Godzilla in popular culture
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As an enduring and iconic symbol of post-World War II Japanese cinematic history, Godzilla has been referenced and parodied countless times in popular culture. Godzilla and other icons of the kaiju genre have appeared in a variety of mediums, ranging from cartoons, film, literature, television, comics, and video games. Often, it is Godzilla's name, his design/character, and/or the style of his movies where he demolishes cities that is parodied the most. Godzilla's name is also often referenced by attaching the suffix "-zilla" to a word and/or phrase in order to denote size or monstrous/destructive behavior. The following is a list of such references, organized in alphabetical order. While this page aims to be comprehensive, due to the broad subject matter, it is evergrowing.
Film
Image | Film of origin | Release date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
All About Our House | 2001/06/09 | Godzilla and Megaguirus appear in a number of fantasy sequences. | |
Austin Powers in Goldmember | 2002/07/26 | As Austin, his father, and Foxxy Cleopatra pursue Goldmember through a parade in Tokyo, they crash into a parade float of a monster resembling Godzilla. They continue to drive with the float affixed to the top of their car which roars as music plays reminiscent of that of Akira Ifukube. Two men looking onto the float, played by Brian Tee and Masi Oka, provide the following dialogue before fleeing:
| |
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America | 1996/12/20 | Beavis and Butt-Head at one point have a Godzilla-based dream. Butt-Head kidnaps a woman, reminiscent of King Kong, while Beavis breathes fire at military troops, reminiscent of Godzilla. The two fight over who wants a 'go' with the woman before the dream ends. | |
Friday the 13th Part III | 1982/08/13 | Debbie reads an article in an issue of Fangoria magazine titled "Twenty-Five Years With Godzilla," and shows a photo from the original Godzilla film. | |
Hey Arnold!: The Movie | 2002/06/28 | Helga's father, Bob Pataki, has a miniature model of Arnold's neighborhood which he plays with by pretending to be Godzilla destroying the city. | |
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid | 1992/07/17 | When Adam, now giant sized, attacks Las Vegas, fleeing Japanese tourists refer to him as "Godzilla." | |
Instructions Not Included | 2013/08/30 | Maggie owns a giant inflatable Godzilla doll which is seen numerous times in the background. At one point, she hits it across the room. | |
Million Dollar Crocodile | 2012/06/08 | Released in the UK and on video in the US under the title Croczilla, clearly taking its name from that of Godzilla. One of the film's taglines, "Japan was just the appetizer," is also a clear nod to Godzilla. | |
Monsters vs. Aliens | 2009/03/27 | While his cohorts reference classic American movie monsters, Insectosaurus echoes Mothra. A grub mutated by nuclear testing, he once attacked Tokyo, metamorphoses into a butterfly, and can shoot strands of silk as a means of attack. As an added kaiju reference, would-be world conqueror Gallaxhar rallies his troops thusly: "Attention, all aliens! Destroy all monsters!" | |
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes | 2018/08/03 | A character named Godzillo (ゴジロ, who is described as a "Monster Hero," appears with a design and roar based on Godzilla's from Gojiro)Godzilla vs. Biollante and Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. Worth noting is that this character was actually included in the film with the official permission of Toho, who distributed the film in theaters. In the promotional Vol. 0 Manga for the film, Godzillo's power, or "Quirk," is called "Toho." What this power is or can do is never specified though it serves as a clear reference to the company. | |
Pee-wee's Big Adventure | 1985/08/09 | During the movie lot chase scene, Godzilla and King Ghidorah can be seen on the set of what appears to be a Godzilla movie. | |
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie | 2000/11/17 | The babies take control of a giant mechanical Reptar and roam through the city causing unintentional destruction, referencing both Godzilla and Mechagodzilla. They also pilot the robot against a giant purple hermit crab mecha, and scale the Eiffel Tower holding Angelica in its hand, referencing King Kong. Both mechs are eventually destroyed, with the robotic Reptar having its tail, right claw, and head cut off. | |
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones |
2002/05/16 | The Republic's troops use artillery that bears much resemblance to that of the Japanese defense weapons in various Toho productions, namely the Maser Cannons. | |
Ted 2 | 2015/06/26 | A person in a Godzilla costume resembling the DaisensoGoji suit can be seen in a scene at Comic-Con. |
Television
This article or section needs to be cleaned up to meet the standards of Wikizilla. Reason: Replace reference field with air dates, and organize alphabetically. |
Image | Series of origin | Episode(s) | Air date | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
30 Rock | "Chain Reaction of Mental Anguish" | 2010/12/02 | Tracy Jordan's "son," Donald, has begun a new business venture: a themed restaurant that features brawls between "unlicensed" versions of Japanese monsters. The unfortunately-named "Staples" restaurant features a debut battle between Godzilla and Mechagodzila. | |
Animaniacs | "Hercule Yakko" | 1993/10/21 | In a pre-opening credits parody of Masterpiece Theater, Yakko introduces a series of catastrophic events culminating in the appearance of Godzilla, who, after delivering his distinctive roar, proceeds to deluge the screen in a wall of fire. | |
The Awful Truth | Don't Shoot, It's Only a Wallet | Godzilla vs. Megalon | In an episode of The Awful Truth regarding race relations shows a scene from Godzilla vs. Megalon in order to present a visual metaphor. | |
"Sir Yaksalot" | 1993/10/22 | A dragon is terrorizing a medieval town, and the Warners are called in by the king to deal with the situation. They suggest consulting the war room, and the cartoon cuts to a high tech facility where several people are sitting around a large, circular table. A Japanese general and scientist, whose voices are out of sync, are present, along with Doctor Strangelove and Perry Mason, the television lawyer made famous by Raymond Burr, who appeared in the Americanized version of the original Godzilla film, known as Godzilla, King of the Monsters!. The intended parody of the original Godzilla film is evident. | ||
"The Warners and the Beanstalk" |
1994/02/10 | While trying to convince a giant to eat gold eggs and meat instead of them, the Warners end up in Tokyo where civilians begin to flee. They ask the giant "Would you could you in Japan, with Godzilla and Rodan?" and stand-ins for the two monsters appear before him. The giant replies that he "would not could not in Japan, with Godzilla and Rodan," causing Godzilla to blast him with fire, and Rodan to slap him into the air with his wings. | ||
