Godzilla (Godzilla Minus One)
| Godzilla | |
|---|---|
 Irradiated form  Pre-irradiated form | |
| First appearance | Godzilla Minus One (2023) |
| Based on | |
| Adapted by | Takashi Yamazaki |
| Designed by | Takashi Yamazaki Kosuke Taguchi |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | MinusGoji[1] |
| Species | Mutated dinosaur |
| Home | Odo Island |
| Status | Alive, regenerating[a] |
| Height | Pre-irradiated: 15 m[a] Irradiated: 50.1 m[2] |
Godzilla (ゴジラ, Gojira) is a kaiju that serves as the antagonist of the 2023 film Godzilla Minus One. Based on Toho's character of the same name, it was designed by Takashi Yamazaki and Kosuke Taguchi. It is a huge, dinosaur-like creature who was mutated by the 1946 nuclear testings of Operation Crossroads, causing it to enact terrible vengeance by unleashing havoc upon post-war Japan in 1947; the advent of Godzilla brings Japan to "below zero" following the aftermath of World War II.
Overview
[edit]Design
[edit]The pre-irradiated form was designed to resemble a theropod dinosaur like the Tyrannosaurus rex but with additional similarities to Roland Emmerich’s Godzilla and the Godzillasaurus from the Heisei era. This form had a hunched posture, a bipedal stance; digitigrade feet; a head that is larger relative to his body than his irradiated form; and a tyrannosaurid snout.
The irradiated form was designed with many different features, the head was designed to resemble the Heisei Godzilla,[3] with a curved snout and feline-like appearance. The eyes were vibrant-yellow in color showing pupils and retains a row of body plates along the top of its head. The legs were drawn from the inspiration from the design of Godzilla in Singular Point, the arms were small in size, relative to the feet and having the hands possess eagle-like talons.
"We wanted to make Godzilla very, very cool for this film. The head is on the smaller side, the legs are very thick. When the feet are stomping on the ground, you can almost see the toes being raised, like a wild animal’s. And we wanted impact for the audience, so there’s an intense level of getting up close, personal and detailed, that you can’t really do with a man in a suit."
"In terms of polygon counts, we’re talking millions that went into creating Godzilla this time. In terms of the skin texture, there was a dinosaur origin, but when it’s wounded, a regeneration happens and there’s a different texture, like you would see on any wound. We wanted a mix, brought in new layers that would make the look very unique."
"We wanted to go back to the original reason for Godzilla’s existence. The creature is a metaphor for nuclear weapons, so we mimicked the way a weapon would work inside of his body. Each element would come together and create an implosion, and that’s when the blue rays would come out."
Yamazaki noted that cats might have been an unintentional influence on Godzilla's depiction in the film, explaining, "Right before we went into production, [my wife and I] actually got a couple of cats. And I love my cats so much, so perhaps there was a subconscious tendency for me to sign off on [visual effects] shots that looked like them or just looked more cat-like."[5]
Roar
[edit]In Godzilla Minus One, Minus One reuses the Godzilla roars from the 1954 film, but the filmmakers edited the roar by amplifying it, and editing it with a reverberative quality. They did this by playing the roar outside of the Zozo Marine Stadium and recorded.[6] His pre-irradiated form also uses the same roar, with it was edited with some additional snarls and screeches mixed into the audio by the filmmakers.
Appearances
[edit]Films
[edit]- Godzilla Minus One (2023)
Books
[edit]Games
[edit]- Godzilla Battle Line (2021; mod to the game in 2023) - on Android, iOS, and PC
- Fleet of Blue Flames (2017; mod to the game 2023) - on Android, iOS, and PC[7]
Public displays
[edit]On July 14, 2023, Prior to the premiering of the film, a statue of Minus One was installed at the Toho Cinemas in Hibiya.[8]
In June 2024, a 2.45-metre (245-centimetre; 96-inch; 2,450-millimetre) tall monument of Godzilla Minus One's head and neck was built at Hisaya-Odori Park in central Nagoya, Chūbu to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Godzilla franchise.[9]
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b As depicted in Godzilla Minus One (2023)
References
[edit]- ^ Hathaway, Benjamin (2024-09-01). "4 Best (And 4 Worst) Godzilla Movie Designs". MovieWeb. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ "『ゴジラ-1.0』はゴジラの身長50.1m→監督が語る「意味深な端数」の理由にネット爆笑". マグミクス (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ Dockery, Daniel (2023-11-16). "Godzilla reigns eternal thanks to years of tiny design changes". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ Northrup, Ryan (2024-02-20). ""We Wanted To Make Godzilla Very, Very Cool": Godzilla Minus One's Creature Design Explained In Detail". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ McGovern, Joe (2024-02-22). "'Godzilla Minus One' Director Says His Pets Inspired the Big Monster: 'I Love My Cats So Much'". TheWrap. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
- ^ "『ゴジラ-1.0』監督×音響がDolby Cinemaの魅力を語る 鳴き声は"聴く"ではなく"浴びる"". Real Sound｜リアルサウンド 映画部 (in Japanese). 2023-11-01. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ "ゴジラ対蒼焔の艦隊 特設ページ｜蒼焔の艦隊". 蒼焔の艦隊 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ "[閒聊] 悲報！ 新哥吉拉也搭上"肥腿"熱潮了？ - PTT Hito". PTT 熱門文章 Hito (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2024-10-19.
- ^ "Godzilla, Nagoya Tower to celebrate joint 70th Anniversary". The Star. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
