Voyage to the Bottom of the Promotional Paintings!

Nothing major for today but I wanted to share the promotional artwork (possibly concept art) done for the television version of VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA (1964-1968), featuring four giant sea monsters that never made it into the series proper.

Like my previous post on Tabby-Imago, I'm using self-created nicknames for the following creatures to simplify the descriptions and because I just want to (if every other Godzilla and Power Ranger fan gets to name the unnamed, why not me?).

The first creature, which I'm nicknaming The Clawed Chimera, appears to be a combination of several sea animals, but the prominent claws give the initial impression that it's a simple giant crab before noticing the rest of the aforementioned bodily features. To my knowledge, there are at least two crustacean-based monsters in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: a giant aquatic spider-like creature in "The Monster's Web" (February 27, 1966), and the titular human-sized antagonist of "The Lobster Man" (January 21, 1968).

Confusingly, the main villain behind "The Deadly Dolls" (October 1, 1967) is mockingly dubbed 'The Hermit Crab' by the show's heroes, even though the being itself is a highly advanced, energy-like machine intelligence from the distant future seeking to possess The Seaview (the show's iconic submarine) for its new physical form.

As for the second monster featured: I've always had a preference for plesiosaur-like kaiju and characters, so you know which one I like between these two otherwise nifty critters. However, the lack of two-out-of-four pictorial fins gives me hesitation about nicknaming him The Abyssal Plesiosaur, with the vague alternative of Abyssal Sea Serpent matching the odd design better.

Beyond that, the art itself is very good, especially the luminous backlighting, but I will admit the serpent's eerily calm face might turn off most monster and horror fans.

My least favorite monster in these paintings, Pink-Tooth the Sea Beast (if you can think of something better, please share), is probably my least favorite of the four, but the mudskipper-like shape and long grasping arm-like front fins positively reminds me of the Ichthyosaurus Mercurius from The Outer Limits episode "Tourist Trap" (December 23, 1963).

Last but not least is The Black Devil Dragon, who is probably the coolest-looking monster of the promotional paintings and the one that I would loved to have seen in a completed episode, possibly as some ancient and terrifying menace that The Seaview accidently awakens from an undersea volcano. Or an aboveground volcano, seeing how that's The Flying Sub firing beams at the opposing giant.

I rediscovered these paintings in my personal archives and combined the small files into slightly larger and more presentable collages above. I tried to re-locate the old Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea site I collected (stole) these from but to no avail. If I rediscover said website or stumble upon the real official names of the featured monsters, I'll gladly update this article in the future.

Kaiju Videos for August 9th 2021

Here's some intriguing kaiju and other giant monster-related videos to for me to share and for you all to enjoy. I will be keeping up this feature as-often-as-possible for the remainder of 2021.

Direct from MONSTROSITIES Tokusatsu Vlog:

The story of how a tokusatsu technique created for the original MOTHRA (1961) was passed on to the original Kamen Rider and continues to be practiced to this very day.

https://youtu.be/Y1U2ixUKlMk

In Japan Hero's latest video, they take a closer look at the history of the Robot Detective TV series ( ロボット刑事 ) including a brief look at some abandoned giant robot concepts.

https://youtu.be/jRJwT0JPOEg

Linkara's History of Power Rangers returns with a relatively (relatively) short and coherent recap of POWER RANGERS BEAST MORPHERS, the first of the Hasbro-era of the franchise but produced with creative talents from the previous vanguard. The whole of Beast Morphers is available on Netflix and I might give it a watch as it's a far better alternative to the one-episode-every-rare-blue-moon-year scheduling Nickelodeon was and still is infamous for.

https://youtu.be/rh4AwC_3lL0

Direct from Toy Galaxy:

Ronin Warriors, known in Japan as Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers (鎧伝サムライトルーパー, Yoroiden Samurai Torūpā), is a Japanese anime series created by Hajime Yatate and animated by Sunrise somewhat riding the popularity of Saint Seiya. Ronin Warriors first aired on American television during the summer of 1995 and subsequently appeared through syndication, as well as the USA Network and later on Cartoon Network as part of Toonami. Besides being known as Ronin Warriors, Yoroiden Samurai Troopers and Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers in some parts of the world it was known as Samurai Warriors.

https://youtu.be/alcszGmKcak

After almost a decade of waiting, the 25-year-old journey finally comes to an end. Here's Yoko Higuchi's review of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time in anticipation for its international streaming release on Amazon Prime Video this Friday.

https://youtu.be/hGT6F_sWs5s

Direct from Ben G. Thomas:

Sometimes the fossil record preserves some truly extraordinary glimpses into the past life on our planet, including traces of prehistoric animal behavior. In this video we're exploring 5 examples of such remarkable fossil finds - moments forever frozen in time.

https://youtu.be/Yru5uzBZOw4

TitanGoji takes a look at the 2005 adult oriented Japanese superhero series GARO which went on to become a successful multimedia franchise.

https://youtu.be/3Ge9UP67XwE

And finally, TitanGoji looks at the legacy of SHIN GODZILLA five years after its debut:

https://youtu.be/z42i49mGizU

Kaiju Videos for July 29th 2021

Here's some intriguing kaiju and other giant monster-related videos to for me to share and for you all to enjoy. I will be keeping up this feature as-often-as-possible for the remainder of 2021.

Direct from Matt Draper:

A comprehensive look at The Millennium Era of Toho Godzilla, including a look at the history of Roland Emmerich's Godzilla '98, how Toho returned Godzilla ahead of schedule with Godzilla 2000, and the many reboots and evolutions found within The Millennium Era, covering 6 films made from 1999 through 2004. This is Part 3 of an ongoing Godzilla series.