Brickleberry | "High Stakes" | 2014/11/11 | Woody Johnson drew out a picture of Godzilla fighting soldiers, tanks and the Air Force. | |
The Colbert Report | "Everything Must Go" | 2006/06/20 | Introducing a new segment, "Stephen Makes It Simple," show host Stephen Colbert attempts to dissect the differences between big and little governments. To demonstrate this, Colbert picks metaphors for the two subjects: Godzilla as big government and Lassie as small government. | |
Courage the Cowardly Dog |
"Courage in the Big Stinkin' City" |
2000/11/07 | Courage must deliver a package to a giant roach who is holding Muriel and enters a condemned building where various shocking sites lie behind each door, one of which being King Ghidorah using stock footage from Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. | |
Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls | "Everyday Life with D" | 2015/09/08 | In this episode, Suu is dropped in a vat of nuclear waste, mutating her into a giant monster with dorsal spines and the ability to shoot an atomic beam from her mouth. She fights with a giant dryad named Kii who, after having the waste removed from her body by Kimihito, is restored to regular size. | |
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | A Trend Indeed | Godzilla (1954) | Anchor Steve Carell weighs in on the occurring fascination with Asian culture in the United States, in particular focusing on the surge in Japanese toys being sold in America. Carell, however, provides a grim reminder to his story saying "it's only been 50 years since this happened" as footage from Godzilla (1954) plays. | |
Death Note | "Scorn" | 2007/05/29 | As Near comes to the conclusion that Teru Mikami may be directly connected to the mysterious serial killer Kira, a small toy in Godzilla's likeness is shown twice, along with a paper cutout of Tokyo Tower and stacks of CDs, representing buildings in a city. | |
Dexter | "The Dark Defender" | 2007/10/28 | Dexter investigates the scene of a murder at a comic shop. There, a Godzilla action figure, possibly Bandai's large scale 1991 figure or a Horizon Godzilla figure, which is painted green can be seen briefly in the background. | |
Dr. Slump: Arale-chan | "The Mysterious Dr. Monster?!" |
1982/01/13 | Dr. Monster daydreams of playing jump rope with Godzilla and Gamera. | |
Drawn Together | "Super Nanny" | 2005/12/07 | At a red carpet event, Godzilla appears to chastise the sold-out Ling Ling about losing his culture and becoming too American, and uses a giant placard to state that Ling Ling is a "House Monster." All of Godzilla's dialogue consists of his Showa roar. | |
DuckTales | "Master of the Djinni" | 1987/09/29 | As Djinni is watching TV at Manor McDuck, Godzilla appears on the screen blasting Anguirus with his atomic breath, similar to Godzilla Raids Again. | |
Food Wars! | "The Unfolding Individual Competition" |
2015/09/12 | During judging of Ryō Kurokiba's dish, French Curry Lobster Rice with Cognac, one of the judges pictures Napoleon Bonaparte riding a giant crustacean resembling Ebirah as a parallel to the food's deliciousness. Ebirah's roar can be heard in the background. | |
Food Wars! The Second Plate |
"Interplay of Light & Shadow" |
2016/07/09 | Ebirah's roar is heard as the judges begin eating Ryō Kurokiba's Soupe De Poisson Ramen, a dish coated with crushed dried crustacean shells. | |
"The Age of Kings" | 2016/07/16 | As Hisako Arato prepares her Soft-Shelled Turtle Hamburger for the competition, a visual metaphor is employed featuring the girl wreaking havoc on a city dressed as a giant turtle, similar to Gamera. | ||
Franklin | "Franklin in the Dark" | 1998/01/05 | While trying to learn to cope with his fear of the dark, Franklin imagines monsters in his room. The spirits of Gyaos, Viras, Jiger and Barugon, who are all represented in different colors, appear from a spare shell lying on the floor, terrifying him. | |
Full House | "D.J.'s Very First Horse" | 1988/11/04 | After returning from a date with Becky, Jesse Katsopolis tries to blow up Michelle's new toy, an inflatable Godzilla doll. | |
Futurama | "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings" |
2003/08/10 | While at the theatre, an image of Fry, Bender and Leela is displayed with Godzilla, and Bender exclaims in an operatic signing voice "Oh no! It's Godzilla!" The Real bender in the audience quips that "That's funny..I don't remember fighting Godzilla." | |
Good Luck Charlie | "T. Wrecks" | 2012/08/26 | Bob brings PJ and Emmet the Classic Media DVD release of Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, which he then proceeds to watch. | |
Garo | "Taiga" | 2005/12/23 | While waiting for his father to return from his Horror hunting, a young Kouga Saejima walks to a nearby toy store where a Rodan toy is seen on display. | |
Happy Tree Friends | "Wingin' It" | 2006/12/10 | While safety instructions are being read on a plane, Flaky notices a panel on the safety leaflet telling passengers what to do in the event of a Godzilla attack, which frightens her. Later, when Lumpy is using his radio equipment aboard the plane, it knocks out a television signal, affecting Toothy on the ground who was watching a Godzilla movie. After seemingly crash-landing, the plane rolls into the ocean, with Flaky seemingly escaping to a sinking life-raft after being attacked by a shark. Suddenly, Godzilla can be heard roaring off-screen, and the episode ends with her presumably being killed by the monster. | |
Heroes | "Genesis" | 2006/09/25 | During the scene in Tokyo where Hiro attempts to reverse time, an out-of-focus Godzilla toy can be spotted among other collectibles. | |
Hunter × Hunter | "Secret Trick × Register × The Battle Begins" | 2000/09/16 | When Gon and Killua enter their hotel room on the 200th floor of Heavens Arena, Godzilla can be seen fighting Mothra on a television screen. | |
Invader Zim | "Hamstergeddon" | 2001/08/17 | Zim plants an Irken device on Peepi the hamster to make him grow larger, but quickly becomes too big to contain and breaks free. Zim doesn't worry about this at first, but reconsiders once his house ends up in the path of the hamster's destruction. After failing to stop Peepi on his own, Zim enlists the help of Dib and formulates a new plan; he gets Peepi to follow his Voot ship to a Ferris wheel which is fitted with rockets to blast Peepi into space. The involvement of the military causes this plan to fail, however, and as a last resort, Zim attaches rockets to Peepi himself and blasts the hamster into orbit. | |
