The Great Battle of the Monsters [Short]

The Great Battle of the Monsters [Short]

 

Japanese Title

怪獣大決戦
[Kaiju Daikessen]

Type:
Premiere:
Finale:

Online Short
November 3rd, 2024
November 3rd, 2024


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HISTORY

This project follows Operation Jet Jaguar (2023), both as the next short in the "Godzilla Fest" series and chronologically. The online video celebrates both the anniversary of Godzilla (1954) and Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964), marking the 60th anniversary of the latter.

Like the previous short, this project was directed by Kazuhiro Nakagawa, assistant director on Shin Godzilla (2016). Godzilla features using the same suit from Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) seen in the prior short. King Ghidorah uses the same suit from Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), though with modifications such as all-white eyes. Jet Jaguar appears in the same suit introduced in Operation Jet Jaguar (2023).

The thirteen minute short film was live streamed as part of Godzilla Fest 2024 on November 3rd, 2024.


Monsters

King Ghidorah
King Ghidorah



Toho Stock Footage


Background and Trivia

  • The full title for this short is Fest Godzilla 5: The Great Battle of the Monsters (フェス・ゴジラ5 怪獣大決戦). It marks the fifth installment created for "Godzilla Day," following Operation Jet Jaguar (2023) which was the fourth entry. All five shorts were directed by Kazuhiro Nakagawa.
  • The Japanese title of the short, 怪獣大決戦 (Kaiju Daikessen), can be translated in several ways. However, Toho released a blog post providing the official English translation as The Great Battle of the Monsters. This contrasts with the title used in the English subtitles at the end of Operation Jet Jaguar, which translated it as "All Monsters Showdown" at the time.
  • Suit actors for the short were Naoya Matsumoto as Godzilla, Naoya Iguchi as King Ghidorah and Kenya Saito as Jet Jaguar.
  • The Great Battle of the Monsters incorporates music from several past Godzilla films, featuring themes from six different composers. The recap at the beginning uses tracks from Takayuki Hattori's Godzilla 2000: Millennium (1999) soundtrack. The rest of the short features, in order, music from: Koichi Sugiyama's Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989), Reijiro Koroku's The Return of Godzilla (1984), Keith Emerson's work on Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), another motif from Hattori's Godzilla 2000: Millennium (1999), Nobuhiko Morin's work on Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) and concludes with one more theme from Hattori's Godzilla 2000: Millennium (1999). Finally, the end credits feature Akira Ifukube's music from Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), along with a rendition of the Godzilla rap.
  • A trailer for the short was released on October 27th, 2023. It features music from Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) and Godzilla 2000: Millennium (1999):

  • The indoor set, built on Stage 9 at the Toho Studios lot, was used for filming that took place over the course of just four days. Noted on the Godzilla Store.