Direct Link: https://youtu.be/8o-_VPDC4-8

Direct from MONSTROSITIES Tokusatsu Vlog:

A look at GODZILLA SINGULAR POINT's beautiful yet briefly seen version of Mothra.

Direct Link: https://youtu.be/NhyLpqHXBxs

In his latest video essay "How Toei Changed Sunday Mornings", MercuryFalcon takes an extensive look at The Toei Fushigi Comedy Series: a loosely connected franchise of lighthearted fantasy adventures and mystery comedies that had major influences on the creation of SAILOR MOON and how it all came to an unlikely but satisfyingly end in a kaiju-filled crossover with the one and only ULTRAMAN.

Direct Link: https://youtu.be/PecckVgJvSE

Direct from Supervoid Cinema:

After Sam Riami's 'Spider-Man 4' never happened the character was rebooted with 'The Amazing Spider-Man'. There were ambitious plans for a whole slew of movies set in that universe. Drew Goddard was at one point time attached to write and direct a 'Sinister Six' movie for Sony, as part of 'The Amazing Spider-man' and when that fell apart he would be offered a potential 'The Spectacular Spider-Man' reboot (Which later became Spider-Man: Homecoming). Here's the story of why complete with dinosaurs and giant monsters attacking New York.

Direct Link: https://youtu.be/vS42hyhnMSc

Pachimon Kaiju Showcase: Doilar

The Pachimon Kaiju Showcase returns with today's subject, Doilar!

Cleaned-up and enlarged version of Doilar's bromide by your truly

For the uninitiated, the so-called Pachimon phenomena were cheap bromides (collectible postcards) created by Yokopro in the 1970's, around the time when movie monsters and television superheroes were very popular among children within Japan, all apart of The Henshin Boom or The Second Kaiju Boom as some pop culture scholars have dubbed it.

These bromide cards consists of 'new monsters' created from altered or touched up images of pre-existing characters, ranging from icons like Godzilla, Gamera, or the many opponents of Ultraman, to unorthodox sources like illustrated dinosaur books, real-world animal photography, foreign comic books, and lesser-known television monsters.

"Pachimon" itself is an unofficial and relatively recent fan-made term meaning 'stolen monster' which gives you a clear sign how suspect if not shoddy Yokopro's otherwise successful attempt was.

Although still quite obscure, The Pachimon Kaiju have garnered something of a cult following among modern-day collectors and otaku, which have resulted in vinyl figures (both official products and custom-built independents), fan-made video games, artwork, direct-to-video films, comedy spoofs, and other inspired extrapolations.

Unaltered version of the original Doilar bromide

Originally presented in Yamapro Edition set, Doilar is a thinly disguised Gorosaurus, a fictional descendant of Allosaurus who first appeared in King Kong Escapes (1967) as one of the dangerous beasts who roamed the equally fictional Mondo island.

Gorosaurus was meant as a one-time only homage to The Meat-Eater from the original King Kong but, due to a fortunate stroke of luck via quality prop storage over at Toho Studios, Gorosaurs was re-used in the 1968 multiple-monster-romp Destroy All Monsters where the former antagonist joined the heroic Kaiju of Earth to battle against the evil space dragon King Ghidorah, delivering a memorably fearsome kangaroo kick to the three-headed villain's back.

Doilar vs. Gorosaurus: Compare and Contrast

The image source used for Doilar's creation isn't a publicity photo of the Toho dinosaur but a beautifully rendered illustration taken from Ultra Books: Destroy All Monsters, a tie-in book and record album combo based around said film.

Upon retrospect, I believe a lot of the Pachimon based on the more famous movie monsters used secondhand materials, perhaps in a half-hearted attempt to avoid lawsuits or copyright infringement. it obviously worked considering how many of these oddball cards that there was.

LIES! The freeways in downtown Los Angeles are never this nice or vacant!

Speaking of things that makes ones heart sinks: I couldn't find the background of an urban highway used in Doilar's card though I'm tempted to say it's downtown Los Angeles due to how it reminds me so much of the area, particularly the road bridges overhead, having driven through it myself many times before, trapped in way worse traffic than what's falsely presented above (Rainbows? Bull!).

In typical Pachimon fashion, not a single driver seems phased by the giant Doilar creeping towards them.

Doilar's Arctic Holiday (1967...NOT)

While I usually don't do corresponding artwork for my Pachimon Kaiju Showcase articles (cannot afford the time and related stress), I did manage to whip up this photo-manipulated mock-up, taking a publicity photo from Gorosaurus' debut and added some rhinoceros horns and stegosaurs back-plates, all to give you Doilar's Arctic Holiday: a not-at-all-real production where the monstrous reptile saves a struggling ski resort and science station from a nefarious land developer.

Again, in true Pachimon fashion, I threw in some indifferent, un-phased, non-reactive vacationers (familial in-jokes) into the picture, like the indifferent, un-phased, non-reactive Londoners surrounding Danopura.

Lastly, here's an alternate version with just Doilar all by himself.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 vs. Gamera: Round 2

While we all eagerly await for Godzilla vs Kong this coming Wednesday, I would like to share something humorous and offbeat in a turtle shell to help ease your kaiju cravings if at all possible.

Back in 2019, me and my friends wrote, filmed, preformed, and produced a fan-made series entitled MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER VS GAMERA: ROUND II, featuring the two-of-three older era Gamera films that were never featured on the cult comedy series. Here's the very first entry featuring GAMERA vs. VIRAS (1968).

