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Nonureva Really Surprised!

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

JLRVancouver Investigating the mysterious survival of a shipwrecked crew who had been exposed to radiation, an expedition (including the usual 'resourceful reporter' characters) lands on an ostensibly uninhabited tropical Island only to find a native culture who worship a deity called 'Mothra'. They also encounter two miniature women, who as it turns out, are fairy acolytes of the native god. The villainous capitalist Clark Nelson (Jerry Ito) who sponsored the expedition returns to the island and kidnaps the fairies, bringing them to Tokyo where they are forced to perform in his" Secret Fairies Show". The girls warn the reporters that they have a psychic link with Mothra, who will come to rescue them. Sure enough, an immense caterpillar appears and lays waste to much of Tokyo before cocooning in the wreckage of the Tokyo Tower but Nelson, who has escaped to his homeland of "Rolisica' (presumably a conflation of Russia and America), ignores pleas to return the girls to their home. The caterpillar expupates as a giant moth who continues to search for the girls, ultimately leading to Nelson's well deserved comeuppance and a happy ending (if you ignore billions of yen in property damage). "Mothra" (and her sequel 1964's "Godzilla vs the Thing") are among the best of Toho's daikaiju films. Similar to the creature in "Gorgo" (which came out the same year) Mothra is presented as a sympathetic character and the destruction that she brings about is not wanton or mindless, but a response (albeit overwhelming) to an injustice. The movie is very well done with a strong story and good human characters (admittedly somewhat stereotypical) supporting the titular monster who, in both her forms, is imaginative, engaging, and very well executed. The scenes of mayhem and destruction as Tokyo, and later "New Kirk City" in Rolisica are destroyed, are excellent, especially the scene of the larva spinning its cocoon against a backdrop of a ruined Tokyo. The two fairies, who in some form or another accompany Mothra in most of her movie outings, are played by the singing twins "The Peanuts" (Emi and Yumi Ito) who also star in "Godzilla vs the Thing" and "Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster" (1964), and (IMO) are the best of the various singers who have played the roles over the years. The film's score is excellent and introduces the iconic "Mothra's Song", which is heard in many of the later Mothra outings. The benevolent giant moth is one of Toho's most popular and enduring kaiju characters and appears in twelve more films (as of this writing), generally as a friend, ally, or guardian (except, or course, when her brain is taken over by malevolent space aliens). This, her debut film, is an outstanding example of Toho's skill in producing kaiju eiga and is well worth watching by anyone willing to suspend their disbelief long enough to watch a film about a colossal moth and just enjoy the spectacle and the story.

MisterWhiplash It's a curious thing - I KNOW I've seen at least some if not all of Mothra in my life (probably in that one week where I watched a bunch of monster movies in a marathon that was made possible by, ironically, Emmerich's Godzilla), but it didn't stick out the way that Godzilla: King of the Monsters or some of the others did (even the bad ones like Godzilla's Revenge). I think I know why as well: if I were a real little kid seeing this, I might not take to it as strongly as other monster movies that feature more of, well, the monster! Mothra *her*self is not even really seen in her full winged glory until around the last ten minutes of the movie, and before that when she hatches from an egg (long story... actually, not really), she's a larvae crawling across oceans and land to mess up things while searching for the two identical twins who have been taken away from the island from whence it came.I say this, and yet seeing it now as an adult I found myself enjoying it as a quasi-guilty pleasure. Or is it even that 'guilty' so to speak? The director is Ishiro Honda, who was behind many Japanese Kaiiju flicks, including the original Godzilla, and he gives us characters that are fun to watch. Are they exactly fresh or original? No, probably not, but that's part of why I had a good time with this movie - he and the writers seem to embrace the dumb clichés of the characters like the (at first) bumbling comic relief in the fat reporter, or the villain who looks like he was born with a scowl and evil eyebrows, or his accomplice who seems to be missing an Edward G. Robinson voice-over dub whenever he smokes a cigar. There's also the sorta bland hero and heroine, and, almost as a good luck charm, the great Takashi Shimura appears as the newspaper editor (and even in a seemingly thankless role where he's largely at a table or on the phone he gives as much dramatic tension and listening skills as an actor like him should do - yes, listening, watch him damn it!) So in a sense this does and doesn't have the issues that something like the 2014 Godzilla movie had; that had weak human characters and, while impressive, not as much Godzilla as one might've liked. Here, the characters and the actors playing them (one of them in this English dub is "Nelson!"!) commit fully and bring some real emotion and reaction to what is essentially more of a quasi Skull Island movie than something we'd usually see with Godzilla. Think about it - a bunch of scientists go to an island because of reports from some guys who are rescued that there's some radioactive things going on, and when they arrive there's a tribe of natives guarding some heavy secret... and then the two little women arrive (who sometimes, when picked up by actors hands, are literal dolls).But in a shallow level the lack of more Mothra in the run-time is disappointing. And yet again when thinking about it, it's almost a challenge of a monster movie for the filmmakers after several films (and more to come) that are just guys in rubber suits, it's ambitious that they attempted to have a flying puppet (albeit one that's more cute than an outright threat), and there's even an odd delight that a giant larvae-slug-what-have-you is causing destruction for several scenes. The characters around them are somewhat stock but with enough personality that you can be carried along as it being a movie on its own. And then the... destruction happens and you can see all of the toy soldiers on top of the toy tanks and all of the toy trucks and obvious fake bridges. Which, of course, adds to the delight! You couldn't make this kind of movie today, it's basically impossible. In a way it's sad - this kind of hokey, dopey filmmaking with obvious miniatures (more-so when seen on a big screen) would be completely CGI-ified and the destruction of the cities and people would have to take on more dread and menace. And would there be a back-story for the two ladies? Or would the villain be as cartoonish as he is here with his snarl and occasionally overwrought comic-villainous-muahaha laughter? Who knows? All I knew was sitting there watching this (in a Rifftrax style presentation by the way, one of those times where it's a riffing on a movie that's not really all that bad) Honda and his team were out to do a riff on the 'Kong' formula of monster being taken out of its environment (plus those enigmatic, delightfully gleeful women) and the havoc is immense. As a movie of its time, taken today, it holds up. Kinda.

