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In 1995
Toho Studio released Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
Bringing the failing Heisei series to an end
Godzilla dies
Junior takes over
It was a satisfying conclusion
But the kaiju genre would continue
The American Godzilla film was in development
And rival company Daiei
Would release a Gamera remake that same year
Toho, of course, did not stand idly by
With Godzilla vs. Mothra
Being the most successful entry of the Heisei series
Mothra would break free
And star in her own series of remakes
Rebirth of Mothra is a series aimed squarely at kids
And if you are a kaiju fan
You know exactly what "aimed at kids" means...
(Two overly enthusiastic kids greets Gamera)
(A child is happy to see an anthropomorphic turd)
Yeah, the track record is not great
Indeed, the critical reception of the series is mixed at best
It seems like filmmakers at Toho really struggle with children's film
And I think they realized that, too
Because with each successive entry
The series gets better and better at talking to kids
The team was learning from failure
This would make an excellent opportunity for us to learn, as well
So, let's take a look at the Mothra trilogy
And follow the path of the filmmakers
See what they learn about making children's film
And see what we can learn from them
[Mothra Trilogy]
[Chapter One]
Rebirth of Mothra was released in 1996
And the plot is as simple as it gets
A logging company inadvertently released Desghidorah
An ancient kaiju hellbent on sucking the life out of nature itself
And it's up to Mothra and her new born son to protect Earth
That's the plot
There are also side characters who got wrapped up in this conflict
But none of their actions contribute to the larger picture
The fairy twins and their evil sister, for example
Are supposed to be on the opposite side of this conflict
Supporting Mothra and Desghidorah respectively
But their contribution is mostly expositional
"This tree..."
"It must be ten thousand..."
"No, even older than that"
Another plotline revolves around two siblings who don't get along
"Give it back, Wakaba!"
That's their only defining quality, by the way
"I really hate you!"
"Well, I hate you, too!"
The kids have to abandon their differences
And learn to survive together
So, they are given a medallion
An artifact that can seal the kaiju away
Oh, so they are going to help from the sideline
Kinda like the Gamera movies, right?
But nope, they immediately lose it
The kids really contribute nothing to the story
One reason why the plot is so barebone
Is because of the film's intense focus on action
The second act battle lasts whopping 20 minutes
That's one-fifth of the movie dedicated to a single fight
The two other fights are also pretty long
It's a very "loud" movie
And I think I know why
You know those awful animated movies?
The ones that dazzle your toddlers with a lot of movements?
Rebirth of Mothra was likely made with the same mindset
From its constant pyrotechnics
To the overly animated acting
To its shallow characters
Everything is made to be easily digestible
With minimal subtlety
Even the musical score punches you right in the face
Often, such creative decisions are made
Because the filmmakers believe their young audience
Have little to no attention span
That they are incapable of being entertained
By quiet and thoughtful moments
And if you've seen any Ghibli or Pixar movies as a child
You know that is not true
It feels condesending
As if the filmmakers believe what adults love is too complicated
And children can only like the water-downed versions of everything
This results in a film with superficial appeal
Like a piece of candy wrapped in colorful packaging
Devoid of nutrients
Offering nothing but unflavored sugar
Yet the team behind the film is clearly talented
There are some genuinely classy compositions
As well as emotional moments
Even if the delivery is too shallow
The series gets off to a bad start
But it didn't take long for the filmmakers to get their footing
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[Chapter Two]
Rebirth of Mothra II, released one year later
Is a slight improvement
In the film, an ancient monster emerges due to pollution in the sea
And is too strong for Mothra
To support Mothra
The fairy twins and three children journey to a lost temple
To retrieve a wish-granting stone
What follows is an adventure film
With the cheesy charm of The Mummy movies
Interspersed with a good amount of kaiju action
Of course, this movie came out before The Mummy
This time, the children's story is weaved into the main plot
They have a definite goal: to retrieve the stone
They are given clear obstacles:
Greedy adults who want the stone for themselves
They are given agency
And their action impacts the narrative
But most importantly, the children are actual characters
Before the journey begins
The film spends some time on the children's daily lives
