Toho Kingdom

I was just watching this again the other day. Do you think Honda was influenced at all by Where The Wild Things Are?

The book was published in 1963, 6 years before this film, and features a boy who daydreams he goes to an island populated by giant monsters.

Shhh! The Octopus wrote:I was just watching this again the other day. Do you think Honda was influenced at all by Where The Wild Things Are?

The book was published in 1963, 6 years before this film, and features a boy who daydreams he goes to an island populated by giant monsters.

It wouldn't surprise me. But the obvious questions are:
A-Was Where The Wild Things Are Ever Published in Japan
B-Did Honda at the time, have grandchildren or children? He was 51 at the time. It wouldn't be surprising.

Doing some research: Japanese Title
”かいじゅうたちのいるところ ”

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%8B ... 3%E3%82%8D

"日本では1966年に"

In 1966 the book was published in Japan! Three years before!

First Japanese Edition, published 1966, under the title of "Various Monsters Living" (title doesn't sound strange in Japanese"

LSD Jellyfish wrote: "Various Monsters Living"

That would have been a better title than All Monsters Attack.

Added in 2 months 7 hours 6 minutes 7 seconds:
This picture makes me laugh.

Shhh! The Octopus wrote:

LSD Jellyfish wrote: "Various Monsters Living"

That would have been a better title than All Monsters Attack.

Added in 2 months 7 hours 6 minutes 7 seconds:
This picture makes me laugh.

Do you know the context behind that image?

No unfortunately. Kinda looks like a debate of some kind between Gabara and Minilla.

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays everyone! Got some info about the original ideas for this movie. Comes from page 242 in THE BIG BOOK OF JAPANESE GIANT MONSTER MOVIES: THE LOST FILMS.

All Monsters Attack (1969) Initially this film wasn't the stock footage opus it would eventually become and would have featured between footage of Godzilla, Minilla, Gabara, Kumonga, the Odako (giant octopus) and Rodan. Godzilla would have fought the Odako in the water in the place of the Ebirah stock footage, and Rodan is the kaiju which chases Ichiro through the jungle rather than Kamacuras as in the finished film. Toho's big-budget Latitude Zero (1969) did not do well at the box office, and noticing that the stock-footage laden Gamera vs. Viras was doing huge business, Tomoyuki Tanaka decided to keep costs down on the next Godzilla movie by having Shinichi Sekizawa make it revolve around stock footage. It did not pan out for Tanaka as it did for Daiei.

MinorBone Good wrote:Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays everyone! Got some info about the original ideas for this movie. Comes from page 242 in THE BIG BOOK OF JAPANESE GIANT MONSTER MOVIES: THE LOST FILMS.

All Monsters Attack (1969) Initially this film wasn't the stock footage opus it would eventually become and would have featured between footage of Godzilla, Minilla, Gabara, Kumonga, the Odako (giant octopus) and Rodan. Godzilla would have fought the Odako in the water in the place of the Ebirah stock footage, and Rodan is the kaiju which chases Ichiro through the jungle rather than Kamacuras as in the finished film. Toho's big-budget Latitude Zero (1969) did not do well at the box office, and noticing that the stock-footage laden Gamera vs. Viras was doing huge business, Tomoyuki Tanaka decided to keep costs down on the next Godzilla movie by having Shinichi Sekizawa make it revolve around stock footage. It did not pan out for Tanaka as it did for Daiei.

Very interesting. Oodako seems like a creature they always wanted to include more of, but always got the short end of the stick. Still a creative use of what some unique ideas and editing can accomplish.

Poor Oodako. He just wants to join in on the fun.

I recently rewatched this movie, and I actually quite enjoyed it way more than I was expecting to. For the most part. I really enjoyed Ichiro’s character and progression throughout the film. Unfortunately I still think the stock footage brought the film down, but only during the battle scenes with Godzilla vs. Kumonga, Ebirah and the Condor. Maybe if Ichiro learned and used the techniques while watching these battles in his real life, they wouldn’t be useless and slow the movie down. I think this movie is still decent, and not bad as I once thought it was.

Point break, the worst Godzilla movie in the franchise. The kid character was annoying enough to challenge the worst kids in the Showa Gamera films and the stock footage fatigue became draining. It's basically a downgraded version of Son of Godzilla only with less charm.

The status of it being a true "kids movie" doesn't help as it seems to betray its own moral. As for an anti-bullying movie it ends with our kid joining with the bullies to prank some random guy who did nothing wrong to get their approval. So it doesn't even work in that regard.

The only "highlight" is Gabara; who is so ridiculous and such a petty bully Kaiju it is somewhat amusing. But is far from enough to save anything.

godjacob wrote:Point break, the worst Godzilla movie in the franchise. The kid character was annoying enough to challenge the worst kids in the Showa Gamera films and the stock footage fatigue became draining. It's basically a downgraded version of Son of Godzilla only with less charm.

The status of it being a true "kids movie" doesn't help as it seems to betray its own moral. As for an anti-bullying movie it ends with our kid joining with the bullies to prank some random guy who did nothing wrong to get their approval. So it doesn't even work in that regard.

The only "highlight" is Gabara; who is so ridiculous and such a petty bully Kaiju it is somewhat amusing. But is far from enough to save anything.

Now here's something we totally agree on. I'm not gonna lie, I think 90% of people defend this movie purely because it's made by Honda and he said that he liked the film. I hate Ichiro and I think claims that he's a well-rounded character are a pretty big reach. He's a bratty ass kid who gets picked on at the beginning, and a bratty ass kid who picks on others at the end. And yeah, sure, his absent parents are probably to blame, but he's still an annoying little prick.

