Film - Television - Video Games

Article: 5
Date: 9/05/05
Last Update: 01/27/13

A collection of references (either through memorabilia, characters or the movies themselves) in other studios' films to Toho's many produced and distributed releases.

Movie: The Magic Serpent (1966)  Reference: Kaiju Movies (-) In the AIP version of The Magic Serpent, numerous roars are taken directly from Toho movies. Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan's cries are all present, and the final fight scene even harkens back to the battle choreography in Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964).

Movie: Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969) [Animated Short]  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) This infamous 1969 animated short pits an entirely defenseless Bambi against Godzilla. This cinematic oddity is neither recommended for the faint of heart nor for the lover of fawns.

Movie: The Milpitas Monster (1975)  Reference: Kaiju Movies (-) Throughout the movie, the Milipitas Monster uses Rodan's cry. The titular monster is also a giant creature spawned from pollution, which could be a nod to Hedorah.

Movie: Bolek and Lolek's Great Travel (1977)  Reference: Kaiju Movies (-) While traveling around the world, the characters stop off in Japan where they visit a movie set on which a monster film is shot about a creature called Mobilla (played by a real monster) and Doran (played by a flying robot), the two being a play on the Godzilla and Rodan characters.

Movie: Super Monster Gamera (1980)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) While Gamera traipses through a city (without causing a great deal of chaos, mind you), he manages to knock down a poster that boasts a late-60's style Godzilla clone. The creature's name, as rendered in katakana, appears to be "Dojira".

Movie: Friday the 13th Part III (1982)  Reference: Godzilla (1954); Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) A scene in Friday the 13th Part III where a woman sits down on a hammock and opens a Fangoria magazine to flip through a few pages before finding one that has the words: "25 years with Godzilla". She looks at it for a moment before blood from a murdered friend drips down and she is killed by Jason Voorhees.

Movie: Creepshow (1982)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-); Rodan (1956) The opening scene in Creepshow; a boy is being punished by his abusive father for reading the creepshow comic book. After the boy is smacked in the face, it shows the different toys that he keeps in his room. Two of the toys are figures of Rodan and Godzilla.

Movie: Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) As world media outlets depict the ordeal of the Mayflower II, a Godzilla lookalike is shown during Japan's take on the news.

Movie: Return of the Aliens: The Deadly Spawn (1983)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) Young Charles happens to be an avid monster fan and has decorated his room accordingly. One collectible of particular interest happens to be the infamous Shogun Warriors Godzilla figure on the window stand.

Movie: Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) Arguably the most famous onscreen reference to a Toho character, Tim Burton's Pee-wee's Big Adventure features a sequence in which the title character travels through Warner Bros studios with his bike, and stumbles upon a Godzilla film in progress with the nuclear menace fighting King Ghidorah.

Movie: Prefectural Earth Defense Force (1986)  Reference: Varan (1958); Kaiju Movies (-) In this OAV release, a number of kaiju references can be seen. The first episode includes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot of Godzilla's shadowy nighttime profile against the city, as well as a shot of a Godzilla toy amidst a great deal of wreckage. In the third episode, Mechagodzilla is mentioned in passing. But the most spectacular sighting takes place in the second episode, in which the villainous Lady Baradagi poses as a sexy high school student to seduce a teacher in order to get information on the titular PEDF. When the teacher asks about Baradagi's parents, she states: "A long time ago in Haneda, they apparently ate a flare and passed on." At this point, an animated b&w recreation of the climax from Varan is shown, complete with a scene of the monster consuming the lethal flare.

Movie: Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)  Reference: The Return of Godzilla (1984) In Ferris Bueller's Day Off, "Godzilla 1985" can be seen alongside "Teen Wolf" playing at the theater on the street where the parade takes place halfway through the film.

Movie: One Crazy Summer (1986)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) Comedian Bobcat Goldthwait's character (Egg Stork) appears at a party donned in a Godzilla costume (the purpose of which seems to be selling real estate). A wheel-chair bound man tosses a cigar into the open mouth, much to Stork's chagrin. He proceeds to scream and frantically run around, finally making his way to a miniature town layout, which he destroys. This scene has it all: smoke billowing from the suit's mouth, hysterical party goers running about, and the destruction of a miniature city.

Movie: Howard the Duck (1986)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) When Howard is explaining his life to Beverly in her apartment, an Imperial Godzilla figure can be seen standing on her table.

Movie: Ghost Chase (1987)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) In this early effort from eventual GODZILLA (1998) director Roland Emmerich, a special antique clock houses the soul of a ghost that looks something like E.T.'s cousin. When the ghost first materializes, we see that a good old Imperial Godzilla toy is standing next to the supernatural antique. Later in the film, which was also co-written by Emmerich, Toho regular Akira Kubo is mentioned in a throwaway line.

Movie: Project A-Ko 3: Cinderella Rhapsody (1988)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) Towards the end of the film, supergirl A-KO goes shopping to buy an outfit for a date, and tries on a series of increasingly ridiculous, pop-culture referencing outfits, climaxing in three Toho-related costumes: Xilien, Godzilla with Minilla baby, and one freaked-out King Ghidorah.

