Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

The undersea nation of Seatopia sends the gigantic Megalon to destroy the world above - and it's up to Godzilla and a size-shifting robot, Jet Jaguar, to defeat him.

Director:

Jun Fukuda

Writers:

Jun Fukuda, Takeshi Kimura (story "Gojira tai Uchu Kaijû")

Stars:

Katsuhiko Sasaki, Hiroyuki Kawase, Yutaka Hayashi

Cast

Credited cast:
Katsuhiko Sasaki	...	Inventor Goro Ibuki
Hiroyuki Kawase	...	Rokuro 'Roku-chan' Ibuki
Yutaka Hayashi	...	Hiroshi Jinkawa
Robert Dunham	...	Emperor Antonio of Seatopia / Motorcycle assailant
Kôtarô Tomita	...	Lead Seatopian Agent
Ulf Ôtsuki	...	Seatopian Agent
Gentaro Nakajima	...	Truck Driver (as Gen Nakajima)
Sakyo Mikami	...	Truck Driver's Assistant
Fumiyo Ikeda	...	Man from Unit 1
Kanta Mori	...	Japan Special Defense Forces Chief
Shinji Takagi	...	Gojira
Hideto Odachi	...	Megaro
Tsugutoshi Komada	...	Jetto Jagâ
Kenpachirô Satsuma	...	Gaigan (as Kengo Nakayama)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ralph Jesser	...	Antonio's Aide (Radio Operator in White) (as Rolf Jessup)

Storyline

The underground kingdom of Seatopia sends out Megalon, a giant beetle, and Gigan to destroy the above ground dwellers. In an attempt to stop them, an independently thinking robot brings Godzilla into the fight.

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Plot Keywords:

kaiju | jet jaguar | tokusatsu | giant monster | psychotronic film | 

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Taglines:

Underground horrors attack!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

April 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Godzilla vs. Megalon

Filming Locations:

Machida, Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$760,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character Rokuro "Roku-chan" Ibuki (played by Hiroyuki Kawase) wears a red sweater with the dog Snoopy from Charles M. Schulz's famous comic-strip, "Peanuts." (Snoopy is sick to his stomach in the image, and the word bubble says, "What a stupid thing to do.") Later the same year on August 11th, Toho-Towa, Toho's distribution arm for foreign films, released Snoopy Come Home (1972) (Japanese release title: "Sunûpî no Daibôken"/"Snoopy's Big Adventure").

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Goofs

The car of the main heroes doesn't seem to be pulling any kind of trailer after they flee from the lake, yet the huge water craft that the child had been using at the beginning had to be transported somehow.

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Quotes

Emperor Antonio of Seatopia: Contact Star Hunter Universe M. Say we need Gigan's help immediately.
Antonio's Aide: Right.
Emperor Antonio of Seatopia: Additionally, notify our people on Easter Island.

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Alternate Versions

The German dub of the film infamously renamed Jet Jaguar to King Kong in an attempt to fool audiences, but it also contained other differences. Most importantly, Goro was changed from being Rokuro's much older brother to his father. And instead of contacting the aliens of M Space Hunter Nebula, the Seatopian people contact a certain "Alpha Base".

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Connections

Followed by Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla (2002)

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Soundtracks

Gojira to Jetto Jagâ de Panchi Panchi Panchi
("With Godzilla and Jet Jaguar, Punch Punch Punch")
Closing Theme
Music by Riichirô Manabe
Lyrics by Shin'ichi Sekizawa
Sung by Masato Shimon

User Reviews

Not bad

I've seen every Godzilla movie at least once, but this one is something of a special case. They say this film was started and completed in the same month, which is an incredibly short amount of time for a feature film to be made. I can't say it has the best plot, basically Atlantis is pissed out of nowhere and sends a giant bug to attack Japan of all places, while "agents" of their Caucasian race attempt to take control of a simplistic Robot that looks like a gymnastics instructor. Well, all that put aside, the movie isn't actually that terrible. It was fun to see Gigan in another film besides his own, I feel he was always a bit under rated.