'''Godzilla''' (from the Japanese: ''Gojira'' meaning, approximately, [[gorilla]]-[[whale]]), is a fictional creature ([[kaiju]]) featured in a number of popular [[Japan]]ese films made by Toho Studios since 1954.
A 300-foot high, 20,000 ton, fire-breathing [[dinosaur]], he typically emerges from hibernation to demolish major cities, especially [[Tokyo]], and fight hand-to-hand with a selection of monstrous foes, notable amongst whom are Mothra (a gigantic [[moth]]), King Ghidorah (a three-headed golden space [[dragon]]), and Rodan (a huge [[pterodactyl]]). In the original 1954 film and many subsequent films, Godzilla has been portrayed as a menace to humanity, while in others he acts as as a savior and guardian. In Son of Godzilla, he is shown to be a stern but conscientious father.
Being traditionally portrayed by a man in a suit, in contrast to the [[stop-motion animation]] techniques used for films such as [[King Kong]], allows Godzilla an almost human range of dramatic expression, at the expense of entirely convincing special effects. Though the versions commonly available in the West are often badly edited and cheaply [[dubbing|dubbed]], production values for Godzilla films are surprisingly high.
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399102/ Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)] at the Internet Movie Database
==Further Readingreading==
*''Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters'', by William Tsutsui, Palgrave MacMillan, 2004
[[Category:Cinema]]
[[Category:Japanese culture]]