Here is the second episode, featuring GAMERA vs. JIGER (1970), my personal favorite of the two produced thus far.

In the wake of the 2020 pandemic, production for episode three centered around GAMERA: SUPER MONSTER (1981) has been slow-downed: the safety and well-being of the crew (my friends and I) is the absolute priority and, in the interest of social distancing, at this time we're unable to begin filming.

However pre-production has wrapped and we will continue as scheduled as soon as it is deemed safest for all to do so later in 2021. 

We're all putting this time to use, sets and costumes have been retrofitted, several new physical models and props are being constructed, and higher quality filming/lighting equipment has been invested in to make the presentation of our Super Monster fan-episode (and potentially future ones) much better.

Superman vs The Prehistoric Pterodactyls

 

Today, we're looking at the titular winged menaces from the second episode segment of "The New Adventures of Superman", "The Prehistoric Pterodactyls" (Filmation, September 17th 1966).

Playfully nicknamed by Superman as Terry #1 and Terry #2, they're a pair of gigantic pterodactyls awakened from suspended animation deep within some arctic icebergs.

Soon after awakening, the flying beasts began a brief reign of mayhem by attacking jet bombers, naval ships, and threatening Louis Lane (of course) in San Francisco before Superman battled and ultimately subdues the winged giants.

Captured and tied up in nets made of electric cables, Terry #1 and Terry #2 were then flown into space by Superman and safely exiled to an alien world where they can live peacefully.

It's likely pure coincidence but the script and its titular pterodactyls share some similarities with the more famous titular monsters of "Rodan" (1956) who were also jumbo-sized pteranodons awakened from a long slumber though in their case it was eggs buried deep underground and revived with super-heated volcanic water.

Despite being one of the earliest superheroes known for his incredible strengths and feats, I prefer Superman stories were a giant monster (or monsters) is either a worthy challenge to or equal force against The Last Son of Krypton. This balance of power works great for more energetic adventure stories but way less so for character-driven (talking head) tales. Hence why we see a lot of Superman vs. giant monster entries in older comic books and animated shows while modern media limit said giants to one-hit cameo defeats.

One-hit cameo defeats are highly impressive for Superman's abilities but also exceptionally of lame for us giant monster and action fans.

The Two Terrys are definitely among the simpler fair (fare?) coming from a Filmation produced children's cartoon but I honestly don't mind these slim-down Saturday morning shows of the sixties even if Hanna-Barbera were making superior versions of the same material with the likes of "The Herculoids" and "Space Ghost and Dino Boy".

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF THE PREHISTORIC PTERODACTYLS:

The King Kong Kongmmentary

From Saturday Night Live's The Lost Deep Thoughts.

Earlier this month, me along with friends BranzantFiLMS, Wyn the Rogue, and KaijuNoir sat down an watched the original 1933 King Kong, live-streaming the audio as we shared general thoughts about the film that eventually devolve into humorous riffing - I hope this is a case of true love mixed within the performance satire and not just four jokers making with the joke-jokes because the film is an aging old ape but that's just me.

Because the original live-stream ended up being way longer than I had wanted it (just shy 8 minutes of Peter Jackson's 2005 film, On The Damn Boat), I've decided to edit together this slim down edition, isolating the main commentary by itself with corresponding images and gags. Enjoy!

Good Bad Flicks vs The Giant Monsters!

There is an alarmingly massive amount movie reviewers and related retrospectives online with an even smaller number of which dedicated to some semblance of serious film appreciation beyond the mainstream weekly film review outlets. Than there are those bizarre yet wonderful movie lovers who balances both extremes but never abandoning the latter (analysis) over the former (funny business).

Among this rare breed is the always entertaining YouTube channel Good Bad Flicks, overseen by its uniquely named host Cecil Trachenburg.

Recently, Good Bad Flicks posted a sincere video asking for help to keep up their channel's quality so that they won't have to resort to desperate advertising measures as The Unfathomable Beast Dubbed YouTube continues to breath down their undeserving backs (excessive word usage is fun).

Seriously though, this channel could use all the love and support it can garner (here's the Patreon page) even if its just through shared awareness among your own friends online.

Since this is a blog primarily dedicated to overlooked giant monsters (something I've strangely gotten a lot of negative flack for from mainstream Godzilla fans), the following collection of videos feature such 'Fantastic Gigantics' in no particular order:

Baby: Secret of The Lost Legend Review

Island Claws Review

Grabbers Retrospective

Monsters Retrospective

Troll Hunter Retrospective

The Stuff Retrospective

Jurassic Park III Retrospective

Moontrap Review

Up From The Depths Review

The Crater Lake Monster Review

Arachnoquake Review

Peter Benchley's The Beast Review

Spiders Review

Robot Jox Review

Robot Wars Review

The Blob Review

The following films discussed by Good Bad Flicks do feature giant monsters in them, they're tertiary elements compared to the bulk of said stories but I wanted to share these Good Bad Flicks episodes regardless:

Spaced Invaders Review

Ghostbusters II Retrospective

In The Mouth of Madness Retrospective

The Guardian Retrospective

My Science Project Review

Killer Klowns from Outer Space Review

The Relic Retrospective

Rare Exports Retrospective

Mosquito Retrospective

Hulk Retrospective

Crash and Burn Review

Krull Review

Prophecy Review

The Guyver Review

Howard The Duck Review

Spoof of The Hiromi Gargantua

Get it? Spoof of The Hiromi Gargantua? It's a play on War of The Gargantuas! No? Ah, nuts to you!

Anyways...

