Gojira-Minira-Gabara: Oru kaijû daishingeki

Plot synopsis:
Ichiro Miki (Tomonori Yazaki) is a highly imaginative but lonely latchkey kid growing up in urban (and at that time, polluted) Kawasaki. Every day he comes home to his family's empty apartment. His only friends are a toymaker named Shinpei Inami (Eisei Amamoto) and a young girl named Sachiko (Hidemi Ito). Every day after school, Ichiro is tormented by a gang of bullies led by a child named Sanko Gabara (Junichi Ito). To escape his loneliness, Ichiro sleeps and dreams about visiting Monster Island. During his visit he witnesses Godzilla battle three Kamacuras and Ebirah, a giant sea monster. Ichiro is then chased by a rogue Kamacuras and falls into a deep cave, but luckily avoids being caught by Kamacuras. Shortly afterwards, Ichiro is rescued from the cave by Godzilla's Son, Minilla. Ichiro quickly learns that Minilla has bully problems too, as he is bullied by a monstrous ogre known as Gabara.
Ichiro is then awoken by Shinpei who informs him that his mother must work late again. Ichiro goes out to play, but is then frightened by the bullies and finds and explores an abandoned factory. After finding some souvenirs (tubes, a headset, and a wallet with someone's license), Ichiro leaves the factory after hearing some sirens close by. After Ichiro leaves, two bank robbers (played by Sachio Sakai and Kazuo Suzuki) who were hiding out in the factory learn that Ichiro has found one of their drivers licenses and follow him in order to kidnap him.
Later, after his sukiyaki dinner with Shinpei, Ichiro dreams again and reunites with Minilla. Together they both watch as Godzilla fights Ebirah, Kumonga, and some invading jets. Then in the middle of Godzilla's fights, Gabara appears and Minilla is forced to battle it, and after a short and one-sided battle Minilla runs away in fear. Godzilla returns to train Minilla how to fight and use its own atomic ray. However, Ichiro is woken up this time by the bank robbers and is taken hostage as a means of protection from the authorities.
Out of fear and being watched by the thieves, Ichiro calls for Minilla's help and falls asleep again where he witnesses Minilla being beaten up by Gabara again. Finally, Ichiro helps Minilla fight back at Gabara and eventually Minilla wins, catapulting the bully through the air by a seesaw-like log. Godzilla, who was in the area watching comes to congratulate Minilla for its victory, but is ambushed by a vengeful Gabara. Godzilla easily beats down Gabara and sends the bully into retreat, never to bother Minilla again. Now from his experiences in his dreams, Ichiro learns how to face his fears and fight back, gaining the courage to outwit the thieves just in time for the police, called by Shinpei, to arrive and arrest them. The next day, Ichiro stands up to Sanko and his gang and wins, regaining his pride and confidence in the process. He also gains their friendship when he plays a prank on a billboard painter.

Tags: comedy, prank

Review:
Godzilla's Revenge is often regarded as one of the worst Godzilla films,and it's reputation was not helped by coming after the terrifically entertaining Destroy All Monsters.
However,look closer and the film is actually quite interesting,especially if you remember it was aimed at very young children.Having all of the monster footage exist in the mind of a small boy almost justifies the stock footage in a way,as if he was remembering previous stuff he'd seen.
The 'real'footage takes place in a much more realistic environment than usual,and addresses concerns that might mean a lot to young children-parents spending not enough time with them,loneliness,bullying,etc.
Of course things like the son of Godzilla shrinking down to human size and talking irritate some older Godzilla fans,and none of the 'new'monster footage is particularly good,but some films one just has to judge by thinking of the target audience,and as a kid's film it's really quite good,perhaps a perfect film for parents to introduce Godzilla to their children!People who claim Godzilla movies are all the same should see this and maybe the surreal Godzilla Vs Hedorah,both are very unusual and original variations on the kaiju formula..
Films like Bionicles or HotWheels are better than a sedative, but this one isn't quite so bad thanks to the Godzilla footage and little side-stories the kids will ignore, but the adults will enjoy (admittedly not many of these, but at least they tried).the most interesting of these side stories involves the boy's friend and neighbour, the typical mussy-haired scientist-tinkerer we find in most Godzilla films.
Given that, it all makes perfect sense, the plot, the dialog, the flashbacks and everything, and if you happen to actually BE a very young person, then it not only makes sense, but it enters your own life.We were setting place-mats and pillows for Minya for months after they first watched this movie.Minya fans will also be happy to know that the diminutive atomic monster returns as a principle character in the 2004 Final Wars, albeit with a non-speaking part :).
