# Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (often abbreviated as GMK) is a 2001 Japanese kaiju film directed and co-written by Shusuke Kaneko. The 26th film in the Godzilla franchise and the third of the Millennium era, it serves as a direct sequel to Godzilla (1954), ignoring the events of every other installment in the series (albeit briefly referencing the 1998 American film). Chiharu Niiyama stars as a reporter covering the story of Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Baragon defending Japan from Godzilla, a creature possessed by the souls of those killed during the Pacific War. The supporting cast includes Ryudo Uzaki, Masahiro Kobayashi, Hideyo Amamoto, and Shirō Sano, with Mizuho Yoshida as Godzilla, Akira Ohashi as Ghidorah, and Rie Ōta as Baragon.
Kaneko originally slated Godzilla to face off against a revamped version of Kamacuras but ultimately decided to place Godzilla against three monsters representing elements of the Earth. The initial three monsters he pitched were Varan, Baragon, and Anguirus, however, Toho later convinced him to replace Varan and Anguirus with King Ghidorah and Mothra to attract more public interest. Principal photography began on May 11, 2001, on a $7–9 million budget, at Toho Studios, and wrapped on August 9.
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival on November 3, 2001. Toho later released it throughout Japan on December 15, as a double feature with Hamtaro: Adventures in Ham-Ham Land. The film earned $20 million internationally and tied in Japan for the position of the third-highest-grossing domestic film during 2002. Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah received generally positive reviews from critics, with many considering it among the best in the Godzilla series. It was followed by Masaaki Tezuka's Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002), which is set in a different continuity.

## Plot

During a briefing with the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) regarding Godzilla's first attack, Admiral Taizo Tachibana is alerted about an American nuclear submarine that went missing off Guam. Search and rescue units find the submarine destroyed and capture footage of a giant creature's fins nearby. Tachibana's daughter, Yuri, films a docudrama with her production crew at Mount Myōkō, where a mysterious earthquake briefly occurs. It occurs again later that night, burying a biker gang and leaving one surviving trucker, who witnesses the monster Baragon, which he misidentifies as Godzilla. The next day, Yuri's colleague Teruaki Takeda supports her theory that a monster may have been the cause of the mysterious earthquakes and gives her a book called The Guardian Monsters.
At Lake Ikeda, Mothra in her larva form attacks a group of teenagers who disturb her shrine while in Aokigahara, a suicidal man accidentally encounters a frozen 3,000-year-old dragon, King Ghidorah. Yuri interviews Hirotoshi Isayama, an elderly man who explains the legend of the Guardian Monsters: Baragon, Mothra, and Ghidorah, iterating that they must be awakened before Godzilla destroys Japan. Yuri and her team visit the Guardian Monsters' shrine, where she finds a strange stone before returning to interview Isayama. In the process, she discovers that the souls of soldiers and civilians who were killed during the Pacific War are embedded within Godzilla and are lashing out due to modern Japan's denial of its past crimes.
Godzilla and Baragon surface and battle in Hakone, with the former emerging victorious. Yuri is injured during the fray and goes on her own after Takeda refuses to take her to Godzilla's location. Mothra's cocoon is discovered in Lake Ikeda. After the jets fail to stop Godzilla, Tachibana sets up a defense line in Yokohama. An imago Mothra and a juvenile Ghidorah awaken and battle Godzilla in Yokohama. Mothra sacrifices herself and imbues her spirit into Ghidorah, empowering it. Ghidorah manages to injure and drag Godzilla underwater. Tachibana and his colleague board miniature submarines to launch missiles into Godzilla's wound. Yuri and Takeda report on the struggle from Yokohama Bay Bridge that later collapses from Godzilla's atomic breath.
The shrine stone falls from Takeda's pocket and revives Ghidorah, who saves Yuri and Takeda from their fall before they swim ashore while the monsters continue to fight. Godzilla destroys Ghidorah, unleashing the spirits of the guardian monsters, which drag Godzilla into the sea. After entering Godzilla's body through its mouth, Tachibana fires a missile at the wound. Godzilla attempts to kill Yuri and Takeda, but Tachibana's missile explodes, causing its atomic breath to escape through the gaping wound and build pressure within its body. Tachibana escapes as Godzilla sinks and explodes after attempting to kill Tachibana with its atomic breath. Japan rejoices at their victory, with Tachibana saluting his colleagues and the guardian monsters. On the ocean floor, Godzilla's disembodied heart continues to beat.