The long running anime series Mobile Police Patlabor is often cited as a strong example of the 'Realistic Mecha' genre from Japanese fiction.

Realistic Mecha is where giant robots are presented as plausible machinery that could exist and work within the real world while also avoiding the more fantastic clichés of most other giant robot stories such as alien invaders, supernatural power-ups, soulful sentience in the  machines, and giant Godzilla-style enemy monsters.

However, there are several exceptions seen throughout the Patlabor franchise where wacky monsters do appear and cause havoc, betraying the very concept of Realistic Mecha.

Yes, between giant albino alligators, unmanned killing machines, out-of-control Labor robots, deep-sea reptiles, genetically engineered mega-rodents, hideous human-alien hybrids, and gigantic Kappa androids, this otherwise unassuming franchise about police officers piloting 30-foot-tall police-bots in the near-future has a lot of giant monsters popping up.

This continuous trend started with The 450 Million-Year-Old Trap (July 25th, 1988): the third episode in the original direct-to-video series and was an early directorial effort from the now famous director Mamoru Oshii, one of the forgotten grandfathers of Patlabor.

A series of mysterious incidents occur in and around Tokyo Bay, including damaged undersea cables and a parked car being pulled off a pier, leading some to believe that it could be the work of an actual sea monster. Detective Takahiro Matsui of the Metropolitan Tokyo Police Department (a recurring character in the franchise) requests Captain Goto, head of the Police Special Vehicle Section 2 Division 2 (SV2 for short), for help on the strange case. 

Goto and his SV2 Patlabor team help pilot a remote control submersible Labor to search for what caused the incidents. However, the Labor is destroyed during its underwater search, convincing all present that the monster truly does exists.

The SV2 are given orders to kill the monster soon after but not before they stumble upon the giant creature's origins: an life-form birthed from a science experiment gone...a little out-of-hand thanks to a well-meaning but clumsy and shortsighted mad scientist.

Although this sea monster is largely off-camera throughout the episode, its noted that the artificially created being went through various stages of accelerated evolution (presented in a brief montage of resurrected prehistoric animals) until reaching its supposedly final form which makes its rather anti-climactic reveal by the story's end.

As you can tell by now, The 450 Million-Year-Old Trap is a subtly played spoof of Toho Studio's classic run of giant monster movies, complete with a big blue-colored War of The Gargantua homage shown throughout this article.

Now we could call this unnamed guy 'The Blue Gargantua' for obvious reasons but, based on an odd little twist in the tale where this somewhat benign beast shares an unexplained resemblance with SV2's team member Hiromi Yamazaki, the ironically tall man from Okinawa who's soft-spoken and kindhearted, I shall nicknamed this character The Hiromi Gargantua until I'm corrected otherwise with an official moniker.

RELATED VIDEOS ON PATLABOR:

Marc of Oh No Anime takes you through the life and legacy of one of anime's most under-appreciated franchises, Patlabor (direct video link right below video box).

https://youtu.be/J52ecXnl_EE

Here's Glass Reflections' take on the franchise.

https://youtu.be/TydVnMSC3Y0

And for those of you asking yourselves "What the Hell is a Gargantua?".

https://youtu.be/aDwI-wTAxdM

The House of Wu: A Fallen Kingdom Review

I along with friends and fellow nerds KaijuNoir and Brayton sit down and share our audible thoughts via podcast on one of the year's more decisive-yet-belittled films Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom. Take a listen and enjoy.

Cryptozoologicon Video Lectures

Despite my love for fictional giant monsters and the once VERY REAL prehistoric mega-fauna, I'm quite skeptical towards most Cryptids in my adulthood, especially since most modern examples of such conjectural creatures being blatant nonsense like the recent Slender Man and Ninjin phenomenon - Seriously, you're not even trying anymore, internet!

But as modern day culture and folklore, I find Cryptozoology infinitely fascinating and the 2013 new book entitled Cryptozoologicon, Volume I does a beautiful job of celebrating the myths while still keeping a critical eye towards it (not against it) and still being very educational in its concepts / theories - a balancing act that almost no one does anymore in science, in and out of the paranormal and realistic science fiction.

The following are two really entertaining video lectures from 2013 done for the Cryptozoologicon book launch, hosted by Darren Naish, the book's authors, and C. M. Kosemen, one of the book's two illustrators - Enjoy!

Related Link: io9 Review for Cryptozoologicon.

Brandon's Cult Movie Reviews: King Kong Escapes

Do you like giant apes? How about drop kicking dinosaurs & robot doppelgangers? Or hot blondes, hot brunettes, and Doctor Who (sort of)?

Well, you can see all this and more in Brandon Tenold's latest cult movie review, King Kong Escapes, with title card duties handled once again by yours truly!

RELATED LINKS OF INTEREST:

Toho Kingdom's Page For King Kong Escapes

Wikizilla's Page For King Kong Escapes

Review All Monsters, EP 01: The Obligatory Pilot

BEHOLD! After a long wait and original promises of this project way back in April, We finally have the very first episode in my podcast series REVIEW ALL MONSTERS, where I and my friend Burkion (alias Jesse) take a look at the cinematic sub-genre of giant monster movies, along with other related Kaiju-sized fiction.

IN THE EPISODE: We introduce the ground rules for this podcast series and read a chronological list (also posted below) of such giant monster entertainment. Hilarity ensues...eh?


Additional thanks to KaijuNoir for the final rendering of this episode.

The Review All Monsters TITLE LIST

This list is far from complete, lacking many entries and not corresponding perfectly with the audio reading uploaded above, namely with giant monster television shows, and as such, it will be updated continuously pass this original posting.