You see the boys playing pranks
Geting themselves into trouble
But they also have their own talents
Being sons of fishermen
They know how to set up boating equipment on their own
A skill that would come into play later in the film
It shows that the boys are being raised by parents
Who need them to help with work
Which explains why they don't seem to care about school
The film exhibits a level of respect towards children
Not found in the previous film
Rather than seeing children's flawed behavior
As inherent to being a child
Mothra II understands that children's actions, good or bad
Are shaped by their upbringing
Just like any other human beings
There are other improvements as well
The acting in the film is a lot less animated
Allowing dramatic moments to have some gravitas
"Humans are destroying Earth"
"They refuse to learn from their mistakes"
"Such an ignorant species"
But the film is not completely devoid of humor
Although the comedy is hit or miss
It's pretty standard 90s Japanese humor, though
Like the first film
Mothra II also introduces a fuzzy creature to appeal to kids
Although this time, the creature is actually plot relevant
Well, as relevant as the simplistic plot allows
And ultimately, that's the film's biggest flaw
With better characters and tighter stories
It offers a slightly more sophisticated experience for children
But the film nevertheless follows an old plot formula
Found all the way back in the Showa era
By 1997, this sort of plot is very simplistic and tiring
Which resulted in the film's mixed review
[Chapter Three]
And so, Rebirth of Mothra III was released in 1998
This time, a space monster arrives on Earth
It's King Ghidora
And it's here to kidnap all children and take over the world
What a creep
Mothra tries to fight
But King Ghidora wipes the floor
Seeing no other options
Mothra has to travel back in time to erase Ghidora from history
To ensure Mothra's success
All three fairy sisters must imbue Mothra with their powers
And the responsibility of gathering all three sisters
Falls onto the shoulder of a kind-hearted teenager
A teenager who stopped going to school after being bullied
It's a convoluted story about how gentle people
Need to stand up for themselves
For the first time in the trilogy
There is a complex moral being taught
One of the biggest improvements this time around
Is the way the film tells its story
Rather than constantly being loud
Mothra III pulls you in with mysteries and intrigues
For example, in the opening scene
The evil fairy warns the Mothra twins about the impending doom
It is moody and cinematic
Big improvement over this
While the subject matter is still fairytale stuff
The film treats it with reverence
It draws children's attention inward
Rather than projecting outward to entertain
Another example is how the film teases its antagonist
Here is how the second film shows its monster
Yeah, he just kinda appears, right?
And not even 2 minutes later
The Kaiju is already doing battle
By the way, I think this is the only time
A building manages to win a kaiju fight
In Mothra III, however
We first see Ghidora's destruction
Before we even see the kaiju itself
That's pretty scary for a children's movie
A minute later, we see this giant shadow enveloping the city
Implying the scale
It puts your imagination to work
It wasn't until a solid 5 minutes later
King Ghidora is shown in full
Along with the destruction he causes
It has proper build-up and pay off
There's a sense of confidence in this film
It no longer looks down upon its young audience
As little humans with no attention span
It doesn't just entertain children with audio-visual stimuli
It piques your curiosity
And brings you on an emotional journey
For this reason, I think this is the best Mothra film in the trilogy
So I won't spoil the rest of the movie for you
If you want to watch this movie
I suggest watching this one first to avoid burnout
It's not a classic by any mean
But it's a solid and entertaining entry on its own
With moments of emotional maturity
It took three movies
But finally, the filmmakers made a good children's film
[Conclusion]
So, what did we learn?
I think the biggest lesson for me is the realization that
The most fundamental difference between a good kid's movie
And a bad one
Is the level of respect shown towards children
Loud and obnoxious movies are made
With the belief that children are dumb and spoiled
And need constant stimulations
It's the reason why we hate this kind of movies
We feel talked down to
But, let's just say that children are indeed too young
To understand mature topics
Like loss and grief
Death and remembrance
Or the horrors of war
So what?
They will learn, eventually
And one day, they will look back and understand
That's why some films are classics
A crap movie will be outgrown by its audience quickly
But a classic film will be revisited time and time again
Each time, with a new lesson to be found