Godzilla is returning to theatres as a smouldering animated character, soon. However, the movie is said to be more inclined towards human drama than the whole monstrosity that catapulted the franchise to fame.
In fact, the directors of Godzilla: The Planet Eater acknowledge, that their movies are so different from the original saga that it runs the risk of turning off the long-term fans. They further added that it’s a part of deliberate effort to reach out to newer audiences.
“We welcome getting bashed by the traditionalists. “That proves more than anything we succeeded in creating something different,” Hiroyuki Seshita, one of the directors told The Associated Press, last week. (as reported by The Washington Post)
A mutation brought on by nuclear testing, the first Godzilla emerged from the ocean in a 1954 film directed by Ishiro Honda. Godzilla had gone on to become a symbol of human fallacy in the atomic age.
Seshita along with co-director Kobun Shizuno further informed The Associated Press that rather than converting the much-renowned story into a computer animation, they have attempted to create what they call Shakespearean human drama. They grapple with complex and deeper problems, including the meaning of religion, in a post-apocalyptic world.
While Godzilla still has its shrilling roar and ghoulishly huge shape, it hardly engages in battles with other monsters.
“We kept all that is Godzilla-like — its design and how it’s portrayed on film. We have kept its essence,” added Seshita, who served as the art director of the Final Fantasy movies.
Godzilla: The Planet Eater features a doe-eyed hero, rock-star-like Japanese man (according to The Washington Post) who is selflessly focused on reclaiming planet Earth, which has been ravaged by Godzilla’s rage.
Humans have been relegated to a dystopian situation of surviving in a factory-like and sterile spaceship, unlike the lush greenness that was once home.
“I’m not a Godzilla expert and so I simply made a film I thought would be enjoyable,” mentioned Shizuno, who has also directed the G.I. Joe: Sigma six and Detective Conan animation series.
Yet, the film is replete with tributes to Godzilla, according to the directors, who refused to reveal too much. For one, the hero’s name is Haruo, the same as the actor Haruo Nakajima, who was inside the rubber Godzilla suit in the original film.
Japanese film company, Toho has made 29 Godzilla films till date, not counting the animation trilogy. The last work, released in 2016, used an actor skilled in traditional Japanese theatre known as Kyogen, whose movements were interpreted into computer graphics that brought a terrifying Godzilla to life.
The first two films of the animated trilogy are available on Netflix. The latest film premieres 3 November 2018, Godzilla’s official birthday.