Title suggestions, corrections, and questions from you, our viewers and readers, are always welcomed.

The Conquest of the Pole (À la conquête du pôle) (May 3rd, 1912)

The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (Short Film, 1919) 

The Lost World (February 2nd, 1925)

The Sea Beast (January 15th, 1926 / 1930)

The Mysterious Island (October 5th, 1929)

The Sea Bat (July 5th, 1930)

King Kong (March 2nd, 1933)

Son of Kong (December 22nd, 1933)

Japanese King Kong (1933, Short Film - Presumed Lost / Unconfirmed Status)

Secret of the Loch (May, 1934)

Devil Monster, AKA The Sea Fiend (1936, and 1946 re-cut version)

King Kong Appears in Edo (1938 - Presumed Lost)

One Million B.C. (April 5th,1940)

Unknown Island (October 15th, 1948)

Mighty Joe Young (July 27th, 1949)


1920-1940 Retrospective: The Early Years of the Giant Monster Film Genre


Lost Continent (August 17th, 1951)

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (June 13th, 1953)

SPECIAL EPISODE - The War of the Worlds (August 26, 1953)

Monster from the Ocean Floor (May 21st, 1954)

Them! (June 19th, 1954)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Disney, December 23rd 1954)

Godzilla (November 3rd, 1954) / Godzilla, King Of The Monsters (1956, American Version)

Killers from Space (January 23rd, 1954)

Godzilla Raids Again (April 24th, 1955) / Gigantis the Fire Monster (1959, American Version)

King Dinosaur (June 17th, 1955)

It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)

Tarantula (1955)

The Quatermass Xperiment (1955 - Questionable Status)

Journey to the Beginning of Time, AKA Cesta do Praveku (1955)

Forbidden Planet (1956)

X the Unknown (1956)

Rodan (1956)

The Beast from Hollow Mountain (1956)

Moby Dick (June 27, 1956 - Questionable Status)

Attack of the Crab Monsters (February 10th, 1957)

Kronos (April 1957)

The Deadly Mantis (May 1957)

Monster from Green Hell (May 1957)

Quatermass 2 AKA Enemy from Space (May 24 1957)

The Giant Claw (June 1957)

20 Million Miles to Earth (June 1957)

The Monster That Challenged the World (June 1957)

The Cyclops (July 28th, 1957)

The Land Unknown (August 1957)

The Black Scorpion (October 11th, 1957)

The Amazing Colossal Man (October 25th, 1957)

The Monolith Monsters (December 1957)

Night of the Demon AKA Curse of the Demon (December 17 1957)

The Mysterians (December 28 1957)

Beginning of the End (1957)

Varan the Unbelievable (1958 and 1960 American Cuts)

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958)

The Blob (1958)

War of the Colossal Beast (1958)

Earth vs. The Spider (1958)

The Trollenberg Terror, AKA The Crawling Eye (1958)

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

The Strange World of Planet X, AKA The Cosmic Monsters (December 31,1958)

The Viking Women and the Sea Serpent (1958)

The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959)

Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959 - Questionable Status)

Behemoth, the Sea Monster AKA The Giant Behemoth (1959)

Caltiki - The Immortal Monster (1959)

The Giant Gila Monster (1959)

The Angry Red Planet (1959)

The Atomic Submarine (1959)

Prince of Space (March 19th 1959)

Have Rocket, Will Travel (1959)

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

Teenagers from Outer Space (1959)

Terror in the Midnight Sun, AKA Space Invasion of Lapland; Invasion of the Animal People (1959)

Tuko sa Madre Kakaw, AKA Gecko in Madre Cacao (1959 - Presumed Lost)

SPECIAL EPISODE - Toho's Non-Giants, Part 1: Battle in Outer Space, The H-Man, Invisible Man, and Half Human


1950's Retrospective: The Golden Age of American Giant Monster Movies / Special 1957 Alone Retrospective(?)


Dinosaurus! (1960)

The Lost World (1960)

SPECIAL EPISODE - The Lost World of Irwin Allan's Stock Footage!

Battle of the Worlds (1961)

Konga (1961)

Gorgo (1961)

Mothra (1961)

Reptilicus (1961)

The Mysterious Island (1961)

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)

Valley of the Dragons (November 1961)

Gorath (1962)

King Kong vs Godzilla (1962)

Planeta Bur, AKA Planet of the Storms (1962)

Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962)

Jack the Giant Killer (1962)

Kujira Gami AKA The Whale God (1962 - Questionable Status)

The Magic Sword (1962)

Atragon (1963)

SPECIAL EPISODE - Toho's Non-Giants, Part 2: The Secret of the Telegian, The Human Vapour, The Last War, and Matango: Attack of the Mushroom People

Captain Sinbad (1963)

Shikari (1963)

Mothra vs. Godzilla, AKA Godzilla vs The Thing (1964)

Dogora, the Space Monster (1964)

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

The Flesh Eaters (1964)

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV Series, September 14th 1964)

Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)

Gamera (1965)

Invasion of Astro-Monster, AKA Godzilla vs Monster Zero (1965)

Village of the Giants (1965)

Planet of the Prowl, AKA War Between the Planets (1965)

Ultra Q (TV Series, January 2nd 1966)

Godzilla vs The Sea Monster (1966)

Gamera vs Barugon (1966)

Daimajin (1966)

Return of Daimajin (1966)

Daimajin Strikes Again (1966)

The Magic Serpent (1966)

War of the Gargantuas (1966)

SPECIAL EPISODE: All About That One Freaking Octopus!