Movie: The Night of the Living Duck (1988) [Animated Short]  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) During a frantic search for the next issue of Hideous Tales, a falling clock knocks Daffy Duck cold. A particularly vivid dream features him as the evening's entertainment for a diverse group of monsters. After he finishes his song, he begins a bout of good-natured ribbing. It doesn't go over very well with Smogzilla, whose increasing annoyance climaxes in an attempt to consume the wisecracking waterbird. Daffy regains consciousness, only to find himself stuck in a wastebasket. Shortly thereafter, he finally finds the comic that he was seeking.

Movie: Stephen King's It (1990)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) A Godzilla-shaped floater can be seen on Richie Tozier's pool after he recieves a phonecall from Derry. Richie also references the power lines sequence from Godzilla (1954), earlier in the scene.

Movie: Suburban Commando (1991)  Reference: Kaiju Movies (-) Near the end of the film, super-rich Adrian Beltz (Larry Miller) attempts to entertain his business guests from Japan with a quiz about Japanese movies, and utters the following immortal (and not altogether accurate) lines: "Give up? It was Raymond Burr in Godzilla; Nick Adams was in Rodan. Now Mothra--that's another classic, by the way--" before being interrupted by the entrance of a rather bedraggled Charlie Wilcox (Christopher Lloyd).

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) As the turtles are discussing how to return to their own time, Michelangelo wonders if they'll make a cosmic U-turn and return to Japan, which he comically refers to as "Godzilla Land".

Movie: Ed Wood (1994)  Reference: Half Human (1955) A quick sighting in director Tim Burton's biopic on the infamous life of filmmaker Ed Wood, as a poster (US version) of the 1955 Ishiro Honda film can be seen during the scene that Bela Lugosi (played by Martin Landau) begins to recite his lines from Bride of the Monster as a crowd gathers.

Movie: Street Fighter (1994)  Reference: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) During the raid of Bison's lair in the 1994 live-action Street Fighter, a Japanese-speaking unit manages to tap into the base's security through a remote console. A security camera shows E. Honda (A Hawaiian Sumo wrestler) fighting Zangief (a hulking Russian brute) amidst a cardboard city while the sounds of Godzilla and King Kong are heard. It should be noted that in the original Street Fighter video game series E. Honda was of Japanese decent.

Movie: The Gumby Movie (1995)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) While escaping from his robotic clone, Gumby and his friend Tara drive through an area littered with toys and books. In the upper right hand corner, you can see a very familiar Godzilla toy. Despite the fact that the top of the screen obscures its head, it is easily identifiable by any Godzilla fan.

Movie: Independence Day (1996)  Reference: Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) Throughout the movie Independance Day, the son of Vivica A. Fox's character can be seen playing with a Trendmasters 10" Mecha-King Ghidorah. In a later scene, he is also found with a Trendmasters 10" Godzilla.

Movie: Mars Attacks! (1996)  Reference: Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) Another movie from Tim Burton, Mars Attacks! features another reference to Godzilla's character. During the Martians' worldwide invasion, footage from Godzilla vs. Biollante (Godzilla attacking Osaka) is shown. First we're supposed to think it's actually happening, but the next second we learn the Martians are only watching the movie on TV, just before they switch to The Dukes of Hazzard.

Movie: The Secret Agent Club (1996)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) When young Jeremy Chase (Matthew McCurley) is tasked with rescuing his super-agent father Ray Chase (Hulk Hogan) from terrorists, he and his friends take to a toy store to gather "weapons" for their assault. During the sequence, Trendmasters Godzilla toys can be seen in the background, including one mint-in-the-box Mothra action figure. Unfortunately, the Godzilla toys are not used in any way to rescue Hulk Hogan.

Movie: Kraa! The Sea Monster (1998)  Reference: GODZILLA (1998) Rampaging across the West Coast, Kraa comes across a hapless city. Roaring aloud, he makes his grand entrance by smashing through a building plastered with a poster of GODZILLA (1998) (no doubt meant as a slap in the face to the much maligned remake).

Movie: Armageddon (1998)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) In what it's likely a nod to the Godzilla remake of that same year, a dog attacks some Godzilla toys (mostly Trendmasters figures), prompting the toys' vendor to burst out in anger. As the dog's owner attempts to ligthen the situation, meteorites start falling off the sky, thus setting the film's premise.

Movie: Quest for Camelot (1998)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) This scene features a two-headed dragon singing about neither head wishes to continue living with the other. One of them says that he would be a fire-breathing lizard. The song is called "If I Didn't Have You."

Movie: Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) A monster statue is moved and people think it's the real Godzilla. Two businessmen flee, and one shouts, "Run! It's Godzilla!", while another rebukes him, "It looks like Godzilla, but due to international copyright laws, it is not."

Movie: Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)  Reference: Godzilla, Mothra & King Ghidorah (2001) A very subtle reference found in the first volume of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill during the Tokyo arrival scene, as the airplane flies over the Tokyo cityscape, which is the Yokohama set from Godzilla, Mothra & King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack and compliments of the movie's production coordinator in Japan: Shinji Higuchi.