Al_The_Strange Among Toho's repertoire of gargantuan and highly-destructive kaiju, who would have ever thought that a giant moth would become one of their most endearing characters? In the years that would come, Mothra would make an appearance in seventeen films, including a bunch of Godzilla films. In the beginning, though, the lepidopteran made its debut in this old-fashioned monster flick.1961's Mothra runs pretty evenly, allowing the story to breathe adequately before dishing out some modest mass destruction. The film's first acts, with scientists exploring Infant Island, remind me greatly of Skull Island from King Kong; the manner in which they use the fairies as a sideshow is not too far off from Kong either, only instead of unleashing a giant monkey's wrath, the fairies sing and summon a giant larva. It's weird stuff, but the film plays everything out with a straight face. This film ultimately sets the pattern for future incarnations of Mothra (you seriously can't have Mothra without the singing fairies, the larva, or without specific phases of attacks). As the original feature, however, the only formula this film adheres to is that of the classic monster picture, with a bit of adventure thrown in, and it's neat that way.The story's pretty much outlined above; it is a well-structured plot with a cast of alright (and sometimes goofy) characters. With all the fairies and monsters on display, I always felt that Mothra was a grade more unbelievable than most other monster movies, but thanks to the film's earnest tone, it works as a fine and dandy fantasy (and it's pretty neat to see such fantasy being opposed by modern and ultramodern weaponry). The story touches upon a few themes concerning capitalism and greed, but is never overbearing.This film uses solid, quality photography and editing. Acting is good from the original cast (but might be marred heavily by the English dubbing if you chose to watch it). Writing gets the job done pretty well. This production shows its age, but still uses fine-looking sets, props, and costumes. Special effects are a bit rough, but for its time, they are smashing. Music is not bad either.No matter how silly or fantastic it gets, I have a soft spot for Mothra, especially in seeing her future clashes with Godzilla and other monsters. The first and most original Mothra film presents the basics of Mothra-lore, which in turn echoes parts of the original King Kong, and would stand proudly next to classic monster flicks like Godzilla. Fans of the genre should give this original film a rent.4/5 (Entertainment: Good | Story: Pretty Good | Film: Good)

vampi1960 I first seen mothra back in the 70's on chiller theater channel 11 in new jersey,its not a chiller nor a scary movie.its a very well made sci fi fantasy about two twin women who are like 12 inches high that are kidnapped by a Japanese gangster while on an expedition on an island.well the twin girls have a guardian on the island,the god of their people,she is called mothra.now this is the debut of mothra and it begins as a giant caterpillar that eventually turns into a very pretty colorful moth that gracefully destroys Tokyo,not like Godzilla rodan and others.but mothra means well,the bad guy is the gangster(jerry Ito)who played a cop in the manster(59)and his thugs.so japan suffers because the twin girls are captive.the special effects are very good,not cheesy like most of the Japanese monster films.i believe mothra was made earlier then 1961,it was released by Columbia pictures in 1961 and dubbed for the American audiences.mothra was always my favorite of all the Japanese monster movies,sorry Godzilla.but mothra rocks.a very good movie for children and adults.10 out of 10.a must see for all Japanese monster fans.kudos to toho for producing a great gem like mothra.