One Million Years B.C. (1966)

Ambassador Magma, AKA The Space Giants (TV Series, July 4th 1966)

Ultraman (TV Series, July 17th 1966)

Gogola (1966 - Presumed Lost)

Around the World Under The Sea (1966)

Doctor Who: The Macra Terror (March 11th, 1967 - Presumed Lost)

King Kong Escapes (1967)

Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967)

Son of Godzilla (1967)

Gappa the Triphibian Monsters (1967)

Yongary, Monster from the Deep (1967)

The X from Outer Space (1967)

The Herculoids (TV Series, September 9th 1967 - January 6th 1968)

Ultra Seven (TV Series, October 1st, 1967)

Giant Robo, AKA Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot (TV Series, October 11th 1967)

Monster Wangmagwi (1967 - Presumed Lost)

Agon, the Atomic Dragon, AKA Giant Phantom Monster Agon (January 2nd, 1968 - Originally 1964...?)

Doctor Who: Fury from the Deep (March 16th, 1968 - Presumed Lost)

Land of the Giants (TV Series, September 22nd 1968)

Gamera vs. Viras (1968)

Destroy All Monsters (1968)

The Lost Continent (1968)

Gamera vs. Guiron (1969)

All Monsters Attack (1969)

Latitude Zero (1969)

The Valley of Gwangi (1969)

Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969)

It's Alive (1969)

The Mighty Gorga (1969)

Devil Fighter (Taiwanese, 1969)


1960's Retrospective: Godzilla, Harryhausen, and Beyond


Gamera vs Jiger (1970)

Space Amoeba (1970)

Equinox (1970)

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970)

Young Flying Hero, AKA Return of the Magic Serpent (1970)

Doctor Who: The Claws of Axos (March 13th, 1971 - Questionable Status)

Doctor Who: The Daemons (May 22nd, 1971)

Gamera vs Zigra (1971)

Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Tsu Hong Wu (Taiwanese, 1971)

Doctor Who: The Time Monster (May 20th, 1972 - Questionable Status)

Godzilla vs Gigan (1972)

Night of the Lepus (1972)

Daigoro vs Goliath (1972)

The Cremators (1972)

Beware! The Blob, AKA Son of Blob (1972)

Iron King (TV Series, October 8th 1972 - April 8th 1973)

Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs (January 12th, 1973)

Doctor Who: Carnival of Monsters (January 27th, 1973)

Doctor Who: Planet of the Spiders (May 4th, 1973)

Super Robot Red Baron (TV series, July 4th, 1973 - March 27th, 1974)

Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World (1973)

Fantastic Planet (1973)

The Neptune Factor (1973)

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)

Darna and the Giants (1974)

Doctor Who: Robot (December 28th 1974)

Land of the Lost (TV Series, September 7th 1974 - December 4th 1976)

The Giant Spider Invasion (1975)

Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

The Land That Time Forgot (1975)

The Super Inframan (1975)

SPECIAL EPISODE - Jaws (June 20th 1975)

Doctor Who: Terror of the Zygons (August 30th 1975)

Doctor Who: Planet of Evil (September 27th, 1975)

Doctor Who: The Seeds of Doom (January 31st, 1976)

At the Earth's Core (1976)

King Kong (1976)

A*P*E (1976)

Queen Kong (1976)

The Food of the Gods (1976)

The Milpitas Monster (1976)

War God, AKA Guan Yu (1976)

The Mighty Peking Man (1977)

Empire of the Ants (1977)

The Legend of the Dinosaurs and Monster Birds (1977)

The People That Time Forgot (1977)

The Crater Lake Monster (1977)

Tentacles (1977)

Jabberwocky (1977 - Questionable Status)

The Last Dinosaur (1977)

Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century (1977)

SPECIAL EPISODE - Orca: The Killer Whale (July 22nd 1977)

Sea God and Ghosts (Taiwanese, 1977)

Costinha and King Mong (Brazil, 1977) - http://tarstarkas.net/2012/02/costinha-e-o-king-mong/

Futo (1977, Short Film by  Minora Kawasaki - Unconfirmed Status)

Planet of the Dinosaurs (1978)

Warlords of Atlantis (1978)

SPECIAL EPISODE - Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds (September 6th 1978)

Godzilla (Hanna-Barbera animated TV series, September 9th, 1978 - December 8th, 1979)

Doctor Who: The Power of Kroll (December 23rd 1978)

Up From the Depths (1979)

The 6 Ultra Brothers vs The Monster Army (1979)

Arabian Adventure (1979)

Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit (October 27th 1979 - Questionable Status)


1970's Retrospective: The Death-Star Killed King Kong


Crocodile (February 15, 1980, or 1979)

Super Monster Gamera (1980)

Alligator (1980)

Island Claws (1980)

Monster, AKA Monstroid: It Came from the Lake; The Toxic Horror (1980)

Utahime Makai O Yuku, AKA Diva in the Underworld (1980 - Unconfirmed Status)

Doctor Who: State of Decay (November 22nd 1980 - Questionable Status)

Caveman (April 17th 1981)

Dragonslayer (1981)

The Loch Ness Horror (1981)

Mystery on Monster Island (1981)

Blood Beach (1981 - Questionable Status)

Q - The Winged Serpent (1982)

The Flight of Dragons (1982)

Brain 17 (1982, based on Daitetsujin 17)

Attack of the Super Monsters (1982, based on Dinosaur War Izenborg)

The Fairy and the Devil (Taiwanese, 1982)

Starbirds (July 1st, 1982)

The Phoenix, AKA War of the Wizards (1983)

