Just like other blockbusters such as Marry Poppins, King Kong, Alien, The Thing, and
ET, Godzilla movies have also employed the use of animatronics.
The older ëGodzillaí movies mostly used fully built
animatronics and bodysuits.
On the other hand, modern ones have made a shift towards using CGI as
well.
Letís look into the various ëGodzillaí animatronics that have been made throughout
history.
Please deposit five coins...
Godzilla Origins
By now, EVERYONE has probably heard of the name ëGodzillaí, not only fans of Horror.
The image of that large mutant lizard tearing apart the city
and wreaking havoc is in the minds of many.
This fictional monster first appeared on screen in the 1954
Japanese film ëGodzillaí (or ëGojiraí).
The movie was regarded as one of the great cinematic achievements,
considering its visual effects and production value.
Since then, ëGodzillaí has become one of Japanís biggest cultural exports and has
morphed into a worldwide Pop Culture Icon! ëGodzillaí isnít
just a monster tearing down the city.
Itís also a symbol of various themes such as Nuclear Holocaust,
Natural Disasters and even Post-World War 2 paranoia.
Howís that for heavy subject matter?
Needless to say, itís a big deal and that is why it has found its way
in many many places.
Television, comic books, video games, music, and last but not least; MOVIES!
Yes, Godzilla is everywhere!
Dubbed the ìThe King of Monstersî, It has been the feature of numerous Japanese and
American movies, and has been scaring viewers for decades!
Bringing to life this large destructive monster is not
an easy task at all.
In fact, itís nothing short of an art form.
It doesnít take much time for Godzilla to tear
apart Skyscrapers but it does take a lot of time for Godzilla to be made.
Bringing this large creature to life for the movies has involved many groups
including computer animators, VFX artists, and designers,
to name a few.
A huge investment of time and money!
Toho, the Japanese film company, has been at
the forefront of producing Godzilla suits and animatronics.
CYBOT GODZILLA 1984
The first Animatronic on the list is called ëCYBOT GODZILLAí.
It was featured in 1984ís ëThe Return of Godzillaí.
This movie served as both a sequel and a reboot to 1954ís original ëGodzillaí film.
Naturally, the animatronic was made to integrate the
original look as well; four toed, prominent fangs and ears,
large fins, and a longer tail.
The primary purpose of the animatronic was for close-up shots of the huge
mutant lizard in the film, especially its head.
It was one of Tohoís first attempts to make a Godzilla
animatronic.
This ëGodzillaí was made to have an even greater height so that it wouldnít be drowned
out by the contemporary Tokyo skyline.
Cybot Godzilla garnered a lot of publicity, even before the filmís release.
This was according to the plan of the filmís production team.
They took inspiration from the publicity gained by the huge King Kong
model made for the 1976 film; ëKing Kongí.
Constructing such models does add to the filmís brand value!
The end result?
The animatronic was MASSIVE; a whopping 16 feet tall and weighing 1.2 tonnes!
Producing it cost a massive $475,000.
In fact, the film was one of the most expensive movies made in
Japan at the time!
The Cybotís movement system was quite sophisticated and complex.
It incorporated a hydraulically-powered mechanical endoskeleton,
which in turn was covered by urethane skin.
This ëskiní contained 3000 computer operated
parts which enabled it to make movements such as moving its
lips and arms, and tilting its head.
Moreover, the suit had a peculiar construction for its jaws.
Unlike previous suits, whose lower jaws consisted
of wire-operated flaps, this suit had jaws which were hinged
just like those of an actual animal.
They slid back when opened.
Howís that for realism!
Coming back to the present, the animatronic is still under the possession of the Toho
Group, probably lying in one of their warehouses.
It has been used for display in numerous film festivals and events, and
has been maintained by Toho accordingly.
The Cybot was refurbished and used in particular for publicity
events surrounding Godzillaís 40 th anniversary in 1994.
It was also prominently on public display in
Okinawa in 1985.
Furthermore, it was used as a publicity item during the marketing of 1994ís ëGodzilla
vs SpaceGodzillaí.
And not to forget the Cybotís appearance during the release of 1995ís Godzilla vs
Destoroyah, at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo.
The towering monster figure on display leaving many
AMAZED and many SHOCKED.
Godzilla 1998
The next animatronic on the list is the one used in the 1998 American remake of ëGodzillaí.
This is by far one of the most controversial Godzilla movies
ever made.
It wasnít that simple to bring Godzilla to America
though, as it was the first Zilla to be produced completely by a Hollywood studio.
Hollywood execs did have to seek permission from the Toho Group
to make an American version of this Japanese tale.
Toho was very strict on how they wanted ëGodzillaí
to look; going as far to producing a 4 page memo on the
exact physical requirements of the fire-breathing monster.
It all did work out in the end and the plans for the film were very ambitious.
