Customer Reviews

Rebirth of Mothra 1&2

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Okay, so these aren't adult movies. Let's be honest - how many `adults' in the stereotypical sense will sit through a Godzilla movie. Well, I will. Why the gripe about the Rebirth Of Mothra movies being `geared towards kids?' Just because the kids are the main characters doesn't make it any less entertaining. I guess the main difference between these and the Godzilla movies is there is not a lot of collateral damage. Most of the battles take place in the wilderness away from innocent civilians, and the military never gets involved (I guess so long as the cities are left alone, the Japanese military doesn't care what the monsters do). Hence, G-rated Godzilla...very little chaos and destructiveness, but enjoyable nonetheless. If you're a godzilla fan I'm pretty confident you'll like these, and if you're not, its okay to let the kids see `em. They've got a great anti-industry pro-earth message, and fantastic, four color effects -really superior. With the kids as main characters, younger viewers won't get bored either.

REBIRTH OF MOTHRA - When my nine year old saw this he wept like the Dickens. Remember, the title IS `REBIRTH of Mothra.' But don't worry.... if Sci Fi teaches us anything its that death is never forever. Basically nasty treekillers clearing a path for progress bust open an ancient seal which unleashes Desghidorah (or Death Ghidorah), a black hydra (kind of a four legged King Ghidorah) which drinks the life out of forests. The Elias, those irrepresible Earth First faeries from Infant Island sing that kickin' Mothra song and call up earth's protector (a giant moth, for those unfamiliar with the character) to go and trump Desghidorah, who is being egged on by an evil faerie called Belvera. When the tide turns for the worse, Mothra's (son/daughter?) larva speedily cocoons itself and is born as Rainbow Mothra - a really stunning looking creature with the ability to heal the damage Desghidorah has done. The story is told from the point of view of a little boy and his sister, and if you're looking for a good all-around morality tale, SPOILER AHEAD: Desghidorah goes down, the Elias forgive Belvera, and the brother and sister (and their distant parents) all learn to love each other better.END SPOILER

REBIRTH OF MOTHRA 2: The effects in this one are stupendous (particularly Aquamothra's final attack on Dagharla), but the story is a tad weaker. In this one three kids discover a weird little alien (?) creature who leads them to a kind of Atlantean temple out in the middle of the Sea of Japan. At the same time as all this, deadly acid-spitting starfish are popping up all over thanks to Dagharla, an giant amphibious beastie again being supported by Belvera. Two teens (or twentysomethings) chase the kids, looking to exploit the little alien thing. Again, good morality tale, as everything and everybody turns out not so bad in the end (and there's no death in this one, except for SPOILER AHEAD:the noble self-sacrifice of the little alien thing at the end). END SPOILER Good for the kids, but beware that the little alien thing can produce a liquid which has the power to heal, and its delivery is a little gross...get the picture?

Overall, great stuff for the whole family, especially if the whole family likes Godzilla (like mine does). Maybe a little silly at points, but so what? If you're bothering to read this review, you will most likely enjoy it. Go ahead. Buy it, and get the kids hooked on kaiju movies. And if you're a mothra fan, you'll love it. The faeries get a great treatment, Mothra is updated and has some nifty new powers, and the Mosura song sounds cool as ever. No, its not in Japanse (it doesn't say it is anywhere on the package either), but it IS widescreen, and the sound and picture are crisp and clear.

The DVD release of these two films is very welcome. Visually, both films look wonderful, with the widescreen transfer a great improvement over the cropped VHS and a nice surround sound. Mothra 1 is a charming fantasy , with enviromental overtones that would carry over to the second movie. The films are in no way realistic, rather like classic movies like The Wizzard of Oz or Kwaidan, work to create a striking visual style that is more colorful and unique than anything found in reality.The films are aimed at the family audience, and only the adults will mind the regretably poor dubbing job that Tri-Star did with these films. The plots are imaginative, if not quite logical. But in a fantasy film like these, that is no problem. The second film is the better of the two, with some breathtaking visual moments. Some sequences such as the Death of the first Mothra and the re-birth of the new Mothra as an adult are stunningly imaginative.And the under sea battle climax of the second movie is great! It's even more amazing when you realize that these films are made for about 4 Million each, and in about 4 months! I recomend these films to kids, and adults who remember the pleasure that movies like this can give.It's just too bad about the dubbing.