Krull (1983)

Return of Ultraman (1983, Short Film)

Return of the Dinosaurs (1983, based on Dinosaur Catchers Born Free)

The Return of Godzilla (1984) / Godzilla 1985 (American Version)

Hydra - Monster of the Deep, AKA Serpiente de Mer; Hydra the Sea Serpent (1984)

Monster Shark, AKA Devil Fish (1984)

The Flying Monster (South Korea, 1984) - http://unknownkino.blogspot.com/2010/08/flying-monster-1984.html

The NeverEnding Story (April 6th 1984)

Ghostbusters (June 7th 1984)

Ultraman Story (July 14, 1984)

Pulgasari (1985)

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1985)

Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985)

Space Warriors 2000 (1985)

Return to Oz (June 21st 1985)

Eight-Headed Giant Serpent's Counterattack, AKA Yamata no Orochi no Gyakushu (December 1985)

The Real Ghostbusters (TV Series, September 13th 1986)

King Kong Lives (1986)

The Gate (1987)

Ganjasaurus Rex (1987)

Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here (1987)

The Blob (1988)

Thunder of Gigantic Serpent, AKA Daai se Wong (1988)

The Brain (1988 - Unconfirmed Status)

The Lair of the White Worm (1988 - Questionable Status)

Night of the Beast  (Mexico, 1988) - http://www.clubdesmonstres.com/best/htm/nochedlb.htm

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (May 27th 1988)

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (December 8th 1988)

Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)

Gunhed (1989)

Moontrap (April 28th 1989)

Ghostbusters II (June 16th 1989 - Questionable Status)

Deepstar Six (1989)

Alien from the Deep, AKA Alien from the Abyss (1989)

The BFG (December 25, 1989)

Endless Descent (1989)


1980's Retrospective: The Last Days of Practical Creature Effects...Maybe?


Tremors (1990)

Ultra Q the Movie: Legend from the Stars (1990)

Robot Jox (1990)

Youkai Tengoku: Ghost Hero, AKA Monster Heaven (1990) - http://blackholereviews.blogspot.com/2007/03/yokai-tengoku-ghost-hero-1990-vcd.html

Godzilla vs King Ghidorah (1991)

A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell, AKA Dark Fortress (1991)

Roujin Z (September 14th, 1991)

Godzilla vs Mothra (1992)

Dai Yogen: Fukkatsu no Kyoshin, AKA Fatal Prediction: Return of the Huge Destroyer (1992)

The Adventures of the Kung-Fu Rascals (1992)

Invader (1992)

Jurassic Park (1993)

Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Robot Wars (1993)

The Magic Crane (1993)

Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (December 11th 1993)

Kamen Rider J (April 16, 1994)

Godzilla vs Space Godzilla (1994)

Orochi the Eight Headed Dragon, AKA Yamato Takeru (1994)

Dragonworld (1994)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995)

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995)

Godzilla vs Destroyah (1995)

Magic in the Water (1995)

Attack of the 60-Foot Centerfolds (1995)

Young Gu and the Dinosaur Zuzu (1995)

Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996)

Rebirth of Mothra (1996)

Dragonheart (1996)

Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996)

The Adventures of Galgameth (Noverber 18th, 1996)

Zarkorr! The Invader (1996)

Aatank, AKA Bollywood Jaws (1996)

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Rebirth of Mothra II (1997)

Robo Warriors (1997)

Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (1997)

Moon Over Tao: Makaraga (1997)

Vulcan, AKA Anak Ng Bulkan (Phillipines / US 1997)

Phantoms (January 23, 1998)

Deep Rising (1998)

Gargantua (1998)

Godzilla (1998)

Kraa! The Sea Monster (1998)

Mothra 3: King Ghidorah Attacks, AKA Rebirth of Mothra III (1998)

Ultraman Tiga and Ultraman Dyna: Warriors of Light (1998)

Godzilla: The Animated Series (TV Series, 1998 - 2000)

The Mighty Kong (1998)

Giant Monsters Appear in Tokyo (1998)

SPECIAL EPISODE - Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988-1999...And Beyond? The Hell?!?)

Gamera 3: The Revenge of Irys (1999)

The Iron Giant (1999)

Godzilla 2000 (1999)

Ultraman Gaia: Battle in Hyperspace (1999)

The Attack of the Giant Moussaka (December 24, 1999)


1990's Retrospective: The Rise of the CGI Dinosaurs...Yay?


Reptilian, AKA Youngarry (1999-2001)

Godzilla vs Megaguirus (2000)

Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey (2000)

Spiders (2000)

Doreijuu, AKA Slave Beast (2000 - Unconfirmed Status)

Sakuya: Slayer of Demons (2000)

Jurassic Park III (2001)

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)

Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001)

Ultraman Cosmos: First Contact (2001)

Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story (December 2nd - 4th 2001)

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)

Eight Legged Freaks (2002)

Ultraman Cosmos: The Blue Planet (2002)

Reign of Fire (2002)

Godzilla: Tokyo SOS (2003)

Ultraman Cosmos vs Ultraman Justice: The Final Battle (2003)

Evil Alien Conquerors (December 3, 2003)

Creepies (2003)

Deep Shock (2003)

Arachnia (2003)

Ultraman the Next (2004)

Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004)

Garuda (2004)

Boa vs. Python (2004)

Monster Island (2004)

Incident at Loch Ness (2004)

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

Dragon Storm (2004)

Zebraman (2004)

Scooby-Doo! and the Loch Ness Monster (June 22nd, 2004)

King Kong (2005)

The Call of Cthulhu (2005)

