearing for a final reel rampage. Kaiju films are by their very nature pretty unbelievable productions, but I couldn't stop chuckling when I saw the beast in this one.

The film itself is squarely aimed at kids. In case you weren't convinced, the presence of two annoyingly cute little twin fairy women hit that point home. Yes, they're twee, and their singing scenes are surreal in the extreme, but I don't think this film would be the same without them. Elsewhere, it's business as usual for a monster flick, with the human side divided into two forces: the good guys – here, virtually all of them are reporters, which makes for a nice change – and the bad guys, who, as usual, plan to exploit the situation for themselves.

The acting is what you'd expect for the film. The characters are larger than life and the actors all seem to be having a ball. I enjoyed Takashi Shimura's turn as 'news editor'; this is a guy used to playing roles in Kurosawa films, so it's kind of funny to see him here. The special effects are, shall we say, primitive, but the film remains colourful and engaging throughout, so it's hard to dislike them. The climatic scenes of Matchbox cars being tossed through the air and cardboard buildings falling over are quite a lot of fun.

The storyline is a virtual retread of KING KONG, with the fairies replacing Fay Wray and Mothra replacing Kong. I'm down with that, but it does mean you always know what's going to happen next. I also found the first half pretty talky, with lots of long, drawn out dialogue, some repetition, and a whole lot of sequences where the story doesn't really progress. Still, there's some fun action along the way, including an improbable fight scene and the always entertaining monster rampage scenes. All in all a pretty good film, if not a fabulous one.

Run! It's a... larvae and eventually a flying moth! But hey, it's fun for the characters!

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 18 August 2016]

It's a curious thing - I KNOW I've seen at least some if not all of Mothra in my life (probably in that one week where I watched a bunch of monster movies in a marathon that was made possible by, ironically, Emmerich's Godzilla), but it didn't stick out the way that Godzilla: King of the Monsters or some of the others did (even the bad ones like Godzilla's Revenge). I think I know why as well: if I were a real little kid seeing this, I might not take to it as strongly as other monster movies that feature more of, well, the monster! Mothra *her*self is not even really seen in her full winged glory until around the last ten minutes of the movie, and before that when she hatches from an egg (long story... actually, not really), she's a larvae crawling across oceans and land to mess up things while searching for the two identical twins who have been taken away from the island from whence it came.

I say this, and yet seeing it now as an adult I found myself enjoying it as a quasi-guilty pleasure. Or is it even that 'guilty' so to speak? The director is Ishiro Honda, who was behind many Japanese Kaiiju flicks, including the original Godzilla, and he gives us characters that are fun to watch. Are they exactly fresh or original? No, probably not, but that's part of why I had a good time with this movie - he and the writers seem to embrace the dumb clichés of the characters like the (at first) bumbling comic relief in the fat reporter, or the villain who looks like he was born with a scowl and evil eyebrows, or his accomplice who seems to be missing an Edward G. Robinson voice-over dub whenever he smokes a cigar. There's also the sorta bland hero and heroine, and, almost as a good luck charm, the great Takashi Shimura appears as the newspaper editor (and even in a seemingly thankless role where he's largely at a table or on the phone he gives as much dramatic tension and listening skills as an actor like him should do - yes, listening, watch him damn it!)

So in a sense this does and doesn't have the issues that something like the 2014 Godzilla movie had; that had weak human characters and, while impressive, not as much Godzilla as one might've liked. Here, the characters and the actors playing them (one of them in this English dub is "Nelson!"!) commit fully and bring some real emotion and reaction to what is essentially more of a quasi Skull Island movie than something we'd usually see with Godzilla. Think about it - a bunch of scientists go to an island because of reports from some guys who are rescued that there's some radioactive things going on, and when they arrive there's a tribe of natives guarding some heavy secret... and then the two little women arrive (who sometimes, when picked up by actors hands, are literal dolls).

