This page is an information page for parents regarding Godzilla, a very popular Japanese pop culture icon and franchise of films, divided into three eras, video games, toys, and two American remakes, both with the same title. Ever since the first film, Gojira™, was released in 1954, Godzilla® has become an extremely famous and often immediately recognizable character as well as an allegory for the horrors of nuclear war and the bombing of Japanese islands Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II.
The Godzilla films are divided into three eras. The Showa era, the Heisei era, and the Millennium era.
The Godzilla film released in 1998 is not officially considered part of any of these eras by both fans and the Japanese Godzilla's creators, Toho Company Ltd., alike. The giant monster featured in the 1998 film is legally and officially known as Zilla™ as confirmed by Toho officials and Toho employees in interviews, comments and the legal name change that occurred between 2002 and 2005 due to extremely poor fan reactions to the monster at the time. The Godzilla film to be released in 2014, contrary to the 1998 remake, is considered a Godzilla film.
Contents: About the Franchise - About the Films - About the Wiki
General Information | |
| Title: | Godzilla franchise. Full titles for all films, games, comics, and toys are available on the site. |
| Company: | Toho Company, Limited (Creators of the films, many of the games), TriStar Pictures (Creators of the 1998 film), Legendary Pictures (Creators of the 2014 film) |
| Description: | The Godzilla franchise is a franchise consisting of films, games, comics, toys and more that is one of Japan's most recognizable icons as well as an allegory for the horrors of nuclear war. |
| Similar Franchises: | Ultraman franchise, Gamera franchise, Pacific Rim franchise |
| Ratings: | The Godzilla franchise's ratings vary greatly by the type of media. The Showa movies and video games are generally for viewers of all ages, while the comics, newer console video games, and Heisei and Millennium movies are generally for more mature audiences (PG-13, Teen, 13+, 10+, etc.). There is no official Godzilla product that contains content that is not suitable for younger audiences (R, 17+, etc.). |
Cultural Impact | |
| Cultural Impact: | Godzilla has become one of Japan's most recognizable icons. Godzilla has been referenced countless times on television shows, movies, cartoons, video games, books, commercials, real-life, and much more. |
| Contributions: | Godzilla's great cultural status has given way to the invention of words such as the suffix "-zilla", the naming of several things such as the band "Gojira", as well as making the term "kaiju" very popular in the west, and introducing countless fans to the Japanese giant monster movies. |
| Total Films: | 29 (plus 1998 film) |
| Film Eras: | 3 (Showa, Heisei, and Millennium) |
| American Films: | GODZILLA (1998) Godzilla (2014) |
| Television Series: | The Godzilla Power Hour (1978), Godzilla Island (1997), Godzilla: The Series (1998) |
| Ratings: | Godzilla film ratings range from Unrated (UR), General Audiences (G), and Parents Strongly Cautioned (PG-13). No official Godzilla films or television series are restricted (R) or contain any strictly mature or inappropriate content. |
| Costs: | The cost of Godzilla films on American and Japanese DVDs, American and Japanese Blu-rays, and Digital Download fluctuates greatly. |