And I don't think the limited budget and production schedule are an excuse for the excess of stock footage, as some try to claim. The film could've focused solely on Godzilla, Minilla and Gabara and had the other kaiju only make stock footage cameos (as Anguirus, Manda and Gorosaurus do) to make Monster Island seem more populated, and I'd have a lot more respect for it.

Some of y’all need to talk about your hatred of Ichiro with your therapists, yikes.

Terasawa wrote:Some of y’all need to talk about your hatred of Ichiro with your therapists, yikes.

In my defense, I apologize for nothing. Ichiro sucks and is the worst part of a bad movie. But not the only thing wrong with it.

Ichiro is a fictional character in a children’s film.

I like this movie more than any Godzilla movie made since 2001, except perhaps Shin.

Terasawa wrote:Ichiro is a fictional character in a children’s film.

I like this movie more than any Godzilla movie made since 2001, except perhaps Shin.

He's the main character of the movie and I don't like him, so I don't like the film. Just because he's a kid doesn't absolve him of being a shitty character. Like godjacob said, there's plenty of other stuff wrong with the film, but if the main protagonist annoys you, you're probably not gonna like the movie.

To be honest, I like this movie better than the '98 film and the anime trilogy, but that's about it. It's definitely my least favorite live action Toho Godzilla film, and probably the worst as well, rivaled only by Godzilla vs. Megalon and Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla.

Terasawa wrote:Some of y’all need to talk about your hatred of Ichiro with your therapists, yikes.

I agree. There’s nothing wrong with him and I know plenty of kids who are super mischievous.

Terasawa wrote:Ichiro is a fictional character in a children’s film.

I like this movie more than any Godzilla movie made since 2001, except perhaps Shin.

I have a right to dislike a character that hinders my experience in enjoying a movie. Just as you have the right to enjoy a movie I may find to be bad. Fictional or not a child character is not immune to criticism.

LSD Jellyfish wrote:

Terasawa wrote:Some of y’all need to talk about your hatred of Ichiro with your therapists, yikes.

I agree. There’s nothing wrong with him and I know plenty of kids who are super mischievous.

Except there is, he is an annoying brat who doesn't develop past that. Just because some kids in real life act like that it does not make it any more enjoyable to watch.

godjacob wrote:

Terasawa wrote:Ichiro is a fictional character in a children’s film.

I like this movie more than any Godzilla movie made since 2001, except perhaps Shin.

I have a right to dislike a character that hinders my experience in enjoying a movie. Just as you have the right to enjoy a movie I may find to be bad. Fictional or not a child character is not immune to criticism.

LSD Jellyfish wrote:

Terasawa wrote:Some of y’all need to talk about your hatred of Ichiro with your therapists, yikes.

I agree. There’s nothing wrong with him and I know plenty of kids who are super mischievous.

Except there is, he is an annoying brat who doesn't develop past that. Just because some kids in real life act like that it does not make it any more enjoyable to watch.

But nothing Ichiro does is that obnoxious or bad, minus perhaps the ending with the paint. Same for what the gang does. Yes things get physical, but not overly so. Again hard to explain, but it’s a big cultural thing. A lot of Japanese children I teach on a daily basis act like Ichiro. I think he’s one of the most honest portrayals of a child ever. He’s got a lot of genuine imagination and things going for him, and his flaws.

LSD Jellyfish wrote:

godjacob wrote:

Terasawa wrote:Ichiro is a fictional character in a children’s film.

I like this movie more than any Godzilla movie made since 2001, except perhaps Shin.

I have a right to dislike a character that hinders my experience in enjoying a movie. Just as you have the right to enjoy a movie I may find to be bad. Fictional or not a child character is not immune to criticism.

LSD Jellyfish wrote: I agree. There’s nothing wrong with him and I know plenty of kids who are super mischievous.

Except there is, he is an annoying brat who doesn't develop past that. Just because some kids in real life act like that it does not make it any more enjoyable to watch.

But nothing Ichiro does is that obnoxious or bad, minus perhaps the ending with the paint. Same for what the gang does. Yes things get physical, but not overly so. Again hard to explain, but it’s a big cultural thing. A lot of Japanese children I teach on a daily basis act like Ichiro. I think he’s one of the most honest portrayals of a child ever. He’s got a lot of genuine imagination and things going for him, and his flaws.

An obnoxious voice and whiny personality don't equal endearing. The fact that he was bullied and then decides to become a bully by the end of it only make it worse as his "character arc" at best goes in a flat circle or even backtracks from the supposed anti-bullying theme. Again just because real life examples of someone like this exist does not make a film portrayal of it good. Honesty does not equal quality in this case and he actively took me away from the experience of an already not good film.

There’s no indication that Ichiro becomes a bully. All he does is stand up to Gabara, the two fight, and it’s not at all violent, and the they all become friends. Think about when you were that age.

There’s no anti-bullying theme, or bullying theme. It’s s slice of Ichiro’s life.

LSD Jellyfish wrote:There’s no indication that Ichiro becomes a bully. All he does is stand up to Gabara, the two fight, and it’s not at all violent, and the they all become friends. Think about when you were that age.

There’s no anti-bullying theme, or bullying theme. It’s s slice of Ichiro’s life.

Gabara is a bully, a tie in to both the two kidnappers and the leader of the gang of kids who actively bully him. If that is not an anti-bullying theme I don't know what is.

But irregardless dropping paint on that random guy and having fun at his expense is bullying, and if not that isn't a way to make me like the kid when the previous run time tried to get me to sympathize with him against the kids for doing stuff like that to him. He is obnoxious, whiny and a bit of a jerk to people even if they never did anything to him. Where are the qualities I am supposed to like?