Jimmy Kimmel Live! | "Kobe Bryant/Lake Bell/Pharrell Williams" | 2014/05/08 | While talking about Hollywood rebooting old franchises, Jimmy shows a fake trailer for "Barneyzilla" in preparation for the release of Godzilla on May 16. The trailer begins with the Legendary and Warner Bros. logos dissolving into "On May 16..." and showing Admiral Stenz talking. Then, "He is coming..." appears onscreen, followed by more footage from the Godzilla teaser. "And he is not your friend." appears as the teaser trailer footage builds up to Godzilla hiding behind smoke and rubble. Instead of Godzilla, however, Barney appears out of the ashes, laughing and jumping, and saying "Okay!" excitedly with explosions at his feet. "BARNEYZILLA" appears in purple with the "Gojira" katakana behind it. The title cuts to Barney singing "I love you, you love... SKREEONGK!" Barney roars like Godzilla and breathes fire from his mouth onto the camera, transitioning to notify viewers that the film is rated "G" for general audiences. | |
Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger | "The Strongest Fighting Machine" |
2011/11/06 | The Gokaigers use their newly acquired Grand Power to obtain the Kanzen Soul, which when used, combines the GokaiOh, the GoZyuJin, and Malchalcon, creating the Kanzen GokaiOh. This robot sometimes makes a screeching noise which is created from Gigan's Showa roars. | |
"The Strongest Man in the Universe" |
2011/12/11 | After seeing an article in a magazine about Don slaying a dragon, Luka and the rest of the Gokaigers confront Don about the matter. Don is then seen fighting with the dragon as Luka continues reading off the article. This dragon uses the roar of the Heisei King Ghidorah, itself created from that of Rodan. | ||
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson |
Various | To transition into the "Email Twitter Attack!" segment, an opening jingle is played featuring footage from multiple Gamera films and Gappa. | ||
Laverne & Shirley | "The Driving Test" | 1978/02/21 | An American poster for Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster can at one point be seen in the background. | |
The Looney Toons Show | Merrie Melodies - President's Day | Godzilla Series | Godzilla, bearing the SoshingekiGoji suit look, appears in the Merrie Melodies song "President's Day". Lola sings that Godzilla was there in the battle of Manila (in the Philippines), and the camera zooms into the giant painting as Godzilla gives a thumbs up and lets off a roar, and Lola says "Thank you, President Godzilla!" | |
Mythbusters | Car vs. Rain | The Mysterians | On this episode of Mythbusters, Kari, Tory, and Scottie try to pop a house full of popcorn based on the myth of heating kernels with a laser. During Tory's talk with laser researcher Karel Urbanek, three clips featuring lasers are shown, the last one being the Markalite Cannon vs. the Mysterian Dome scene from The Mysterians. It should be noted that these clips were shown in black-and-white format for comical reasons. | |
The PJs | Rich Man, **** Man | Godzilla Series | Thurgood uses his hands to produce amazingly realistic shadow puppets of Godzilla emitting flames, destroying a building, and even roaring. In another shot, Godzilla fights a rabbit head, much in the style of a kaiju movie. | |
Robot Chicken | Celebrity Rocket | Godzilla Series | This rather risqué scene features an unusual encounter between Godzilla, his wife, and Mechagodzilla. The finer details here shall remain unmentioned, although clarification will be offered in regards to the fact that they are looking at Mechagodzilla's chest drill. | |
Robot Chicken | King of the Monsters | Godzilla Series | A parody of the movie Training Day, featuring Godzilla teaching a young Godzilla Junior the ropes out on the streets of Japan. Includes a confrontation with the Great Mazinger. | |
Robot Chicken | Celebutard Mountain | Godzilla Series | Utilizing the same Godzilla prop seen in the "King of the Monsters" sketch, Robot Chicken reveals their idea of a Japanese version of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. When the iconic trolley enters the "Kingdom", a feral Godzilla takes the hapless vehicle into his grasp. This act of recklessness is shortly followed by several cultural parodies. | |
Robot Chicken | Godzilla Remade Again | Godzilla (1998) | Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich are given a chance to create another movie, or rather a "remake of a remake". The result: Baby Zilla's performing an ice skating number. Later, they congratulate themselves on making "another giant piece of crap." | |
Saturday Night Live | Broderick Crawford/Levon Helm/Dr. John/The Meters | March 19, 1977 | A person in a Godzilla Costume gets interviewed. | |
Saturday Night Live | Robert De Niro/Diddy-Dirty Money | December 4, 2010 | When Kenan Thompson's character DeAndre Cole veers off onto yet another musical tangent on his fictional talk show "What's Up With That?", he introduces Mothra, who dances furiously to chants of "Don't get too close to the porchlight." | |
Seinfeld | The Nap | Kaiju Films | When Mr. Steinbrenner enters George's office and hears the ticking of an alarm clock, he calls in the bomb squad because he thinks an explosive device is planted underneath George's desk. The bomb squad sends in a vehicle equipped with a camera to investigate. The vehicle moves up close to the Godzilla figurine behind George's desk. | |
The Simpsons | Treehouse of Horror VI | Godzilla Series | Lard Lad (an advertisement for a doughnut store) is brought to life by a bolt of lightning, and begins roaring like Godzilla. | |
The Simpsons | The Way We Weren't | Godzilla Series | Homer Simpson calls a girl he met at a lake a "Godzilla made of garbage". | |
The Simpsons | Lisa on Ice | Kaiju Films | Lisa is in danger of failing PE, so she joins a children's hockey league. Lisa fears that if she ever receives an "F", it could blemish her record forever as she fantasizes that in the future, the Presidency of the United States is immediately revoked during her inauguration when a reporter exposes her 2nd grade "F" in PE. The official sentences Lisa to "A Lifetime of Horror on Monster Island", reassuring her that it is only a name. Cut to her and other hapless humans fleeing in terror from Gamera, Rodan, and Mothra, as someone matter-of-factly states, "It's not really an island, its a peninsula". | |
The Simpsons | Helter Shelter | Godzilla Series | In this episode, the Comic Book Guy has a Godzilla action figure in his room. | |
The Simpsons | The Wandering Juvie | Godzilla Series | Bart Simpson's drawing is of 'FartZilla'. | |
The Simpsons | Treehouse of Horror XXVI | Godzilla Series | Homer Simpson turns into Godzilla after coming into contact with radiation. | |
The Simpsons | Faith Off | Godzilla Series | In this episode, Homer Simpson draws a picture of Superman fighting Godzilla. | |
The Simpsons | Bart's Comet | Godzilla Series | Bart's alternate name for his Principal Skinner balloon is 'ButtZilla' a play on the name Godzilla. | |
The Simpsons | Homer's Phobia | Godzilla Series | A Godzilla doll is seen in a store. | |
The Simpsons | Grift of the Magi | Godzilla Series | One of Bart Simpson's classmates has a Godzilla doll on his desk. | |
The Simpsons | Helter Shelter | Godzilla Series | One of the NSYNC members claim that the NAVY help fight Godzilla". | |
The Simpsons | Hungry Hungry Homer | Godzilla Series | RadioZilla is the name of a Springfield radiostation. | |
