Toho Kingdom

Yes, this is the discussion thread for the infamous Dorats that we all know and love. Feel free to say all you wish about these adorable creations.

gigan72 wrote:

http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/god ... 1217041003

Yes, this is the discussion thread for the infamous Dorats that we all know and love. Feel free to say all you wish about these adorable creations.

"Creepy_Dorat.jpg"

Interesting creature that would serve up as a way for Ghidorah to exist in the 2nd era of the series, it was cool. But I prefer the original origins of the Golden Hydra better with him being a space traveler that destroys anything that he comes across with than a monster made by the mutation of three small creatures.

Surprised Bandai never put out a plush of them

They look what would happen if you placed the Joker, a bat, and Alvin the Chipmunk in the telepods from The Fly.

They're made for Chibi dolls, but didn't really do that well as an origin for KG. The king of terror starting as three cute pets just isn't as spectacular as an errupting meteor.

The idea of Ghidorah being a fusion of 3 creatures is interesting. But being made of these little critters, no thanks. They're not even that cute, they look and sound kind of creepy. No idea what's up with the green mini-mullets, may've looked alright yellow like some of the concept art.

They're ... really kind of a bonkers element in that movie, and not bonkers in a riffing-on-'60s-Godzilla-sci-fi way most of the other elements are.

The most I can say about them is that they don't bring the movie down. They're just kind of a weird, ignorable plot devise. I like the quiet piano Ghidorah-theme music cue they get though.

Reviving this old thread cause when else will I get a chance to talk about these?

Naturally finding out that Godzilla's greatest enemy for this adaptation began life as a plushy toy did not sit well with me, kinda felt it took the air out of this Ghidorah's sails before he even showed up. They also didn't do much besides look cute and serve as an origin seed for Ghidorah later, as their contribution to the trip to the past was informed and not shown (That whole plotline kinda is wasted given M-11 does literally all the work and nobody else needed to be there).

However, this might...MIGHT have worked out okay as a new take. had they emphasis the connection between Ghidorah and Godzilla, both children of the atom bomb and how people turned pure-hearted companions into an instrument of death and the ethics of that. But it is all glossed over as they treat Ghidorah the same in this film as his later Showa ones; just a mindless tool for invaders and nothing more.

Their heads look like little chibi Draculas. Its really bizarre.

Even with the body and wing shapes, you'd never guess that these weird things would mutate into King Ghidorah.

That's something unique about the '90s Heisei movies: they were the only point so far where Toho experimented with this bizarre fusion of kaiju and kawaii. We ended up with these cute, chibi-ish Dorats, Little Godzilla, and (to a lesser extent) Ghogho just sort of plunked down into kaiju films where they clashed wildly with everything else about the visual style around them. It's awkward and lazily done, but there's a certain weird charm to it.

And, ultimately, the Dorats are forgettable little creatures. They are barely shown (not that I'm complaining about that) and aren't even offered the simplest sympathy. At least show the Dorats being sad about being abandoned in the past.

It's weird, but seeing the Dorats in Quazies' YT animations kind of 'legitimized' them for me, in a way. I'd never thought about them as anything other than that one less-than-satisfactory origin for Ghidorah, but they are unique Toho monsters in their own right. It's nice to see them given their due as part of the pantheon.

Really, they do even have a little bit of potential. Asking us to accept that they mutate into King Ghidorah was a misfire, but I'd love to see them brought back with some different kind of connection to him. If he evolved naturally on a planet somewhere, maybe they're a distant relative of his species. Maybe he terraforms a planet Godzilla Earth style and the Dorats evolve from him. Make them scarier and they could be space parasites that drop off of Ghidorah when he invades Earth, Cloverfield style. That would imply that they are what they eat, meaning that if they eat humans they could turn into something truly fucked up. Maybe they're some sort of creation of a Ghidorah worshipping cult. There are a lot of options here.

I think that it was a small misfire of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah to include them but not develop them. Emi only briefly awknowledges them, and explains they're telepathic human-engineered pets from the future that can sense emotion. If I remember correctly, it's at most a line or two in the movie.

I don't mind that Ghidorah isn't a space creature in this incarnation. I really don't. It's clear they re-invented King Ghidorah to be more closely related/parallel Godzilla's origin and I can respect that. It's better than him being a random space creature that just decides to show up and attack. However, the film sort of drops the ball on this. The film states that Ghidorah was created by nuclear weapons mutating the Dorats. But we don't see this. Perhaps we could see a brief scene where the Dorats are cold/sheltering on Lagos Island. A bright flash occurs (indicating nuclear testing), and the dorats roar turn into King Ghidorah's.

Is King Ghidorah 1991 supposed to be a sympathetic creature? He's mutated out of explicitly emphathetic creatures, and is controlled by the Futurians. The instant the control breaks, he's confused, Godzilla curbstomps him, and then desperately tries to flee. Would be cool if they somehow incporated Dorats telepathic tendencies into Ghidorah.

You could use the sympathetic creature angle without much alteration to the script. Have Emi show reluctance when releasing them, implying she has a closeness to the Dorats. They mutate as per script and become a remote-control kaiju for the villains. Later, when Ghidorah is attacking Godzilla, Emi's emotional connection to the Dorats overrides the control of her fellow Futurians, and Ghidorah is beaten, but not severely injured. Ghidorah flies off, but then Emi's fear Godzilla will ruin Japan brings the kaiju back. Ghidorah has a rematch and is able to carry off Godzilla, but is killed over the ocean.

It removes MKG from existence, but it gives KG more character.

edgaguirus wrote: ↑Wed Jun 07, 2023 1:29 pmIt removes MKG from existence

Can't have our new flashy SHIN KING GHIDORAH in your script. I like it though.