Since the idea of going postal hadn't been invented yet, Ichiro spends his afterschool hours dreaming of Monster Island and Godzilla's son Minya.
He learns some valuable life lessons from Godzilla's son on Monster Island every time he sleeps.
The film goes on and it's kind of fun in a way, but in the end, after the boy has learned a valuable lesson, the final scene has him doing what the bullies dared him to do in the beginning.
Kids often imagine themselves in movies essentially as they happened, so the introduction of a new monster is something unusual in that regard.Child actor Tomonori Yazaki is wonderful as Ichiro (whose name simply means "first male child"), and his parents are simply stuck in their situation.
Even if they don't belive something is real, they like to pretend it is, anyway.When Ishiro Honda cut this film for festival exhibition, he deleted the comic ending which is really inappropriate and suggests that the lessons Ichiro learned from Gojira are okay.
This plays against the final scene with the mother, who promises Ichiro she will never work at night again, while her non-verbals convey that she cannot hold to this promise, in effect fulfilling one responsibility mandates coming up short on another of equal importance.It might perhaps be better if the film were regarded as an experimental drama, one the parents should watch with children and discuss.
This is really two films.One film is a kid's visit to Monster Island, where he witnesses a compilation of fight scenes from "Son of Godzilla" and "G.
Some of this footage looks like out-take or alternate take material; the whole Gabara episode may well have been intended for "Son of" and excised, in the way that "Frankenstein Conquers the World" was to include a fight with a giant squid, some footage of which finding its way into "King Kong Vs. Godzilla".The second film is a story of a young boy of the working class in an overly-industrialized modern Japan, neglected by his parents, bullied in school, who finds himself kidnapped by a gang of bank robbers and has to learn courage and wit in order to deal with his situation.The first film is notorious as a "stock-footage" fiasco with a talking monster.
Hard to identify with, and easy to wish away, I feel no sympathy with him at all as an individual, only as representative of the thousands of neglected children like him.It should be noted that the stock-footage here was filmed by the 'other Godzilla director', Jun Fukuda - so why does Ishiro Honda use it, why not use his own Godzilla material?
Mostly, I think the Godzilla fans who hate this film so vehemently are jealous Ichiro gets to hang out on Monster Island!
In this Godzilla movie, the series takes the path of the early Gamera movies, in that a kid is the main character, and that the monsters seem to react to him.
In that it tries to mimic the life of a Japanese boy, who looks up to Godzilla, as a hero.This movie, could have been a lot better, if it was not for the fact that the special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya died while the movie was in production, the budget was then cut, and instead of just canning the movie, stock footage was added to complete it.
Minya talks,Godzilla does'nt.Gabra looks ludicrous.The little kid is goofy.This is NOT for Godzilla fans.However,little children should enjoy this story.From a kid's point of veiw this is good entertainment.I think it's good for kids.It's name should be more kid-inviting though..
I believe this movie only had so much stock footage because Toho was running out of money and this kid, Ichiro, has these battles memorized.
Alone most of the time, the way he finds peace away from the bullies and loneliness is dreaming about his favorite monsters, and for himself to go to Monster Island to hang out with Godzilla's son, Minya.
Tenth Godzilla film is also the worst, an incredibly weak, pointless affair about a bullied Japanese boy who daydreams about hanging out on Monster Island with the son of Godzilla, where they try to help each other overcome their respective bullies...Godzilla does what he can to help.
Ichiro often day dreams to escape to Monster Island where he plays with Minya (Godzilla's son).
Ichiro soon learns many life lessons by learning from both Minya and Godzilla during their experiences on Monster Island.For young kids this film is great.
The added annoyance of Gabara's roar not to mention Minya sounding like Barney the Dinosaur are other deterants for this film.The Japanese Version is a little different though.
The word "Damn" is used a lot in the Japanese Version, maybe the most times I can remember in a Godzilla film.
Gabara is a monster who, for lack of a better word would probably do better in an episode of Ultraman than in a Godzilla film, but I really don't think it's a bad film.
Even if you watched all other Godzilla movies - be sure to miss this one!As long-time fans of the Big One we all are quite used to silly plotwork, but this one sure beats all competition.