The Simpsons | Marge in Chains | Godzilla | On this episode a Japanese, Osaka disease virus has been personified by a picture of Godzilla who is sick. | |
The Simpsons | Treehouse of Horror XXIV | Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla | During the intro Guillermo del Toro created, Godzilla's skeleton is seen under dirt. Later on you can hear Godzilla's roar in the distance. | |
The Simpsons | Most Episodes | Godzilla | On most episodes, Bart Simpson has a Godzilla doll in his room. | |
The Simpsons | Brother from the Same Planet | Godzilla | On this episode Homer Simpson is compared with Godzilla on the news. | |
The Simpsons | Mayored to the Mob | Godzilla Series | During Springfield's bi-monthly sci-fi convention, Godzilla can be seen signing autographs. | |
The Simpsons | Wedding for Disaster | King Kong vs. Godzilla | During an argument, Homer calls Marge 'Bridezilla', and Marge calls Homer 'King Wrong'. Maggie then imagines them as Godzilla and King Kong, as a reference to King Kong vs. Godzilla. | |
The Simpsons | 30 Minutes Over Tokyo | Kaiju Films | As the Simpson family departs from Tokyo via airplane, a sudden attack by four famous kaiju prompts routine assurances by an unfazed pilot. Upon their escape, the scene reveals Gamera, Rodan, Mothra and Godzilla roaring into the sky. | |
The Simpsons | Worst Episode Ever | Godzilla | On this episode, Bart Simpson is working in a comic book store and he's selling a comic called "BloodZilla" with a photo of a vampire Godzilla on the cover. | |
The Simpsons | The Canine Mutiny | Godzilla | On this episode, Bart Simpson is trying to buy a comic known as 'ZoidZilla' from the comic store. | |
Urusei Yatsura | The Great Space Matchmaking Operation | April 7, 1982 | Godzilla can be spotted amongst the classmates during the exchange. | |
Urusei Yatsura | Happy Birthday My Darling | Kaiju Films | Ataru goes to the arcade, where he plays a game. The objective is to fight Godzilla; however, the nuclear saurian isn't the only target, as Mothra, King Kong, King Ghidorah, an Xilien Ship and Rodan also appear to be featured. | |
Urusei Yatsura | Snow Panic? The Mendo Family Cherry Blossom Display Banquet! | Kaiju Films | After the whole city is sprayed with a special Juice from Lum's home planet, they begin to act out various roles. Kamen Rider, Hulk, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon appear at random times. Frankenstein can be seen holding Baragon over his head during the big pan scene, and not to far away, a mutating Matango is visible. Ebirah and Mothra can also be spotted in the background. | |
Urusei Yatsura | Oh! The Memories of Mother | Godzilla Series | Ataru's mother sees herself inside her home, as Godzilla, Gamera and Alien Baltan all hang around outside. | |
Urusei Yatsura | Underground Reincarnation! What's Darling Thinking Of!? | Destroy All Monsters | Mendo daydreams of flying over Godzilla, whose escape is prevented by the same magnetic fields that were used to keep Rodan from wandering too far away from Monsterland in Destroy All Monsters. | |
Urusei Yatsura | Blaze, Secret Powers! Stick to the Straight and Narrow Path | Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster | At the risk of vanishing, Ataru, dressed as a girl, and Lum both appear onstage to perform puppetry with their hands. Their first rendering consists of Lum wiggling her fingers and Ataru holding out his hands to the side of hers, making it appear as though there were a three-headed dragon present. Of course, King Ghidorah pops in to "say hello", as a means to add to the visual. | |
Urusei Yatsura | Here Again! The Hunter of Love, Princess Kurama | Godzilla vs. Gigan | Princess Kurama, the princess of the crow goblins (which are known as Tengu), needs to find a mate to save her species. Her crow minions submit data for every male in the universe into a super computer, and it quickly flashes through all the potential mates. One such candidate happens to be Nebula Space Hunters M's very own Gigan! (Who knew he was single?) | |
Stop!! Hibari-Kun! | Episode #13 | Godzilla Raids Again | The scene in question takes place in a movie theater, complete with unmistakable near-silhouettes of Godzilla and Anguirus on the big screen. | |
Roseanne | Various | Godzilla Series | The famous Godzilla action figure that decorated the background of the living room set for much of the show's run (October 18, 1988 through May 21, 1997) can be found in the top left hand corner of the accompanying still. | |
The Critic | Siskel & Ebert & Jay & Alice | Godzilla Series | Critic Jay Sherman shows clips from films that the Oscars overlooked, which includes a movie about a deaf Godzilla. | |
Teen Titans Go! | Arms Race With Legs | Godzilla | When the Teen Titans are seeing who can slap the highest, they pass Godzilla and all lightly slap his face, not angering him. | |
The Simpsons | The Real Housewives of Fat Tony | Godzilla Series | In one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it moments, a variety of movie spoofs can be seen during the couch gag. If you look really closely at the bottom of the screen during the zoom out, a DVD of The People vs. Godzilla is visible. | |
The Simpsons | Simpsons Tall Tales | Kaiju Films | A homeless man treats the Simpson family to three tales of Americana. The first features Homer as Paul Bunyan; however, the story is altered to include new scenes, such as Paul Bunyan's battle with Rodan. Lisa points out that this never happened in the original story, and goes on to ramble about all the inconsistencies in Paul Bunyan's size, to which the homeless man simply replies, “Who’s telling this story, you or me?”. | |
South Park | Mecha-Streisand | Godzilla Series | Many homages to Godzilla monsters are made in this episode. | |
Olive, the Other Reindeer | N/A (Television Special) | Kaiju Films | During the musical number "Merry Christmas After All", Olive, Santa, and the reindeer deliver presents across the globe. When they visit Tokyo, "Ultraman" and "Godzilla" make a brief cameo appearance, dancing to the tune of the music. | |
Sonic X | Mayhem! 6 Chaos Emeralds | Godzilla Series | When Sonic is being chased by Dr. Eggman's robot "Weasel" the two pass by a movie scene with a monster clearly resembling Godzilla. "Weasel" uses a flamethrower on the Godzilla look-alike as it passes by, leaving the monster comically burnt up. | |
Tekkōki Mikazuki (Giant Robot Mikazuki) | Fourth Night: New Giant Shingetsu, Arise! (Ep. 4) | Godzilla | In the fourth episode of this Super Robot mini-series, Akane and one of the AIT members visit a Monster Fan Club. They were in the midst of designing a monster called Gyleek using a computer program, which bears a resemblance to Godzilla with is dorsal spines on its back and overall body shape with SpaceGodzilla-like spines on its shoulders. They even mention that they should give it a breath attack as it is a "classic staple of kaiju". In the background, kaiju toys can be seen and one of them was a bust of Zilla.