## Cast

* Chiharu Niiyama as Yuri Tachibana
* Ryūdō Uzaki as Admiral Taizo Tachibana
* Masahiro Kobayashi as Teruaki Takeda
* Shirō Sano as Haruki Kadokura
* Hideyo Amamoto as Professor Hirotoshi Isayama
* Kaho Minami as Intelligence Captain Kumi Emori
* Shinya Owada as Lt. General Mikumo
* Kunio Murai as HQ Secretary Masato Hinogaki
* Hiroyuki Watanabe as Commander Yutaka Hirose
* Shingo Katsurayama as SDF Intelligence Major Tokihiko Kobayakawa
* Mizuho Yoshida as Godzilla and an onlooker in Kagoshima
* Akira Ohashi as King Ghidorah and a Yaizu Fishery Cooperative clerk
* Rie Ōta [ja] as Baragon and a Yaizu Fishery Cooperative clerk
** Toshinori Sasaki [ja] as Baragon (stunts)
Other cast members include Yukijirō Hotaru as the suicidal man who accidentally discovers King Ghidorah; Toshikazu Fukawa [ja] as Adjutant Miyashita; Moro Morooka [ja] as the director of BS Digital Q; Takashi Nishina [ja] as Jun Maruo, an assistant director at BS Digital Q; Masahiko Tsugawa as the Chief Cabinet Secretary; Katsuo Nakamura and Ryo Kase as fishermen in Yaizu; Tomoe Shinohara as an inn guest; and Kōichi Yamadera as a television producer. Ai Maeda and Aki Maeda portray twin sisters watching Mothra flying over Kagoshima, paying homage to the monster's twin fairies in her eponymous 1961 film.
Cameo appearances include Godzilla 2000 (1999) star Takehiro Murata as a pilot, Kōichi Kawakita as a JASDF officer, and Masaaki Tezuka as a JSDF officer. Kawakita served as the special effects director for all of the Heisei Godzilla films after The Return of Godzilla (1984) and Tezuka had previously directed Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000); both of their cameos were uncredited.

## Production
### Development

Producer Shōgo Tomiyama had considered selecting Kaneko to direct a Godzilla film since the filmmaker first approached him with the idea during the development of Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992). Kaneko later impressed Tomiyama by making the critically-acclaimed Gamera film trilogy (1995-1999) and Pyrokinesis (2000). During the production of Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000), the producer and his superiors met with Kaneko and agreed he should conceive the next installment.
Kaneko cycled through various script ideas while attempting to devise the film. At first, he suggested having Godzilla battle Kamacuras, his son's favorite kaiju, but this was scrapped because Godzilla had fought a similar insectoid kaiju in the previous entry. His next proposal concerned Godzilla facing off against an astronaut who becomes a monster after being exposed to cosmic rays, which Toho executives strongly rejected. He then envisoned the monster fighting three divine kaiju, who he felt should be Anguirus, Varan and Baragon. They approved of this, but told him to replace Anguirus and Varan with the more popular Mothra and King Ghidorah. After silently considering the suggestion for 15 minutes in their office, Kaneko concluded that he could meet their requirements for this film despite his initial skepticism.
An announcement for the film's development was scheduled to occur on December 16, 2000—the release date of Godzilla vs. Megaguirus—but was cancelled. Kaneko told reporter Norman England on that same day, "The Toho heads have decided to commit only if the current film lives up to box-office expectations". Godzilla vs. Megaguirus became a box-office bomb (grossing ¥1.2 billion against its ¥700−800 million budget), substantially affecting the planning of Kaneko's film. Regardless, Tomiyama and executives agreed to let Kaneko continue developing the film, having gained enough faith that he would deliver a critical and commercial hit.

### Writing and themes

Kaneko co-wrote the film's screenplay with Keiichi Hasegawa and Masahiro Yokotani, which had Godzilla's role replacing that of King Ghidorah in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964). Furthermore, Godzilla's radioactive element was replaced with a mystical element, as its origins are rooted in Japan's past during World War II. While Godzilla is still a mutant dinosaur that was created by the atomic bomb, it is also described as the embodiment of those killed or left to die at the hands of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War. The extent to which his nuclear and spiritual origins balance is never specified. Kaneko, a lifelong pacifist, wanted to give the film an anti-war angle. The nuclear origin was left in because he believed audiences wanted a realistic Godzilla, but he believed it worked better with a fantasy element. The screenwriters ultimately completed the script for the film on April 20, 2001.
A reference to Godzilla (1998) featured in the film was converted and added by Kaneko in an early draft of the script as a joke due to that film's unpopularity. The inclusion of the dialogue about a similar monster attacking New York a few years before reinforces that monsters exist worldwide in the film's universe.

### Pre-production

Kaneko was expecting the appointment and had already had discussions with suit creator Fuyuki Shinada about collaborating on a Godzilla project. He soon hired many of his collaborators on his Gamera trilogy and other films he had directed.

### Filming

Principal photography began on May 11, 2001, in Studio 1 at Toho Studios. The first two scenes filmed were the encounters with the frozen Ghidorah, for which a set was created to depict the interior of a cave; Yukijirō Hotaru's scene at the location was shot on the first day, with Hideyo Amamoto's shot the following day. At the start of photography, Kaneko expressed on-set that he felt "One difference between Toho and Daiei is the quality of the sets. On Gamera, we had little money, so I had to film on location. At Toho, with over twice the budget, I can have sets built to order."
The three months of filming wrapped on August 9, 2001.

