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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Godzilla Teaches Us About The Plight Of Latchkey Kids!, June 28, 2004
Of all the Godzilla films, this one is by far the most suitable for young kids. Essentially it is a movie about the evils of latchkey children. Our little hero, Ichiro, is shy and always beaten up at school. He visits Monster Island in his dreams several times where he befriends Minilla, the son of Godzilla, who is also shy and friendless. Ironically, both are picked on by bullies named Gabara. In the first dream, Ichiro dreams he is aboard "Pan American Flight One, nonstop to Monster Island", then hangs out in the jungle while Godzilla dukes it out with Kamacuras, the Praying Mantis monster, Gorosaurus, a kind of giant badger-lizard hybrid monster, Manda the snake, Anguirus, the spiny armadillo monster, and a nameless flying giant turkey vulture monster (as silly as the bird from "The Giant Claw".) That's all in the first five minutes or so. Ultimately Ichiro falls into a hole and is rescued by Minilla, who speaks good English, but try to ignore that he sounds exactly like Droopy Dog, or you may not be able to cease laughing until the movie is over. Minilla is worried about his neighborhood bully (allegory anyone?) Gabara, who happens to be a giant furry, cat-lizard with glowing pink electric horns. He is much scarier than the Gabara in Ichiro's neighborhood. He is much sillier looking, too. Between his dreams Ichiro is either going to school, hanging out with a creepy toy maker, or playing in an abandoned warehouse, where he collects used vacuum tubes. (The movie never explains what the deal with the vacuum tubes is.) He also gets mixed up with a couple of thieves who have stolen 50,000,000 Yen (about enough for a McDonald's Happy Meal today) and has to outwit them. To get through the trauma of being kidnapped by thieves, he calls on the power of Minilla, and re-visits Monster Island, where this time Godzilla gets to play baseball with Ebirah, better known as the Crab Monster, and wrestle around in silk with Kumonga, the tarantula monster. Godzilla also teaches Minilla how to breathe fire in a touching male bonding experience. Ultimately Ichiro defeats the robbers, and is a hero, having learned a valuable lesson that you have to stand up for yourself. Besides the lesson in pre-adolescent self-confidence, and some amusing monsters, this is one of the lesser works of Ishiro Honda. If you are a Godzilla completist, it's fine, but you can safely see it last.
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