SnoopyStyle After a typhoon, four shipwreck survivors are founded on Infant Island. This site had been used by Rolisica for atomic testing but the men show no ill effects. They recount that previously unknown natives had protected them by feeding them a special juice. A joint expedition is sent and strange things are discovered including two miniature women. The natives are massacred and the two fairies are kidnapped. The giant moth creature Mothra is hatched by the natives.The colors are bright. The story is strange. Mothra doesn't appear until halfway through the movie. The tiny singers are the strangest cinematic creations and that's in the same movie as Mothra. There is a lot of miniature and green screen work. This is a classic Japanese monster movie.

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.

JoeKarlosi Definitely one of Toho's finest giant monster movies of all. An evil businessman (Jerry Ito) abducts two adorable foot-tall twin fairies from their remote island, in an unscrupulous plan to exploit them for his own monetary gain. The two "peanuts" call to their protector Mothra for aid, and the title monster travels to Japan to save the little ladies, while leaving unintended harm and destruction in its path.Mothra is a sympathetic character which became popular and went on to co-star in many more Toho adventures. The female creature starts out as a gigantic crawling caterpillar, but late in the movie emerges out of its self-spun cocoon, as a huge and colorful flying moth that causes intense catastrophic winds when flapping its wings. Jerry Ito is a perfect hateful lead villain, but he is counterbalanced partly by the agreeable presence of comedian Frankie Sakai on the side of the good guys. The story is involving, and the pacing very comfortable. I have always been a big fan of the charming little song that the twin fairies sing in honor of their savior, Mothra. The English language version is well dubbed, and there are some differences between the U.S. and original Japanese versions; but either one is good and enjoyable. *** out of ****

Woodyanders A motley group of folks embark on an expedition to an island that's been ravaged by radiation. The explorers discover a pair of diminutive twin fairies. Evil and unscrupulous businessman Clark Nelson (excellently played to the hateful hilt by Jerry Ito) abducts the girls and forces them to sing for him in a stage act. Complications ensue when the girls' giant moth guardian Mothra arrives and begins leveling Japan while searching for the fairies. Directed with real skill and intelligence by Inoshiro Honda, with a thoughtful script by Shinichi Sekizawa, a steady pace, exquisite widescreen cinematography by Hajime Koizuma, exciting sequences of mass destruction, a sweeping, majestic score by Yuji Koseki, a strong central message about the severe consequences of human greed and selfishness, a strangely beautiful and poetic creature, a potent and affecting conclusion, and fine and convincing special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, this film achieves a certain poignancy and resonance because of its unusually graceful and sympathetic monster who's essentially benign, yet still dangerous because of her immense size. Kudos are also in order for the uniformly sound acting by the able cast, with especially stand-out contributions by Frankie Sakai as likable bumbling journalist Senichiro Fukuda, Kyoko Kagawa as spunky photographer Michi Hamamura, Ken Uehara as the no-nonsense Dr. Harada, and Hiroshi Koizuma as the compassionate Dr. Shinichi Chujo. Emi and Yumi Ito are absolutely adorable as the sweet and gentle twin fairies. The island scenes have a tasty exotic atmosphere. Essential viewing for Japanese creature feature fans.