From: dave@blackbox.cc.columbia.edu (David Milner)
Subject: GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA SYNOPSIS
Keywords: Godzilla Mothra Japan Monster
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1992 07:38:34 GMT


                   GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA (1992)

A meteor is seen approaching the Earth. Officials at NASA pick up
the meteor on their radar screens, and determine that it will
impact not on land, but instead in the Pacific Ocean, somewhere in
the Ogasawara Sea area.

The meteor slams into in the ocean. Godzilla, who'd been slumbering
near the point of entry, is awakened. Also, an enormous typhoon is
created, and it washes away a great deal of soil on Infant Island,
located near Indonesia. This leaves a previously buried giant egg
exposed.

In Thailand, a Japanese treasure hunter named Takuya Fujita
discovers a small wooden statue in an ancient temple. He stuffs it
into his shoulder bag, and turns to leave, but all of a sudden, the
walls begin to collapse in on him and the floor begins to sink.
Desperately, Fujita tries to escape, and although he does manage to
get outside the temple, once there, he is met by four Thai soldiers
pointing rifles at him.

Fujita, now in jail, is visited by his estranged wife Masako
Tezuka, Japanese Security Chief Ruzo Dobashi and a corporate
executive named Kenji Ando. Although they at first threaten to just
let him rot in jail, Fujita is needed to lead an expedition to
Infant Island, which the company Mr. Ando works for is planning to
develop, and so his release is arranged for.

A huge creature resembling a centipede with a large horn on its
head located under the ice in Siberia suddenly springs to life.

Fujita, his wife and Mr. Ando explore Infant Island. They
eventually come across a very shaky wooden footbridge connecting
two very steep cliffs located on opposite sides of a small lake,
and although Fujita's wife is extremely reluctant to try to cross
it at first, the three soon decide to just take their chances.
Things go well for a few moments, but the bridge begins to collapse
when the three explorers are about halfway across. Quickly, they
grab onto the bridge, and miraculously somehow manage to hold on
even when the section they are clinging to, which remains attached
at the top of the one of the cliffs, crashes against its side.

A few moments later, as they are dangling, Fujita realizes that he
and his companions are now low enough so that they can simply jump
down into the lake without being injured, and they do so. As they
are drying off, Masako shows her husband a few photographs of their
daughter, Midori, who he has not seen in quite some time.

The exploration of Infant Island continues shortly afterward, and
a cave with a few ancient symbols written on its walls is
discovered. An especially large one, that of a cross with a broken
circle around it, is spotted, as is a drawing of an orange and
yellow creature with wings facing a similar one that is orange and
black in color.

After leaving the cave, the three explorers come across a huge egg.
Fujita begins to take some scrapings from the shell, but strange
voices coming from not very far away interrupt his work.

Two very tiny women, only about six inches tall, come out from
behind a group of flowers. They explain that they are members of a
race called the cosmos, which came to the Earth from outer space
long before human beings had evolved. When asked about the giant
egg by Fujita, the cosmos tell him that it is the egg of Mothra.

After they lead Fujita, his wife and Mr. Ando back into the cave,
the cosmos explain that twelve thousand years ago, when their race
began to destroy the Earth, just as man is doing now, Battra, the
defender of the Earth, appeared and destroyed their civilization.
He was, however, eventually trapped in ice in Siberia by Mothra,
the defender of their people, explaining how a few of them managed
to survive.

Battra swims toward Japan. F-15s are sent to stop him, but they
prove unable to do the job.

Tomokane Takeshi, the head of the company that employs Mr. Ando,
places him in charge of bringing Mothra's egg to Tokyo for study
and exploitation. Soon afterward, the egg is placed aboard a
specially modified ship, and it sets sail for Japan.

Battra appears in the city of Nagoya. He causes widespread
destruction, both by simply crashing into buildings and by emitting
highly powerful yellow electrical rays from his horn and pink ones
from his eyes. The military sends a variety of tanks and cannons to
stop him, but they, too, prove to be ineffective.

The captain of the ship carrying Mothra's egg spots something very
large approaching on the radar screen.

Godzilla appears. He makes his way toward the ship, but before he
can reach it, Mothra's egg begins to crack, and Mothra emerges.
Godzilla blasts the egg, but Mothra manages to free himself from it
just before Godzilla's breath reaches it.

Mothra bites the tip of Godzilla's tail, and with his great
strength, Godzilla manages to lift Mothra completely out of the
water. Mothra is unable to maintain his bite, and he falls back
into the ocean. Next, Mothra tries spewing silk at Godzilla, but a
blast of Godzilla's radioactive breath prevents this from doing any
good. Finally, Mothra swims right into Godzilla's chest in an
attempt to knock him over, but this merely allows Godzilla to grab
him and simply toss him aside.