Unfortunately, the film wasnít received that well by critics for
its writing and acting, and turned to be somewhat of a Box Office
failure.
HOWEVER, its use of animatronics was deemed revolutionary.
It really was the game changer for special effects in Hollywood.
The production and design team did not only resort to computer generated imagery for the
visuals.
It also used a 6 th scale animatronic model of
Godzillaís upper body and also a 24 th -scale Godzilla suit.
They were designed by Patrick Tatopaulos.
Veteran Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr was also involved in the
design.
However, it is Patrick who is the man behind Godzillaís somewhat new and refined
look (as compared to older versions).
He was instructed by director, Roland Emmerich, to make the
monster agile and quick.
Following this logic, Patrick thought the older Godzilla designs made it look
bulkier and hence slower.
So his focus was on creating a more streamlined Godzilla design who could
move more swiftly.
He wanted to give Godzilla a new look but at the same time retain the spirit of the
original one.
A tricky balance to achieve indeed!
It all started with a piece of pen and paper, moving on to a smaller model which was finally
used to make a bigger model.
The final result was a remote controlled animatronic that was a whopping 36 feet
tall and weighed more than 14 thousand pounds!
No wonder Godzilla cause so much mayhem on the
streets of Manhattan!
The animatronic was integrated with a hydraulically driven skeleton to enable its bodily and facial
movements.
This skeleton was in turn operated by remote controls, which in turn were programmed by
a computer.
All in all, it took over a year to bring this gigantic monster to life.
A very impressive feat both in filmmaking and animatronics indeed.
Needless to say a lot of thought went into making this animatronic as impressive as possible.
Each important body part was modelled after something.
Its basic body structure was modelled after a
dragon.
Its arms and hands were human like.
Its face was designed like that of a crocodile, and its legs
like an ostrich.
There were a fair amount of close up shots in the film so emphasis was made on making
it look as real as possible.
In the end, the filmmakers did prefer to use more CGI over practical effects.
As a result, out of the 185 shots featuring Godzilla in the film, 2 dozen
on them featured the animatronic.
Shin Godzilla 2016
Moving on, the ëGodzillaí franchise has gone through numerous remakes.
One of the most prominent recent ones is 2016ís ëShin Godzillaí from
Japan.
The 31 st Godzilla movie made!
Howís that for quantity?
The Godzilla in this movie was a creation of Nuclear Waste Dumping as opposed to the
other incarnations which were a product of Nuclear
Testing.
The words Shin means ëIncarnation of Godí.
That should give an indication of the grand nature
of this particular Godzilla.
As this film was made relatively recently, there was a lot of pressure on the production
team to make ëGodzillaí look as real as possible, and
make use of modern technology to aid that.
Director Shinji Higuchi stated that he wanted to provide the ìmost
terrifying Godzilla that Japanís cutting-edge special-effects
movie-making can muster.î The production team, led by Hideaki Anno, used a variety
of techniques to bring this vision to life.
These included digital effects, puppets, and last but not least; ANIMATRONICS.
The film received mostly positive reviews for both its storyline and its visuals.
So a win-win indeed!
An upper body animatronic was developed but eventually went on to be unused in the actual
filming.
The directors of the film and Toho scrapped the idea of using an animatronic and instead
resorted to CGI, for better visual results.
This was in contrast to other blockbusters such as ëJurassic Parkí and ëIron
Maní who used a hybrid approach integrating both props and CGI.
According to VFX supervisor, Atsuki Sato, fully resorting to digital effects allowed
for quicker edits and all in all, higher production value.
Film Director Hideaki Anno also felt that only
sticking to the animatronic would allow for less agile
movements, as it was operated mechanically with moving wires.
CGI would also give filmmakers more freedom when it came to Godzillaís tail movement
as the animatronic tail was limited by wire movement.
As a result, Shin Godzilla turned out to be the first Japanese Godzilla depicted primarily
through CGI.
Despite all of this, the ëGodzillaí animatronic didnít go unnoticed!
Leaked pictures of the prop circulated on the internet and received positive reception
amongst fans of the franchise.
A lot of people felt it would have been better if it had actually
been used in the film.
Now the animatronic finds its place in the ëGodzillaí museum in Japan, open for
public viewing.
There was also a Shin Godzilla statue installed in Hibiya, Japan in 2018.
So the legacy of this movie definitely lives on!
The Shin Godzilla version of the character became so popular and well received that it
found its way in numerous places including 2 Universal Studios
in Japan and The Aqua Panorama at Canal City Hanaka.
So as you can see, ëGodzillaí has been brought to life many times with the power of ANIMATRONICS.
Whatís your favorite one amongst our list and why?
Which one do you think was the scariest?
Do you want to see other similar animatronics lists?
Be sure to comment below.
And subscribe to our channel to keep up with the world of theme parks!
Interested in behind the scenes content?
Be sure to check out our Social linked in the description.
Cheers!