The Fallen Ones (2005)

Deep Sea Beast Reigo (2005)

Creepies 2 (2005)

Mee-Shee: The Water Giant (2005)

Negadon: The Monster from Mars (Short Film, 2005)

Tetsujin 28 (2005)

Kong: King of Atlantis (2005)

King of the Lost World (2005)

War of the Worlds (June 28th 2005)

A Sound of Thunder (September 2nd 2005)

The Naked Monster, AKA Attack of the B-Movie Monster (2005)

The Host, AKA Gwoemul (2006)

Gamera the Brave (2006)

Ultraman Mebius and Ultra Brothers (2006)

Kong: Return to the Jungle (2006)

Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep, AKA Deadly Water (2006)

Caved In: Prehistoric Terror (2006)

Monster House (July 21st 2006)

Mil Mascaras Vs. The Aztec Mummy (2006 - Unconfirmed Status)

Bacterium (2006)

D-War, AKA Dragon Wars (2007)

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007)

Big Man Japan (2007)

The Mist (November 21st 2007)

Robo Rokku, AKA Robo Rock (2007)

The Foghorn (Short Film, 2007)

Cloverfield (2008)

Decisive Battle! The Eight Super Ultra Brothers (2008)

Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)

The Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit (2008)

Monster (The Asylum, 2008)

Monsters vs Aliens (2009)

Demeking, the Sea Monster (2009)

Deep Sea Monster Raiga (2009)

Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends The Movie (2009)

Gehara: The Long and Dark-Haired Monster (Short Film, 2009)

Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus (2009)

Land of the Lost (June 5th 2009)

Godzilla x The Kaiju Killer (Fan Film, 2009)

God of Clay (Short Film, 2009 / 2011) 

Mongolian Death Worm (2010)

Behemoth (2010)

Death Kappa (2010)

The Troll Hunter (2010)

Sharktopus (2010)

Moby Dick: 2010 (2010...duh)

The Millennium Bug (2010)

Mega Piranha (April 10, 2010)

Altitude (October 26, 2010 - Unconfirmed Status)

Monsters (October 29, 2010)

Banglar King Kong (2010)

Triassic Attack (November 27, 2010)

Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus (December 21, 2010)

The Man Who Summons Kaiju, AKA Kaiju Wo Yobu Otoko (2010) 

Megaconda (2010)

Mega Python vs. Gatoroid (2011)

The Dragon Pearl (2011)

Super Shark (2011)

The Terror Beneath, AKA Seeds of Destruction (October 8, 2011)

Henge (2011- Questionable Status)

Grabbers (January 23, 2012)

Arachnoquake (2012)

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)

2-Headed Shark Attack (2012)

Piranhaconda (2012)

Bigfoot (2012)

Giant God Warrior Appears In Tokyo (Short Film, 2012)

Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)

Mememe no Kurage, AKA Jellyfish Eyes (2013)

Peter and the Colossus (2013...Unmade / Unreleased?)

Spiders 3D (2013)

Atlantic Rim (June 24, 2013)

Pacific Rim (July 1, 2013)

Poseidon Rex (October 21, 2013)

Big Ass Spider (October 18, 2013)

Zella: Monster Martial Law (Short Film, 2013)

Mega Shark Versus Mecha Shark (January 28, 2014)

Bermuda Tentacles, AKA Dark Rising (April 4, 2014)

Godzilla (May 8, 2014)

Earth Defense Widow, AKA Chikyuu Bouei Miboujin (2014)

Sharktopus vs Pteracuda (August 2, 2014)

Tremors 5: Bloodlines (October 6, 2015)

Jurassic World (June 12th 2015)

Mega Shark Versus Kolossus (July 7, 2015)

Attack on Titan: the Movie, Part  1 (July 14, 2015)

Pixels (July 24, 2015)

Attack On Titan: End of the World, AKA Attack On Titan: the Movie, Part 2 (September 19, 2015)

Queen Crab (September 29th 2015)

Love & Peace (2015)

Ultraman Ginga S: Showdown! Ultra 10 Warriors! (2015)

10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

Ultraman X: Here It Comes! Our Ultraman (March 12, 2016)

Kong: King of the Apes (TV Series, April 1st, 2016)

Voltron: Legendary Defender (TV Series, June 10th 2016)

The BFG (July 1, 2016)

Godzilla Resurgence, AKA Shin Godzilla (July 29, 2016)

Colossal (2016)

Daikaiju Mono (2016)

Warrior Goddess Kanan (Short Film, 2016...?)

Kong: Skull Island (March 10, 2017)

Power Rangers (March 24th 2017)

Godzilla (animated film, 2017)

Pacific Rim: Maelstrom (2018)

Godzilla 2 (2019)

Godzilla vs. Kong (2020)

THE REJECTED / MAYBE LIST:

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951, and its 2008 remake)

Mesa of Lost Women (1953 - Questionable Status)

The Creeping Terror (1964)

7 Faces of Dr. Lao (March 18th 1964)

Doctor Who: Death to the Daleks (February 23rd, 1973 - Questionable Status)

Doctor Who: The Masque of Mandragora (September 4th 1976 - Questionable Status)

House (Japan 1977 - Questionable Status)

Starcrash (1978 - Questionable Status)

Prophecy (1979 - Questionable Status)

Legend of the Eight Samurai (1980 - Questionable Status)

Lake Placid (1999)

Mighty Joe Young (1998, we'll discuss this one with the original film)

Kinky Kong (2006)

Cleavagefield (2009)


Gatchaman (August 24, 2013 - Unconfirmed Status)