Later, Torupa, the villain of the series uses the club president's thoughts of anger over Akane's friend not accepting that he loves her, (even though he was stalking her in a rather disturbing way) and his hatred for those who judge him to create an Idiom of the Kaiju. The Idiom appears as a giant egg and AIT tries to destroy it using the Ultima Cannon, but it only makes the egg hatch into Gyleek, who rampages through the city. In additon to having Godzilla like-features on its body, Gyleek had sound bytes of Godzilla roars as part of its audio sound effects. | |
My Life as a Teenage Robot | Around the World in Eighty Pieces | Godzilla Series | The main characters are trying to gather Jenny's body parts, which have been scattered around the globe (she's a robot, mind you). When they arrive in Japan, they witness a blatant parody of the King of the Monsters, complete with signature roar. They remove a part of Jenny's body from the bottom of his foot, which calms the erstwhile savage beast as he returns to sea. | |
Ultraman Max | The Prophesy of Baradhi | Kaiju Films | This episode, directed by Shusuke Kaneko, starts off with two children playing with action figures. These figures are revealed to be Gamera, in his design featured in Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys and Godzilla, in his design from Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, films which were both directed by Kaneko. The two kids are interrupted by the arrival of Antlar, and run away from the giant monster. | |
Pani Poni Dash | A Wide Mas Will Know Not to Approach Danger | Kaiju Films | In the prologue for this episode, two minor characters (Kurusu and Serizawa) square off in the school hallway wearing costumes. Kurusu is wearing a Godzilla costume, and a Type 66 Maser Cannon, Gaos, and Viras also make very brief appearances. | |
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | Media Blitz | Godzilla 2000: Millennium | This mock commercial focuses on Finland and briefly features Godzilla from the first movie in the Millennium series. | |
Skip Beat! | Danger Zone | Godzilla Series | When our cute protagonist Kyoko Mogami sprains her ankle, she sprawls on the grass to take the weight off, and when she moves her leg wrong, she sees Godzilla through the pain. | |
The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya | Part 6 | Godzilla Series | In this episode, a rivalry between Mikuru Asahina and Yuki Nagato forms involving cosplay. When it gets to the point where Mikuru resorts to donning a frog suit, we see in the background that Yuki has dressed up as Godzilla. We know it's Yuki, of course, because of a strategically-placed, free-floating label. | |
MAD | Pirates of Neverland: At Wit's End, Batman Family Feud | Godzilla Series | A professor tries to teaches his students that dinosaurs are more closely related to birds than reptiles and attempts to illustrate his point by replacing the roars of several clips of dinosaurs (including the Jurassic Park T-Rex and Godzilla) with the chirps of birds. | |
Sailor Moon | Jupiter, the Brawny Girl in Love | Kaiju Films | A stuffed, winged three-headed dragon is plainly visible in a claw machine; a subtle nod to King Ghidorah. | |
Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated | Battle of the Humungonauts | The War of the Gargantuas | The episode begins with an Asian woman singing a rendition of Kipp Hamilton's "The Words Get Stuck in my Throat", before the party is trashed by a very Gaira-esque monster. Later, the Green Humungonaut battles a Red Humungonaut, and to further the Gaira comparison, the green one comes out of the water and is shown to have scales in close up shots. | |
The Muppet Show | Avery Schreiber | King Kong Escapes | Dr. Bunsen Honeydew's gorilla detector bears a resemblance to Mechani-Kong's head from King Kong Escapes. | |
Pucca | Tokyo A Go-Go | Godzilla vs. Gigan | Pucca, Garu and friends find an extremely long sushi conveyor belt. They ride it and find themselves taken to Tokyo, where Godzilla and a modified Showa Gigan are seen battling in the background. This scene replays several times throughout the episode, whenever the layout of Tokyo is shown. | |
Magic Knight Rayearth | Lives at Stake - Presea's Weapons | Kaiju Films | Ascot summons a caterpillar-like monster to destroy the Magic Knights. The monster looks and sounds exactly like Mothra Larva. When it absorbs the Magic Knights' magic powers, it looks very similar to Battra's larval stage and sounds exactly like Battra and/or Rodan. It's final transformation appears to be reminiscent of Battra's Imago stage, and he sounds a lot like the Heisei King Ghidorah as well. | |
Ugly Americans | The Kong of Queens | Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla | In this episode, Kong breaks open the wall of his next door neighbor, Mechagodzilla, who is eating cereal. | |
Nurse Witch Komugi | Encounter Has Come | Kaiju Films | Windmills become Markalite Cannons in Nagasaki; King Caesar awakens in Okinawa one can even see Miyarabi singing in the foreground, and even Gamera makes a cameo appearance in this episode of Nurse Witch Kumogi. | |
Pinky and the Brain | Tokyo Grows | Godzilla, King of the Monsters! | A spoof on Godzilla, King of the Monsters, this episode features a plethora of subtle and not-so-subtle nods to the original classic; the most famous being the hilariously deadpan "Yes, I see..." cutaways with a Raymond Burr stand-in. | |
Super Electromagnetic Machine Voltes V | Various | Kaiju Films | Throughout the series, various beast fighters and super fighters boast the roars of several kaiju, including Gabara, Anguirus, Gamera, Kamacuras, and Ebirah. In episode thirteen, one beast fighter named Kuragenyara appears identical to Dogora. | |
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! | Mario Meets Koop-zilla | Godzilla Series/Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965 film) | In this episode of the popular 80's cartoon, King Koopa (Bowser) consumes a powerful dish called 'Super Sushi', Grows to a giant size, and starts trashing a city very similar to Tokyo. Mario consumes another dish of Sushi, and also grows gigantic. The two battle it out in the City until Bowser is struck by a giant needle, reducing him back to normal. Bowser's general appearance in the cartoon means he also slightly resembles Baragon, with Mario taking up the role of Frankenstein. | |
Space Dandy | There's Music in the Darkness, Baby (Season 2 Episode 2) | Mothra | One of the creatures exploring the River of Time near Dandy as he was trying to revert his friends Meow and QT to a live state is Mothra, who was caught in a tidal wave which reverted her to her larval stage and then to her egg stage, with the egg disappearing into the wave after it was spat out by the river. | |
The Amazing World of Gumball | The Microwave | Hedorah | This episode features Kenneth, a monster who resembles Hedorah. | |
The Amazing World of Gumball | The Finale | Hedorah, King Kong | In this episode, Kenneth battles another monster, Hector who resembles King Kong. |
- In the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series, a poster with King Ghidorah can be seen next to the Turtles' television throughout most of the series.