But in a shallow level the lack of more Mothra in the run-time is disappointing. And yet again when thinking about it, it's almost a challenge of a monster movie for the filmmakers after several films (and more to come) that are just guys in rubber suits, it's ambitious that they attempted to have a flying puppet (albeit one that's more cute than an outright threat), and there's even an odd delight that a giant larvae-slug-what-have-you is causing destruction for several scenes. The characters around them are somewhat stock but with enough personality that you can be carried along as it being a movie on its own. And then the... destruction happens and you can see all of the toy soldiers on top of the toy tanks and all of the toy trucks and obvious fake bridges. Which, of course, adds to the delight!

You couldn't make this kind of movie today, it's basically impossible. In a way it's sad - this kind of hokey, dopey filmmaking with obvious miniatures (more-so when seen on a big screen) would be completely CGI-ified and the destruction of the cities and people would have to take on more dread and menace. And would there be a back-story for the two ladies? Or would the villain be as cartoonish as he is here with his snarl and occasionally overwrought comic-villainous-muahaha laughter? Who knows? All I knew was sitting there watching this (in a Rifftrax style presentation by the way, one of those times where it's a riffing on a movie that's not really all that bad) Honda and his team were out to do a riff on the 'Kong' formula of monster being taken out of its environment (plus those enigmatic, delightfully gleeful women) and the havoc is immense. As a movie of its time, taken today, it holds up. Kinda.

Seen on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater in 1965

[kevinolzak · 7/10 · 7 April 2019]

1961's "Mothra" was Toho's first kaiju eiga of the decade and first since the drab black and white "VARAN THE UNBELIEVABLE" in 1958, wreaking havoc in much the same way as her predecessors, but different from Godzilla or Rodan in that she is a god to her island dwelling people, remaining dormant so long as there is peace; unfortunately, one unscrupulous businessman journeys to this isolated paradise, the site of nuclear testing, for the purpose of capturing an incredible find, twin fairies standing 12 inches tall, intent on earning a fortune by exploiting their unique singing ability. What he soon learns is that not only are the girls tiny priestesses of their humble god, their song is actually a telepathic prayer that summons Mothra to their rescue. The human drama effortlessly carries the film, scientists joined by a dogged reporter in exploring the forbidden island, our first glimpse of the colossal egg at 21 minutes, hatching into a giant caterpillar at 43 minutes, moving inexorably toward Tokyo and certain destruction left in its wake. The military think they've scored a victory over Mothra but it's just temporary, as the creature spins a cocoon from which it emerges as the prettiest darn moth you're likely to see (the bombardment of heat rays merely speeding up the process), its wingspan producing high velocity damage similar to Rodan. 'Rolisica' is a stand in for the US, the climax in 'New Kirk City' set in motion by a quasi religious ceremony with the Mothra symbol laid out on an airfield, the fairies safely on their way back to the island (Mothra later appears in "Godzilla vs. the Thing," "Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster," "Godzilla vs. THE Sea Monster," and "Destroy All Monsters"). Real life twins Yumi and Emi Ito were cast as the tiny princesses, an actual singing duo known internationally as The Peanuts, their career lasting into the 1970s. It was simply a matter of time before director Ishiro Honda would alter the established formula by coming up with a monster as the hero, and Mothra is hands down the second most popular kaiju in Toho history, more personality than Rodan or Varan, and it must be stated that the scenes of destruction are as vast and comprehensive as Eiji Tsuburaya could make them (some even shot for nighttime), including one amazing aerial shot of the caterpillar making its way across land.

They Should Have Left Those Little Girls Alone

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 9 June 2015]

It was inevitable that that jerk would steal those tiny little women and use them in some two bit show of his. What he didn't realize was that they were in a kind of symbiosis with Mothra, a flying creature what would protect them if necessary. There are some pretty good scenes, where these men, lacking conscience, murder their way into the jungle and set everything in motion. The weapon that the caterpillars have, the ability to shoot out a kind of sticky thread, is pretty creative. The girl singing is quite tiresome. But, ultimately, we have creature that is normally non-threatening, doing its thing. I was once told by a fellow viewer that if they wanted to really destroy Mothra, they needed to create a giant screen door with a big light behind it, or, better yet, an enormous wool sweater. These are food for thought. I did find this more enjoyable than many of the subsequent offerings, using the same creatures.