While one has to respect director Ishiro Honda for not simply repeating Destroy All Monsters, the return to the kiddie approach of Son of Godzilla was ill advised when that film had been the biggest flop in the series.
When he has time to relax, he dreams about being on Monster Island and befriending Minya - Godzilla's son.
Taken as a Godzilla movie, "Godzilla's Revenge"* is a god-awful collection of clips from earlier films bound together by a tedious story of bullied kid Ichirô (Tomonori Yazaki) being mysteriously transported to Monster Island to hang out with Godzilla's chubby son Minilla.
An alternative interpretation is that the tormented child is dreaming about being on the lush Island to escape from his dreary industrial environment, that Minilla is the friend and confidante that he needs to help deal with his tormentors, and that gruff, aloof Godzilla represents absent parents as Ichirô and Minilla learn to deal with the bullying monster Gabara (who is incarnate in both worlds as a mean kid or as a mean monster (the latter with orange hair that brings to mind a certain current world leader)).
In the latter interpretation, most of the technical problems (e.g. the changing Godzilla suit) that makes the monster scenes so ridiculous can be explained away (i.e. all of the monster scenes are simply imagined by a young fan who is recreating in his mind what he saw in the films), the tedious side-plot about bullies and bank robbers is the actual plot of the film and thus warrants inclusion, and the goofy saurian father-son bonding over radioactive fire is simply the human child's wishful thinking.
As a monster/horror/sci-fi/camp movie, "Godzilla's Revenge" is watchable only by hard-core fans (who will likely despise it) but as a fable about growing up in which the iconic kaiju characters are stand-ins for childhood fears and hopes, the film rates much higher (albeit from a different audience).
The worst part about it is probably how it just reuses stock footage from other Godzilla movies.
It's there that Ichiro meets Minara, Godzilla's son who speaks dubbed English.It's seeing how Godzilla handles a family bullying crisis with another monster called Gabara where little Ichiro learns some life lessons.These films are carrtoonish and childish, but this one is the first I've found marketed for kids.
The main story isn't even about Godzilla, it's about a kid who gets bullied and whose parents are always off working.
Just watch the Godzilla's revenge Monster Madness to see what I'm talking about.The final thing to explain is the other subplot.
So this kid daydreams a lot about Godzilla, adopting the big monster as a sort of replacement father, I suppose.It's a pretty interesting setup, but unfortunately, I think the film is ultimately too inept and annoying to really work.
Plus the film has other obvious defects, including one of the most annoying music scores imaginable.Other commentators have defended this movie on the grounds that it's more thoughtful than other Godzilla fare, and I respect that point of view.
what can be said that has already been said.it's mainly stock footage from other films,bad dubbing and bad plot only godzilla in it is the only reason to watch it but be warned it is bad.
the Sea Monster than he does in Son of Godzilla, and since footage is used from both of these films, some scenes look really weird next to each other.
Jeez, even Ed Wood is infinitely preferable to this retarded piece of junk...The plot line would put even an infant to sleep with its jaw-dropping nonsense about a bullied and lonely boy dreaming himself on Monster Island and befriending Godzilla's diminutive, dopey-looking and cowardly son (but which is somehow capable of speech)!!
The numerous monsters one-on-one, with their pathetic rubber costumes and equally wretched effects, are a riot - but these are offset by the utter tedium of the 'real' narrative (particularly the subplot involving a couple of inept robbers).GODZILLA'S REVENGE is the third film I've watched from the never-ending series - following KING KONG VS.
Gabara was an annoying monster that didn't do much accept fight Godzilla's son like a bully.
The film's story is incredibly stupid and rarely makes too much sense as we follow this young kid from his normal life to his imaginary life on Monster Island.
The film contains battle scenes from other movies in the series and while you can make a great case that this here is just cheap, you can also make the case that it's fun to see all the monster fights.
GODZILLA'S REVENGE is a silly little movie that runs a very quick 70-minutes and fans of monster movies should enjoy it..
I began to have a bizarre dream that was extremely hallucinatory.I dreamt that I saw a little kid in microscopic shorts talking to a monster that looks like the Pillsbury Doughboy and that sounds like Barney Rubble.I dreamt that I was watching a Godzilla movie full of stock footage from earlier films so that Godzilla's appearance changed from scene to scene.I dreamt that I saw a ridiculous looking bright green monster named Gabara who's roar sounded like a rooster gargling mouthwash.I dreamt that I saw 2 idiot gangsters who couldn't even catch that little boy in the microscopic shorts.I dreamt that the little boy took a PanAmerican flight to Monster Island.I dreamt that Godzilla battled a giant bird, spider, preying mantises and a giant shrimp!I dreamt......Oh wait.
