{"id":76194,"date":"2021-09-17T22:24:41","date_gmt":"2021-09-18T05:24:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=76194"},"modified":"2021-09-17T22:27:55","modified_gmt":"2021-09-18T05:27:55","slug":"mothra-1961","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=76194","title":{"rendered":"Mothra (1961)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Mothra doesn&#8217;t understand right and wrong. She has only the instinct to take us back to the island.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Poster-210x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"210\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-76195\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Poster-210x300.png 210w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Poster-718x1024.png 718w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Poster-90x128.png 90w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Poster-768x1095.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Poster-189x270.png 189w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Poster.png 793w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 210px) 100vw, 210px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA scientist (Hiroshi Koizumi) investigating an irradiated island discovers a pair of tiny singing fairies (Yumi and Emi Ito) who communicate telepathically with a gigantic, protective, caterpillar-like creature named Mothra. When the fairies are kidnapped by a mercenary gangster (Jerry Ito) who puts them on display as performers, a plucky reporter (Frankie Sakai) and his camerawoman (Kyoko Kagawa) try to help them make it safely back to their island before Mothra destroys civilization.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Folk Tales, Fairy Tales, and Mythology<\/li>\n<li>Insects<\/li>\n<li>Japanese Films<\/li>\n<li>Kidnapping<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThis Japanese <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kaiju\"><em>kaiju<\/em><\/a> film &#8212; a follow-up to <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=41339\"><em>Godzilla, King of the Monsters!<\/em> (1956)<\/a> with clear inspiration also derived from <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43687\"><em>King Kong<\/em> (1933)<\/a> &#8212; featured Toho Studios&#8217; second most popular movie monster, albeit a less insidious beast who only causes destruction when she&#8217;s on a rampage to protect &#8220;her people&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster4-1024x429.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"268\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-76199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster4-1024x429.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster4-300x126.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster4-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster4-768x321.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster4-1536x643.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster4-604x253.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster4.png 1809w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Mothra &#8212; so named, one presumes, because she eventually emerges as a moth-like creature from a cocoon: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster6.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster6-1024x437.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"273\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-76202\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster6-1024x437.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster6-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster6-128x55.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster6-768x328.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster6-1536x655.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster6-604x258.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster6.png 1817w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8212; was featured in quite a few other films in the franchise (including a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rebirth_of_Mothra\">trilogy focused specifically on her rebirth<\/a>), and is beloved by fans &#8212; though it&#8217;s a hard not to chuckle at the obvious models and puppets being used throughout. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tohokingdom.com\/genre_movie_lists\/kaiju_listing.htm\">Kaiju<\/a> fans obviously won&#8217;t want to miss this flick, but other film fanatics should consider it optional. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Colorful cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Cage.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Cage-1024x435.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"272\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-76198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Cage-1024x435.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Cage-300x127.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Cage-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Cage-768x326.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Cage-1536x653.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Cage-604x257.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Cage.png 1829w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster8.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster8-1024x447.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"279\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-76197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster8-1024x447.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster8-300x131.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster8-128x56.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster8-768x336.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster8-1536x671.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster8-604x264.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Mothra-Monster8.png 1801w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though of course fans of Japanese monster flicks will want to check it out (and probably already have). <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0055198\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvguide.com\/movies\/mothra\/review\/2000273004\/\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdsavant.com\/s2973toho.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/thespinningimage.co.uk\/article\/displayarticle.asp?articleid=463\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/TDnkmK3D7QQ\">Brandon&#8217;s Cult Movies Video Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/v-WrfOfQ95g\">Up From the Depths Video Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Mothra doesn&#8217;t understand right and wrong. She has only the instinct to take us back to the island.&#8221; Synopsis: A scientist (Hiroshi Koizumi) investigating an irradiated island discovers a pair of tiny singing fairies (Yumi and Emi Ito) who communicate telepathically with a gigantic, protective, caterpillar-like creature named Mothra. When the fairies are kidnapped by a mercenary gangster (Jerry Ito) who puts them on display as performers, a plucky reporter (Frankie Sakai) and his camerawoman (Kyoko Kagawa) try to help&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=76194\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76194"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76209,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76194\/revisions\/76209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}