One of Toho's best, most touching and impressive monster movies

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 2 October 2009]

A motley group of folks embark on an expedition to an island that's been ravaged by radiation. The explorers discover a pair of diminutive twin fairies. Evil and unscrupulous businessman Clark Nelson (excellently played to the hateful hilt by Jerry Ito) abducts the girls and forces them to sing for him in a stage act. Complications ensue when the girls' giant moth guardian Mothra arrives and begins leveling Japan while searching for the fairies. Directed with real skill and intelligence by Inoshiro Honda, with a thoughtful script by Shinichi Sekizawa, a steady pace, exquisite widescreen cinematography by Hajime Koizuma, exciting sequences of mass destruction, a sweeping, majestic score by Yuji Koseki, a strong central message about the severe consequences of human greed and selfishness, a strangely beautiful and poetic creature, a potent and affecting conclusion, and fine and convincing special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, this film achieves a certain poignancy and resonance because of its unusually graceful and sympathetic monster who's essentially benign, yet still dangerous because of her immense size. Kudos are also in order for the uniformly sound acting by the able cast, with especially stand-out contributions by Frankie Sakai as likable bumbling journalist Senichiro Fukuda, Kyoko Kagawa as spunky photographer Michi Hamamura, Ken Uehara as the no-nonsense Dr. Harada, and Hiroshi Koizuma as the compassionate Dr. Shinichi Chujo. Emi and Yumi Ito are absolutely adorable as the sweet and gentle twin fairies. The island scenes have a tasty exotic atmosphere. Essential viewing for Japanese creature feature fans.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we live in the Atomic Age!"

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 7 October 2016]

Wow, it's taken me a long time to get around to the original "Mothra" and I was surprised to see that it was actually filmed in color, unlike the 1956 film "Godzilla, King of the Monsters". Even though I'm late to the party, I always considered Mothra to be part of the iconic monster trio of Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan, so I've finally completed the trilogy.

When I saw "Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth" a few months ago, I wondered whether Mothra was male or female, so it was pretty cool that this picture answered the question. Mothra's a 'she', having the power of telepathic communication with a pair of twin fairy island girls who have been kidnapped by an unscrupulous Japanese businessman in order to cash in on the discovery. The caterpillar form of Mothra wreaked it's own brand of destruction on the city of Tokyo, while the colorful moth version headed over to the Rolisican island city of New Kirk in search of the twins.

Not too much scientific mumbo-jumbo is offered regarding the existence of Mothra, but I did get a kick out of the introduction of the atomic heat gun used to attack the cocoon on the Japanese tower. There was also that business about the specially constructed box designed to stop the telepathic communication between the fairy girls and Mothra. The fact that the girls always spoke in unison was another nifty touch. Older viewers might also experience a bit of nostalgia seeing that old Mobilgas logo sign dangling in the wind during the Mothra rampage.

Well, I realize all these Japanese monster movies were intended for a largely juvenile audience but they're kind of cool to catch every now and then even for seasoned movie fans like myself. I'll take one in every now and then, so until next time, I guess it's Sayonara.

Never before, never again, has schlock been so irresistible...

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 31 October 2014]

Reminding myself of the time that a former employer told me he tried to get his teenaged sons to watch Godzilla and their response that the monster was nothing more than a man in a rubber suit, I went into "Mothra" expecting mediocre special effects, bad dubbing with stereotypical Japanese accents while speaking English (indeed, all the "l's are pronounced as "r's" and vice versa), and too much exposition and not enough science fiction. Yes, enough of those elements are there, but like the first "Godzilla" in retrospect, the film is actually quite enjoyable.

When some stranded Japanese are picked off the mountain range of a remote Pacific island, their rescue reveals that there's something going on the island which requires further research. Upon their return, they discover a beautiful jungle past the rocky mountain range where two foot high princesses are worshiped by jungle natives. The princesses are abducted and begin their song which is actually a call to their rescue to a mysterious creature named Mothra that the natives who survive do an exotic musical number to in order for the creature in the giant egg to break through and rescue the two beauties.