The story is actually pretty cute, involving a boy with a vivid imagination who wishes himself to Monster Island so he can hang out with his sorta-imaginary-friends, Godzilla & Co.
(Although one wonders, when the kid is running for his life from some of the less-friendly monsters, just what the heck he was thinking when he wished himself there!) My kid brother and I thought the baby-Godzilla-thing was a riot, blowing his smoke rings.I tried to find this movie again as an adult but had some trouble because the Godzilla films keep changing titles.
My rating for Godzilla's Revenge (and don't hate me please) well I'm gonna give it a 6.0/10 because if you watch this movie has a kid you will like it this movie was actually made for kids i know some fans hate this movie because they want Godzilla movies to be serious not for kids but anyways i watch this movie has an open minded person and i enjoyed it i think it was very fun to watch to bad there is no Portuguese dub or i would let my little sister when she gets 5 years old watch this movie.i love anything that has to do with Godzilla no matter how terrible it is some people use to say to me damn you're a real fan.
This was the begging of Godzilla films being for children, and Godzilla being just a regular hero instead of an anti-hero which defeats the purpose of why Godzilla fans watch Godzilla movies.In the movie we see a boy who is a Godzilla fan, he gets picked on by a group of kid's and dreams he's on Monster Island with Godzilla and his son.
The boy then finds the son of Godzilla and he quotes "Godzilla say's I should to fight my own battles." There is a new monster in this film who they call Gabera which looks pretty stupid.
The two bank robbers kidnap the boy and try to use him as a means of escape (even though they could off just as easily kidnap, the boy take the driver's license and left him in the warehouse.) The dream he has with the son of Godzilla fighting Gabera in turn helps him to fight back.You shouldn't naturally care what's going on half the time because, a movie needs characters with conflict and emotional depth.
If they could have shown us that and maybe cops trying to find the boy while Godzilla's fighting Gabera with his son in the city that could have at least been fun.With this Godzilla film Ishiro Honda wanted to make a film for children, but there was no way he could have succeeded with that idea because Godzilla as presented in a few movies is a force of nature or an anti-hero.
Useless pratfalls and an excess of camp hampers the presentation overall.This film has some fine and dandy photography and editing, although some of it is pieced together from stock footage and scenes from previous Godzilla movies.
Fun As Long As You Turn Your Brain Off. A bullied schoolboy (Tomonori Yazaki) dreams of traveling to Monster Island, where he befriends Godzilla's son Minya, who is also having bully troubles.This film was specifically geared towards children, and that might explain its silliness.
There is no message here about nuclear weapons (or anything else besides maybe the plight of the latchkey kids), there is simply a boy with a healthy imagination who comes across numerous cheesy monsters.I have no idea who dubbed Godzilla's son, but the voice makes the movie even sillier than it already is.
I thought it was fun and a joy to watch, but only because I made every effort not to think about it.Whether for children or not, the film deserves to be considered among the lowest Godzilla films simply for its use of stock footage.
It was mostly made up of stock footage taken from various other Godzilla films like 1966's Godzilla vs.
Ichiro befriend's Godzilla's nice, yet timid son Minilla, who's having problems with big bully monster Gabara.
Another good Godzilla film for kids.
This was my favorite film as a kid-what child wouldn't want to hang out with Minya and Godzilla?
This was the first Godzilla film I remember seeing on a program every Saturday called "Monster Movies".
Looking at it now you will notice the film is pretty much stock footage from earlier Godzilla films added to a simple story line(remember, this was for kids).
Therefore, he takes a little "vacation" to Monster Island where we see Godzilla, Minya and a few of the monsters from the previous film, "Destroy all Monsters." *spoiler ahead* The kid's little vacation is actually a dream and most of the monster scenes are stock footage from previous films.
I think that GODZILLA'S REVENGE must be watched in the right frame of mind in order to enjoy it properly, i.e. you must imagine yourself as an imaginative child to get something out of this film.
As for the stock footage I haven't seen many previous godzilla movies to this point and with respect to story it really doesn't matter.
I also believe that this kid is nothing more than a Godzilla fan and that he's simply visioning all of these things inside his head and somehow, Minya teaches this boy how to stick up for himself by fighting his bullies and...It's just a bad movie.