Tri stars DVD release of MOTHRA 1 & 2 are a welcome addition and improvement on the previous VHS versions. The DVD is Letterboxed and Enhanced for 16/9 televisions, and looks great, with fine detail and color. The sound will impress anyone with a suround sound system, with good separation. The only demerit would be tri-stars poor dubbing of these films. There is no real excuse not to have done better. The voices are often mismatched, and the vocal performances sub-standard. In a fantasy film this can be quite distracting, and too often it is blamed on the filmakers rather than the American distributor, where the fault realy lies. As for the movies themselves, they are charming and colorful, if a little confusing. One more re-write would have smoothed out some of the plot points. One of the nice things is that these are films in which the kids are the main protagonists, with few adults intruding to throw a damper on things. Kids and most adults who remember being kids will enjoy them. Visually the films are imaginative, NOT realistic. Realisim comes secondary to a fast pace and colorful visuals. And that is one of the most wonderful things about them. Both films have moments of real beauty, and striking imagination. Best moments of the first film are the death of the older Mothra, sinking slowly beneath the ocean,wings outstreached as if still flying, and the rebirth of the new Mothra, growing from thousands of smaller ones.. The second film is better still, with a climax that finds Mothra morphing into Aqua Mothra, and fighting under the sea. Its amazing to think that both films cost onlyt 4 million each, and that the Special effects, directed by Kochi Kawakitta, were done in just 80 days for each film! Kawakitta did effects for a staggering 10 projects in only 8 years, yet managed to give each movie a distinctive look, and unique moments. One of the best things about both films is the fine music of Toshiyuk Watanabe. His are amoung the finest heard in Japanese kaiju in quite a while, and a welcome change from the rather over used Ifukube music . When Mothra attacks at the end of MOTHRA 2 , Kawakita's effects and Watanabe's music blend wonderfuly into a fun and thrilling climax. Just too bad that the poor dubbing stand out so sharply to the rest of the movie. Memo to TRI-STAR...Do a better job with better dubbing next time! However, that aside, these are fun , imaginative family oriented films, that will please many fans.

It's nice to have all these '90s Toho monster movies finally available in the US, and it's certainly worth the money, but I am disappointed with this DVD.

It doesn't have any extras, not even trailers, and it escapes me why they couldn't include the original Japanese soundtrack in addition to the dubbed English one. How much would it have increased costs to include an audio track that already existed?

This is great Japanese fantasy family DVD viewing. These films are a bit more light hearted than the Godzilla films in the 90's, but still have all the great monster fights we love. I can wach these films with my Pre-schooler or can enjoy them on my own being a Godzilla fan for many years. Both films vibrant and colorful with better specail effects than it's sixties conterpart. Mothra-I has a new version of Ghidora as a more western looking dragon and Mothra must fight to the finish to defeat this three-headed foe. In Mothra-II she battles Dagahra a more aquatic foe and must transform herself into Aqua-Mothra to defeat this monster. This DVD is a must for Gozilla fans young & old, boy & girl. The widescreen format and digital sound makes you want to make some popcorn and imagine you're back at your local matinee.

Based on some of the reviews I read here, I bought this movie for my four year old daughter because she is obsessed with the "old school" Mothra.

I pre-screened only the first half of the movie (my mistake) before letting her watch it. She looooved it until the end when the wacked-out Ghidrah 2 or whatever it is "killed" the mom Mothra and started biting the baby Mothra and gallons of yellow blood started pouring out.

She became very upset and didn't like it much after that. :-0

I would not let kids under age ten or so watch this movie because of this one sequence.

One of the first things that people will say about these movies is that thy're just for kids. BIG FLIPPING DEAL!!! who CARES if the stars of the movies are kids? The movies are fun and the only two problems with the movies are: there's 'a save the trees' and 'stop putting trash into the ocean' message, which really I think is pointless. the other problem? bad voices, the voices for these characters are TERRIBLE! but, if you're a Godzilla fan, you get over that.