These lovely ladies are put on display in a freak show, coming out in a floating Cinderella coach like vehicle wearing obvious doll clothes. In fact, when the life-sized Japanese men pick the girls up, they are obviously dark-haired dolls the size of barbies, and when the military attack the invading monster (a giant caterpillar), the tanks are obviously kid's toys as well. Mothra is seen hatching, swimming across the ocean, destroying a navy vessel and finally slithering across Japan like a slug. Finally, she spins a cocoon which is scorched by the navy and is let loose with her giant wing span creating winds that threaten to destroy the country.

Cheesy fun, "Mothra" is a film that can be looked at both nostalgically for the type of fun cinema that us baby boomers had growing up before computer effects took over and how more was made out of less. You don't leave a film like this feeling like you need a bottle of aspirin to get over the headache that the loud noises leave you with, and there's also a lot left to the imagination as well. The two Japanese princesses are extremely sweet, sort of a stereotype of Japanese women as totally subservient, while the villains are extremely one dimensional, like the Japanese soldiers of those 1940's World War II propaganda films. At one point, they are all laughing maniacally, but like the old saying goes, "He who laughs first ends up laughing last."

Classic monster film from Japan

[vtcavuoto · 8/10 · 24 November 2009]

"Mothra" is another gem of a film from Toho Studios. This was their third big (no pun intended) star-Japan's answer to America's big three: Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman. A ship is stranded off an island ravaged by an atomic test. The survivors are radiation-free due to a juice given to them by the natives. An expedition led by a ruthless, greedy businessman goes to the island. They meet the twin fairies (played by the Peanuts-the Ito sisters). The girls are stolen by the businessman and exploited. With the help of a reporter and scientist, they call to Mothra for help. The monster costume in the larva and adult stages is spectacular. The acting is decent as is the dubbing (thanks to veteran voice actor Peter Fernandez). The miniature sets as usual are top-notch. The film has a crisp picture and is in color. The musical score enhances the action on-screen. A very good film to watch if yo're a fan of Japanese Sci-Fi films.

Mothra Review

[thescholar22 · 6/10 · 9 June 2015]

I got this movie from the mill creek entertainment Sci-fi Creature Classics and Mothra was one of them. Made in 1961 by toho it's about this island that gets attacked by a atomic bomb. A team of Japanese explorers check out the radiated island and are surprised to see life there. Also there are these twin girls called the Ailenas, or the Peanut Sisters as some people call them. Some guy takes them to exploit them and they're singing voices. A bit later when the Peanut sisters sing it awaking's Mothra which appears about halfway though the movie. I mostly watched this for the Mothera song which sounds pretty peaceful and beautiful. Also when Mothra finally cocoons into a butterfly or moth it really gets good. If your a monster movie fan check this one out since it's considered a classic Sci-Fi monster movie.

When You Got A Giant Caterpillar/Butterfly On Your Case

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 27 February 2008]

Having an honored place in Japanese monster film lore is Mothra a giant caterpillar/butterfly who's a Deity on the island of Beiru. A shipwreck strands several survivors on an island where atomic testing has taken place, but the natives are free of any radiation. Some native brew that the castaways are given keeps the atomic effects away from them too.

Holding a special place in the affections of these natives are a pair of twin girls, barely a foot tall. An unscrupulous survivor kidnaps them, figuring they'll turn a good buck for him to exhibit as freaks.

But not when you've got a giant caterpillar/butterfly on your case. He's the one these girls are continually chanting for and by telepathy Mothra's beating a path to them and it takes him to Japan where Tokyo once again undergoes monster urban renewal.

I like Mothra because the monster really is the hero of the piece. And while the special effects of Mothra destroying Tokyo with the flapping of his giant wings, those paper mache, baling wire models that are a trademark of these film, still it's good fun. And of course Mothra came back several times, often in conjunction with other Japanese monster creations.

Almost fifty years later Mothra's still a lot of fun.