### Special effects

Special effects photography began on May 17, 2001, in Studio 9 at Toho Studios and concluded on August 24, 2001.

## Release
### Theatrical run

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack opened in Japan on December 15, 2001 on a double-bill with the anime film Hamtaro: Ham Ham Big Land Adventure. In its opening weekend, it grossed approximately $1,900,000. By the end of its box office run, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack grossed a total of approximately ¥2.7 billion ($20 million), with 2,400,000 admissions. It was one of the largest-grossing Godzilla films of the Millennium series in Japan. According to IGN, the film "rescued" the series since the two previous Millennium films were box-office bombs.

### Home media

The film was released on DVD on August 21, 2002 and on VHS that December. A re-edit of the film was broadcast on Japanese television in 2002; this version became the last effort for the film's editor Isao Tomita, who died in October of that year. It was released on DVD on January 27, 2004, and on Blu-ray, bundled with Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, on September 9, 2014.

### English version

After the film was completed, Toho had their international versions of the movie dubbed in Hong Kong. This dubbed version significantly changes the meaning of several lines throughout the film.
Sony licensed GMK and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus with the hope of giving both films a theatrical release in the United States. However, after the American release of Godzilla 2000 under-performed at the box office, plans to give any newer Godzilla films a wide release were scrapped. Instead, Sony prepared edited television versions of both films. These premiered in the United States on the Sci-Fi Channel on August 31, 2003, during the channel's Labor Day marathon. In February 2004, the uncut international versions of both films were released on DVD with the addition of the original Japanese soundtracks, a first for an American release of a Godzilla film.

## Reception

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack received mostly positive critical reviews. It was awarded the Excellence/Silver Award at the 40th Golden Gross Awards [ja]. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 65% of 17 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.80/10.
Katsuhito Itō of Hobby Japan felt the film is the best kaiju movie since the original 1954 Godzilla film. Troy Guinn of Eccentric Cinema gave the film a score of 8 out of 10, calling it "one of only three Godzilla films I would recommend to anyone besides giant monster-movie fans or sci-fi buffs, the other two being the original Gojira [sic] and Mothra vs. Godzilla." Bryan Byun of DVD Verdict gave it a positive review, calling it "one of the most exciting entries in Godzilla's long cinematic history." Stomp Tokyo gave the film a score of 3 out of 5, calling it "one of the better-looking entries in the series, albeit one of unfulfilled potential."
John Wallis of DVD Talk felt that "the story is quite weak and somber" and that "this new take on [Godzilla] doesn't really work," while Gemma Tarlach of the Milwaukee Journal said that "GMK is best when it embraces its unabashed cheesiness. But when it tries to make Statements with Meaning, whether on Japan's past aggressions or ersatz samurai ruminations on the duty of a warrior, the movie flounders like a giant lizard hogtied by power lines." The Boston Globe's Wesley Morris praised the film for meeting the expectation that it would be as ridiculous as the lengthy title suggested. He felt the final battle was its main flaw, citing how Baragon was "just a bumbling warm-up act" for Mothra who was "equality useless" when fighting Godzilla. Jamie Healy of the Radio Times rated it 3 out of 5 saying that as a result of the sheer power of Godzilla "this project comes slightly undone, as he's made into such an all-conquering badass as to be nigh-on indestructible."
A retrospective capsule review in Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide assessed that "Kaneko was brought in 'shake things up,' and he certainly succeeded with this dark, very violent epic". The critic noted how it is "considered by many fans to be the apex of the series, with terrific special effects and a consistently adult tone; worth seeing even for nondevotees [sic]." In 2021, the film was ranked at number 14 on Variety's list "All the Godzilla Movies Ranked" In 2023, Collider ranked GMK as the best film in the series, listing it higher than the 1954 film and Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995). That same year, Comic Book Resources listed it number 12 on their ranking of every film. As of 2024, it is the 18th highest-rated Godzilla film on Rotten Tomatoes.

## Legacy

The film's miniature Yokohama set was later utilised in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 1, doubling as Tokyo for a sequence in which the Bride arrives in the city. The set was provided by Shinji Higuchi, who acted as Tarantino's production coordinator in Japan.
In 2023, critically acclaimed filmmaker Takashi Yamazaki cited Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack as one of his favorite Godzilla films. He stated in a discussion with Kaneko at a screening of GMK, that the film had a major influence on his 2023 film Godzilla Minus One: "I had forgotten the contents of GMK for a while, but it seems like I self-consciously thought about it when writing the scenario for [Minus One]. Without realizing it, I was under considerable influence".