- In the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Clash of the Metal Men!," the supervillain Chemo utters Godzilla's roar.
- In the cartoon Rugrats, there is a fictional dinosaur called Reptar with rounded, blue spike-like appendages on his back, which intentionally causes him to resemble and spoof Godzilla. He also has enemies: Dactar, a pterodactyl that is based on Rodan, and Thorg, a purple gorilla that Reptar beats in the episode, "Toy Palace". Thorg is based on King Kong. Most notably, he battles a robotic duplicate of himself that is an obvious homage to Mechagodzilla.
- Rodan's roar appeared in 2 episodes of The anime Naruto,in a episode when Naruto farts on Kiba's face, Kiba screams with Rodan's roar. And in a another episode, when Konohamaru calls Sakura "Naruto's Girlfriend" she lets out Rodan's roar and punches Naruto.
- In the Rugrats episode "Angelicon", Angelica becomes a giant monster destroying the city referencing the original Godzilla film from 1954 and climbs up the Empire State Building as a reference to King Kong.
- In LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, an animatronic T-Rex in the Batcave's trophy room lets out the TriStar Godzilla's roar when activated. Plastic Man will also emit this roar if the player transforms him into a T-Rex in the "Big Trouble in Little Gotham" chapter.
- Ebirah inspired two monsters who appeared in the Nintendo anime Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Ebifryer and Ebizou. Both are giant shrimp monsters who have abilities far stronger than the rest of the cast.
- Kirari Moroboshi wears a Godzilla suit in episode 4 of the anime THE iDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls.
- Billy and Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure, the movie for the children's cartoon TV series, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy had a cameo from Godzilla, as well as Rodan, Anguirus, Gamera, King Ghidorah and Gigan. Godzilla is yellow, Anguirus breathes fire, Gigan is shorter, and Rodan has no wings. Another episode's title, "Giant Billy and Mandy All-out Attack," is a parody of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. During the episode there is a monster called Mechagorillasaur which is a parody of Mechani-Kong, Cragera which is a parody of Gamera, and Kittyra which is a parody of King Ghidorah.
- In the cartoon Dexter's Laboratory, there are episodes that parodied the kaiju films as well. The episodes are "Monstory", "Last But Not Beast", and "Dial M for Monkey: Magmanamus" and they are a reference to the kaiju films. The giant monsters in that cartoon are parodies of monsters from the Godzilla and Gamera franchises. From the episode, "Last But Not Beast", the giant monster with an axe-shaped head is parody of Godzilla or Gamera. The giant monster, Magmanamous from "Dial M for Monkey: Magmanamus", is a parody of Hedorah. In the episode, "Monstory", Dexter's giant monster form looks like Godzilla.
- In the cartoon My Life As A Teenage Robot, there are two episodes that parody kaiju films, specifically Godzilla. In the first episode, inside the main character Jenny's bedroom, there is a monitor showing a giant monster attacking Tokyo. In episode 10 of season 2, titled "Around the World in Eighty Pieces," a giant purple lizard-like monster with blue dorsal plates is shown knocking down buildings and breathing fire, and even uses Godzilla's roar. It is eventually shown that the reason it's so angry is because it has the disembodied leg of Jenny stuck in its foot. After it is removed, the monster sighs with relief and returns to the sea. Also, in episode 9 of season 3, titled "Agent 00'Sheldon," the secret agents' laser guns use the Maser Cannon sound effects.
- Godzilla made a minor appearance in Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School but only his foot is shown. He also has a daughter that wears a pink dress and bow tie.
- In Daffy Duck's Quackbusters, Daffy had a dream of himself singing to monsters and introduces Godzilla but called Smodzilla. Smodzilla eats Daffy at the end of the dream.
- In the episode of Futurama, "Anthology of Interest I", there is a segment of the episode where Bender and Zoidberg are fighting over the city as giant monsters. That segment is a parody of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II and other giant monster films. In another episode, a T-Rex is heard with Godzilla's roar. Later, Calculon tells Bender that extras from Godzilla movies are better actors than him. In a later episode, Leela mentions how "diamonds bounce off the tentacle as meatballs bounce off Mothra". In the third Futurama movie, Professor Farnsworth says Godzilla when he is shocked by his destroyed ship. Later in the episode, Farnsworth metions Raymond Burr. In a later episode, Fry writes an opera where Leela saves him from being eaten by Godzilla. In one of the final episodes, the crew returns from Japan saying they had to deal with "Mothzilla", which then comes out of the ship and attacks.
- In the Futurama episode "A Clockwork Origin," a robotic plesiosaur has Godzilla's roar.
- In The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Sheen wants to see a 12-inch monster parody of Godzilla, Bonzilla, in one episode.
- In a Family Guy episode, Halloween On Spooner Street, Stewie threatens three bullies into giving them his candy back. One of them throws a rock at Stewie, causing him to fall over. During the fall, he accidentally fires a rocket and miles away, at a city where Godzilla is fighting the army, the rocket kills him, causing the monster to explode into blood. In the episode "Road to the Multiverse", a title card depicts a Godzilla-like Brian attacking a city in Japan.
- In the South Park episode, "Whale Whores", Stan and his gang made a giant model of Godzilla to scare the Japanese away.
- In an episode of Squidbillies, one of the characters says that they had a drew about Godzilla coming in and tearing the house off the ground. His father says that that's impossible since Godzilla lives in Japan and that's too long of a commute. However, the house starts shaking and he screams "It's Godziller!" and the squids all pointlessly run around when the same squid says "We have angered him!". Soon it's revealed that it wasn't Godzilla, but an underground hydroponic greenhouse.