Battra approaches the ship. After taking a quick swipe at Mothra
with his horn, he attacks Godzilla with his rays. Godzilla then
retaliates with his breath. Soon, as the two monsters continue to
struggle with each other, they begin to sink to the bottom of the
ocean. Mothra, meanwhile, returns to Infant Island.
An underwater volcano erupts near the sight where Godzilla and
Battra are fighting, and they soon become engulfed by it. Security
Chief Dobashi, Miki Saegusa, a woman who is sometimes able to sense
what Godzilla will do before the fact, and Joji Minamino, the head
of the Japanese Environmental Planning Board, speculate about what
will happen to the two monsters inside the volcano.

Fujita and his wife, who have the cosmos with them, arrive in
Tokyo. There they find their daughter waiting for them at the
airport, along with the people who had been caring for her while
her parents were away. While Masako is pleased to see her, Fujita
is afraid to face her after so long, and so he discreetly exits
before having to do so.

While the cosmos sleep inside the chest pocket of one of Fujita's
shirts, their fate is discussed by Mr. Ando and his boss, Mr.
Takeshi, who plans to exploit them, and by Fujita and a
representative of an American entertainment company, who try to
work out an agreeable price for them.

The cosmos begin calling to Mothra by singing. Mothra senses this,
and heads for Japan. He is met on the way by several naval ships
and helicopters, but they are ineffective against him. Mothra then
makes his way through Tokyo, destroying virtually everything in his
path, while Mr. Takeshi looks on in horror.

Finally Mothra arrives at the building in which the cosmos are
located. They speak to him through an open window, and assure him
that everything now is fine. Just as Mothra turns to peacefully
leave, the military opens fire on him with everything they've got.
An order from Security Chief Dobashi, who knows that Mothra is no
longer a threat, quickly puts an end to the bombardment, but Mothra
is badly hurt in the meantime. He then climbs up the side of the
nearby Diet building, and begins to construct a cocoon.

Mt. Fujiyama erupts, and Miki Saegusa senses that Godzilla is about
to appear again. She is proven correct when he comes marching out
of the top of the mountain, and crashes right through a series of
electrical towers.

The cosmos again begin singing, and Mothra slowly emerges from his
cocoon.

Battra, still in his larval form, now quickly transforms himself
into a flying creature similar in appearance to Mothra, but with
gray skin and jagged orange and yellow designs on his wings.

Tanks, cannons and jet aircraft are used against Godzilla, but they
succeed merely in enraging him.

Battra and Mothra meet in the skies over the city of Yokohama, and
Battra begins repeatedly attacking Mothra with pink rays that he
emits from his eyes. This injures Mothra to the point where he is
forced to land.

Godzilla appears in Yokohama, and he and Battra begin fighting each
other once again. Although Battra seems to get the best of Godzilla
at first, in part by using his rays to cause a large building to
collapse on him, Godzilla soon manages to get a hold on Battra and
throw him to the ground. A blast of Godzilla's breath directed at
Battra then seriously injures him.

Mothra, weak but still able to fly, takes off and prevents Godzilla
from finishing Battra off by emitting two yellow rays of his own
from his antennae. With Godzilla momentarily subdued, Mothra then
flies over to Battra and rejuvenates him by transferring to him
some his own energy through his antennae.

Godzilla once again prepares to attack, and Mothra flies off to
challenge him. Once directly over Godzilla, Mothra begins releasing
a yellow powder from his body, and this somehow both causes very
powerful bolts of electricity to strike at Godzilla from just
underneath his wings, and prevents Godzilla's breath from reaching
him. This proves very effective for a few moments, but soon
Godzilla uses an internal surge of energy to repel Mothra. Mothra
then falls to the ground, landing on his back.

A Ferris Wheel that Mothra crashed into while falling begins to
collapse, but just before it comes crashing down on him, Battra
lifts it up, carries it over to where Godzilla is standing, and
smashes it against him.

Now, both Mothra and Battra attack Godzilla with their rays. Mothra
again uses his yellow powder against him as well. This overpowers
Godzilla, and he soon falls to the ground. Mothra grabs Godzilla's
tail, and Battra gets a hold on his body, and the two of them then
carry Godzilla out over the ocean. After a few moments, Godzilla
bites Battra on the neck several times, causing him to bleed. He
then directs a blast of his breath at Battra, and this sends both
Battra and Godzilla falling into the water. Mothra flies in a
circle around the point of impact, and a large yellow cross with a
broken circle around it appears on the surface of the water
directly beneath him.

Back in Tokyo, Mothra lands and allows the cosmos to levitate up to
one of his antennae while the newly-reunited Fujita family, Miki
Saegusa, Joji Minamino, Security Chief Dobashi and Mr. Ando look
on.

Mothra then takes off, and is last seen flying in outer space.


David Milner  Columbia University
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