Movie: The Haunted Mansion (2003)  Reference: Mothra (1961) When Eddie Murphy's character Jim Evers responds to his son Michael's bloodcurdling scream, he comes to learn that the trouble was caused by a dangerous combination: his son's arachnophobia and the presence of a spider in his room. When Jim investigates only to find a rather anticlimactically-sized arachnid, he quips, "Man, you're acting like it's Mothra".

Movie: Cutey Honey (2004)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) In this movie based on Go Nagai's notorious manga series, the titular Cutey Honey (Eriko Sato) owns a cell phone which, on multiple occasions throughout the film, utilizes a ring tone that sounds just like King Ghidorah's classic roar.

Movie: The Calamari Wrestler (2004)  Reference: Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966) In the climax to The Calamari Wrestler (Ika Resuraa), Japanese professional wrestler Kan-Ichi Iwata is pitted against a mysterious new foe--a bad-boy gigantic boxing squilla, which is a kind of mantis shrimp. After taking a terrible beating, Iwata manages to turn the fight around and tears off both of the squilla boxer's arms to sound effects cribbed from Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, and the squilla boxer suddenly adopts Ebirah's vocal chords, expressing his pain with the same voice that Ebirah used when that classic giant shrimp was likewise dis-armed almost forty years before.

Movie: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)  Reference: Godzilla (1954) After the robots attack, several newspapers flash by to indicate that other areas of the world have also been assaulted. A Japanese newspaper reveals Godzilla on the defensive, a shot which is realized through a composite that borrows from the original 1954 movie. Interestingly, the era in which this film takes place is actually decades prior to the time period of Godzilla (1954).

Movie: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)  Reference: Seven Samurai (1954) As Obi-Wan and Mace Windu discuss Anakin's reluctance toward his new assignment, a pensive Yoda rubs his head in a style that mimics that of Takashi Shimura's character in Seven Samurai (1954). George Lucas has confirmed that this was intentional in the DVD commentary.

Movie: Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) Towards the conclusion of the second Steve Martin Cheaper by the Dozen film, at an old lake house the haplessly destructive Baker children manage to bust a hole in the wall, revealing Chiseler the pack rat's stash of random stuff--including some of their old toys. When little Mark Baker (Forrest Landis) steps forward, he takes out an old Imperial Godzilla toy from Chiseler's collection.

Movie: High School Musical 2 (2007)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) Troy Bolton and Chad Danforth are working at a resort as waiters, and when they are suddenly approached by their manager to take on a well-paying job as caddies, Troy asks why they are being reassigned. Chad, however, is excited, and states, "For forty bucks, I'd caddy for Godzilla!"

Movie: Enchanted (2007)  Reference: GODZILLA (1998) The roar that the dragon lets loose as he approaches the city is taken directly from GODZILLA (1998), as well as some aspects of his behavior.

Movie: Persepolis (2007)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) During the film Persepolis, one scene depicts a fictional Godzilla movie playing at the theater.

Movie: Lupin III: Green Vs. Red (2008)  Reference: Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979) The beautifully melodious song "Fire Treasure" of Cagliostro fame can be heard in the soundtrack of this 2008 OVA.

Movie: Crank 2: High Voltage (2009)  Reference: The War of the Gargantuas (1966) After Chev Chelios experiences an electrical shock, a dream sequence occurs wherein Chev and Johnny Vang have grown into giant humanoids. Their battle utilizes many of the cinematic cues from The War of the Gargantuas (1966).

Macross Frontier: The False Songstress (2009)  Reference: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000) In this retelling of the hit TV series, there are several new fighting combatants. One of these is a new type of mantis-like Vajra that nabs Ranka near the end of the movie. This mantis-like Vajra's design (the "Hound Type") is heavily influenced by Megaguirus, primarily in the head area. Like Megaguirus, it can also move easily at supersonic speeds.

Movie: Time Traveller (2010)  Reference: Godzilla (1954) The poster from Godzilla (1954) can be seen during this 2010 film adaptation of the novel Toki o Kakeru Shoujo.

Movie: The Losers (2010)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) In the opening of the movie, Jensen (Chris Evans) is performing a shadow play with Godzilla and a dachshund as stars over a U.S. flag, and has them do some very inappropriate things that shall not here be mentioned.

Movie: Toy Story 3 (2010)  Reference: My Neighbor Totoro (1988) When Woody is taken in by a girl from daycare named Bonnie, a Totoro plush doll can be seen with the rest of her toys.

Movie: Wicker Tree (2011)  Reference: Godzilla Series (-) In director's Robin Hardy's "spiritual sequel" to his 1973 horror classic The Wicker Man, born again Christian folk singer Steve (Henry Garrett) relates a story to pub patrons in the remote Scottish village Tressock. He describes how his stetson came to have a bullet hole in it: "My daddy done that. He was shit-faced with moonshine. Thought I'd turned into some Godzilla or some darn thing".