- In one of the Simpsons couch gags, called "Homer Evolution", Homer Simpson evolves from a microbe to a human in about two minutes. In the Cretaceous period, Homer is a rat, and finds himself being chased by Bart, looking like a Tyrannosaurus, until a Stegosaurus, sporting Lisa's appearance, hits the Tyrannosaurus with its tail. The Lisa Stegosaurus lets out a Godzilla roar as Homer hides in a hole and the K-T extinction unfolds. Homer pops out of the hole a couple of seconds later and continues his evolution.
- In the Fairly OddParents musical special "Schools Out!", before the mayor makes his speech Godzilla could be seen destroying Dimmsdale. He is based on the appearance in the 1950s.
- In the video game Ed, Edd 'n Eddy: The Misedventures, there is a mini-game called "The Revenge of Edzilla". He later fights the Kanker Sisters as the end boss, and they resemble King Ghidorah. The monster "Edzilla" was also in Ed, Edd 'n Eddy TV series, in the episode called "The Day the Ed Stood Still," where Ed is dressed up as a monster, then goes on a rampage, and terrorizes the kids. It does not actually show itself until the middle of the episode.
- "The Kaiju" is a monster that appeared the first episode of Total Drama Action, "Monster Cash," as part of a challenge themed around monster films. It was revealed to be an animatronic at the end of the episode
- In Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo, a monster that resembles Godzilla wrecked power lines then fought the Teen Titans.
- In many episodes of Phineas and Ferb, a Godzilla-like creature has made many appearances. In an episode that takes place in ancient China, a mechanical dragon with Godzilla's roar is sent to fight a giant terracotta warrior. A bystander points out that "they would love this in Japan."
- On the electricity episode of "Bill Nye the Science Guy" a large plug-in is shown. Bill describes it as Godzilla's hairdryer and Godzilla is shown attacking Tokyo in black & white.
- In the popular 1980's sit-com ALF, there are many references to Godzilla. In season two, Alf enters the Tanner families' living room and changes the channel on the TV, stating "its "Godzilla Week" on Channel 6!". He exclaims "They're showing Godzilla vs The Thing, Godzilla vs King Kong, and Godzilla vs The Smog Monster!". After watching for a few seconds, he sees one of the monsters (ironically not even from a Godzilla movie at all) roaring at the screen and quickly flees from the room screaming. In season three, Kate uses Godzilla's attack on Tokyo in the original film to explain how an earthquake works to Alf. The same year, Alf refers to a pregnant Kate as "Crabzilla" in reference to her recent moodiness. In season four, when Kate asks Alf to leave the room (something Alf is asked to do a lot in the show), the alien retorts, "You didn't say "Godzilla-Says!". When Kate gives him "the look", Alf reconsiders and says, "But perhaps I...didn't hear!", and beats a hasty retreat to the kitchen.
- A red Godzilla robot appeared in Samurai Pizza Cats.
- The Big Time Rush episode Big Time Song Writers features a scene where Gustavo breaks out of cement while Godzilla's roar is heard multiple times.
- In the Back at the Barnyard episode "Plucky and Me" when the other barn animals discover Plucky, who is a dinosaur, Pip says "That's a Godzilla!". Later, when Mrs. Beady is captured by Plucky, she calls the police and says "I've been captured by a Godzilla!". The policeman later says "Time to hunt some Zilla." Afterwards, Plucky gets on top of the farm house and holds Mrs. Beady in his hand, and the policeman comes in a plane and starts shooting at Plucky (which is a reference to the King Kong films). The policeman hits Plucky with a giant ball of cheese and he falls off, pretending to be dead. Mrs. Beady then says that "it was beauty that killed the beast".
- In the Back at the Barnyard episode "Animal Farmers", Bessy calls Otis by "Cowzilla" when he gets an idea of resuming Farmer Buyer's market after he's been sent to the hospital by a tractor accident unintentionally caused by Otis.
- In Detective Conan (A.K.A. Case Closed) there is a famous kaiju show with "Gomera" which parodies Godzilla quite often.
- The anime series Gatchaman used a sound clip of Godzilla's roar on occasion for the evil Galactor's mecha beasts as well as the TARDIS sound effect from Doctor Who.
- In the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series, two clone troopers are nicknamed "Goji" and "Rod". Goji has a Godzilla-like design in his helmet, and Rod has two Rodans in his helmet design.
- In the same Episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series, A creature with an uncanny resemblance to Godzilla and Zilla appears and is combated with Maser Cannon-like tanks and is eventually defeated. In the next episode, the creature is unwisely brought to an important planet but breaks loose on a rampage.
- In the show MAD, several references about Godzilla and monsters are made. One showed Godzilla sounding like a chicken. In the part "Ancient Greek Myth Busters", Mothra is destroying Greece along with a minotaur. In "Linkong", King Kong is the president of the U.S. and Mothra makes a brief appearance along with two fairies which are clearly parodies of the ones from Godzilla movies.
- In the show Uncle Grandpa, a character named Mr. Gus bears a striking resemblance to Godzilla. In an episode that takes place in Japan, they use Mr. Gus to make a giant monster movie named "Guszilla."
- In AQWorlds, Deady's giant monster form has Godzilla's Template:Scutes.
- The Energon Autobot "Signal Flare" from the Transformers franchise transforms into a Maser Cannon, which appear in Godzilla movies.
- In the 21st episode of the 1979 Cyborg 009 anime series, the team is watching a recon film that has visual evidence of a living dinosaur. Cyborg 006 immediately thinks they are watching an old kaiju film and tries guessing what the monster is, calling out the names of various Toho monsters: Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Rodan and Mothra. Upon asking if 007 would act in a kaiju film, 007 transforms into a giant bipedal komodo dragon lizard who loosely resembles a very cartoonish version of the King of the Monsters.
- In a TV commercial for Charter Internet, Godzilla is seen attacking a few planes.
- In the Comedy Central series Brickleberry, the character Woody Johnson thinks Godzilla is real in the show's universe. Woody claims he's more afraid of volcanoes than Godzilla in the episode "Aparkalypse" when talking to Bobby Possumcods and Bodean. Also in the episode "High Stakes", Woody drew out Godzilla on a composite sketch when he was explaining on how he will get his park back, thinking Godzilla will be involved in this.