Rebirth of Mothra: The story begins with Mothra sitting in her island cave, old and weak, then the scene switches to the Hokkaido rain forest where a logging company is taking down trees. while making rounds, a bulldozer hits a weird kind of relic and the boss comes down to investigate. the boss takes off a tiny seal (which you find out is the seal of elias) thus the two elias, Mona and Laura, whose ancestors made the seal, go to the family whose daughter was given the seal by her dad. but she's being controlled by the rouge elias, Belvera. a quick battle ensues and Belvera gets away. the seal was made to keep a giant space monster, whose name is Desghidorah coming out. Desghidorah first landed on Mars, thus the reason it's a wasteland. of course it gets out again, and being controlled by Belvera, starts sucking the life out of the earth, like before. Mona asks Laura for help to summon Mothra, but Laura pleeads, saying mothra's too old and even weaker after giving birth. but they summon Mothra and the two monsters fight. after a moments confusion, Desghidorah gains the upper hand severely hurts Mothra sensing it's mother's distress, the egg begins to hatch prematurely. and out from the egg comes Mothraleo, the only male Mothra. it goes to Hokkaido and tries to help it's mother which it does in a way. the family, which is seeing this happen in front of them is able to get out of the valley after rescuing their father. Desghidorah accidentally blasts a dam, letting Mothra grab her son and gets away to the ocean. Mothra's strength fails her and she's no longer able to stay in the air. Mothraleo, tries to get his mother up, but fails, and so Mothra dies, falling to the bottom of the ocean. (if you have younger kids, say 4-9, chances are, they'll cry during mothra's death) the baby goes off to an island down south and transforms into it's imago form, taking power from the 10,000 year old tree which it used for it's cocoon. it goes to fight agaianst Desghidorah, who now has wings, it suceeds and the elias seal up Desghidorah and you find out that Belvera is really Mona and Laura's sister. Mothraleo heals the Hokkaido rian forest which has been burnt up by Desghidorah and goes back home to it's island, healing Hokkaido.


Rebirth of mothra 2: although this movie has better special effects, the story is weaker and Daghara is not as evil. one of the funniest lines in the whole movie has got to be when one of the kids exclaims: "Ew, this thing peed on my leg!"

although this series is not as good as Godzilla, this movie definately deserves your time and your money

This DVD is great! A must buy for all kaiju fans. I wonder if there is a collection of Mothra trilogy someday......

"Mothra" is still tons of fun to watch no matter what your age.

My daughter and I spent yesterday afternoon re-watching this double feature (when will Part 3 hit DVD here in the US??) and had a blast.

"Rebirth of Mothra" features a great environmental message when a land developer mistakenly unlocks the stone prison of Desghidorah, a giant 3-headed dragon who will drain the life-force from the earth itself. Only an aging Mothra can stop Desghidorah from destroying the world.

"Rebirth of Mothra 2" features the "new" Mothra introduced in the first film, and once again she is Earth's protector. Pollution in the ocean has awoken an ancient monster known as Dagahra. In order to combat the pollution Dagahra releases thousand of pollution eating, but poisonous Star Fish that attack everything in the sea. Only Mothra can stop Dagahra from destorying the world's oceans.

Both films feature the miniature "fairies" Mothra fans are familiar with, including a new villainous "fairy" known as Belvera. Both movies feature fantastic soundtracks, and great special effects. Mothra looks colorful and fantastic, my daughter loved seeing all of the transformations in both films.

I enjoyed the first film quite a bit. The story and Desghidorah made for a pretty entertaining film, the special effects looked great as well. The Second film was a bit weaker storywise, but the impressive special effects are definately worth a viewing. Overall fans of Mothra will enjoy this double feature.

My son is 10 years old and for as long as I can remember he has been a HUGE Godzilla fan. Subsequently, he learned of Mothra and the other monsters during his quest. He can't get enough of any related items. If you have a child that is into sci-fi I would really reccommend this.