- In Dragon City, there is a dragon type known as Kaiju Dragon who resembles a winged Zilla.
- In the Nitrome game Rubble Trouble Tokyo, one of the tools is Mechazilla, an obvious expy of Mechagodzilla, specifically the Heisei incarnation.
- The character Javil from Transformers: Super-God Masterforce has a slight resemblance to Gigan, with a beak, mandibles, a long tongue and hooks for hands.
- In the IDW Transformers Rising Storm #3, Jolt is reading a Godzilla comic book.
- In the Mexican comics of "El Santos", by Jis & Trino, Godzilla is a recurring character, who's depicted sometimes as a monster who loves eating poor kids.
- In the Chilean TV show: "31 Minutes", there is a Godzilla reference in the chapter of Season 2: "The Explosive Wizard!". In the credits, Dante Torobolino, the Explosive Wizard, is seen flying through the universe with his jetpack, destroying Ultraseven, King Kong, and the Heisei Godzilla.
- In the arcade game Time Gal, Godzilla is featured as one enemy in one level. His Atomic Breath is even featured.
- The Nintendo all-star fighting game Super Smash Bros. Melee has an event match titled "Gargantuans" wherein a giant Bowser fights a giant Donkey Kong on top of buildings.
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl, featured a similar event to Melee's "Gargantuans" titled "Three-Beast Carnage" where R.O.B. fights against a giant Bowser, Donkey Kong, and Charizard.
- In an episode of the Comedy Central show Tosh.0, during a video of a reckless driver crashing into several people and vehicles, Daniel Tosh proposes that the driver may have been trying to escape from Godzilla, as a brief clip of Godzilla roaring from King Kong vs. Godzilla is shown.
- In the team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game Team Fortress 2, an update called the "Mecha Update" was accompanied by a poster showing the characters "The Engineer" and a robot version, in the style of the poster for Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. Even the text is in this style, reading "Engineer vs. Mecha-Engineer" in the almost exact same style as the poster.
- In the Mazinger Angels manga, a character called King Doublas appears as a modified version of Doublas M2. King Doublas bears a resemblance to King Ghidorah.
- In the anime, Bakugan, there are many Godzilla references:
- In episode 17 of season one, when Drago was about to defeat Tentaclear, he had his regular roar but mixed with Godzilla's.
- The Bakugan Mantris heavily resembles Kamacuras.
- The main villain of season one, Masquerade, resembles the Xiliens.
- The third evolution of the Bakugan Hydranoid share many similarities with King Ghidorah (and a little with Godzilla). As the they had a past as a main villain but then turned good, they are three headed alien dragons, they have electrical-based powers and also human-like masters.
- If one combine episodes 15 and 33 of season 2, many get a very similar story to Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla: a known hero from the past seems to act weirdly and evilly (Godzilla and Hydranoid), then another good character (Anguirus and Ingram) notice and attack it, destroying his fake skin and revealing it's mechanical identity (Mechagodzilla and Hades). The good character re-attack, but it is now failed and defeated. Then after these even, the real hero (Godzilla and Hydranoid) is now fighting against his mechanical counterpart with an Asian-style monster on his side (King Caesar and Fortress), and successfully defeats it.
- A Transformer named Dalung Master has an altmode very similar to Godzilla.
- The giant fire-breathing kaiju Saurous from the video game Monster Attack and its sequel Global Defence Force, also romanized as "Solas" in the English-language PlayStation Vita remake of Global Defence Force titled Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders from Planet Space, is clearly based on classic tokusatsu monsters, specifically Godzilla. The monster even has a cyborg form dubbed "Mecha-Saurous," a clear nod to Mechagodzilla. The official Earth Defense Force series Twitter page has acknowledged this resemblance by tweeting a screenshot of Saurous containing the text "Shin Saurous" (シン・ソラス, obviously referencing Shin Sorasu)Shin Godzilla.
- The Vallak from Earth Defense Force 2017 is obviously inspired by Godzilla, while its "Mecha-Vallak" variant is based on Mechagodzilla.
- The giant monster Erginus from the video game Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair appears to be heavily based on Godzilla. It appears from the ocean and comes ashore in Japan, destroying several cities. Erginus' back spikes even light up before it fires a blue beam from its mouth. Ultimately, after Erginus proves immune to all of the EDF's weaponry, the EDF builds a giant robot to battle Erginus.
- Earth Defense Force 5 features, in addition to the Godzilla-like kaiju Erginus, another spiny kaiju resembling Anguirus named Archelus that is capable of rolling into a ball, and several laser tanks clearly based on Maser Cannons that are used to fight both kaiju.
- Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain features as an enemy a Godzilla-like kaiju known as Beizal, which specifically resembles Shin Godzilla and possesses abilities reminiscent of Godzilla Earth.
- The video game Saints Row IV contains numerous references to Godzilla. In some missions, there is a giant soda can named Paul that attacks the city and breathes fire. There is also a wearable character costume called "Digital Dino" that bears a striking resemblance to the Showa Mechagodzilla.
- In the video game Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, the character Paramedic tells Snake about the original Godzilla film and also references the 1956 American re-release Godzilla, King of the Monsters!. After hearing that Godzilla grew to his enormous size due to nuclear radiation, he remarks that "the Marshall Islands must be crawling with monsters right now." Hideo Kojima, the director of the game, is a longtime Godzilla fan.
- The Netflix animated series Legend Quest, in which the protagonists go around the world to solve mysteries relating to mythologies of the local region, has an episode in its first season titled "Kaiju" that features a giant Godzilla-like monster.
- In the Super Sentai series Gosei Sentai Dairanger, the Super Mythical Chi Beast Daimugen while in turtle form uses the roars of Anguirus.
- In the pilot episode of the show Kappa Mikey, following the opening sequence, the posters for The Return of Godzilla and King Kong vs. Godzilla can be seen in the background.
- In the game Project Diva: Future Tone for PS4, a Godzilla look alike is present in the music video for Gigantic Girl.
- The music track "Enter the Pigmasks" from the Nintendo game Mother 3 has cues taken from "Godzilla's Theme."
- In the 2018 Disney animated film Ralph Breaks the Internet, an insecurity virus named Arthur replicates Ralph's insecurities, creating a legion of Ralph clones that rampage through the internet. During the climax of the film the Ralph clones combine into one giant Ralph named Ralphzilla, although this name is never spoken by the characters. Ralphzilla behaves like King Kong. He climbs the Google building and swats at a Gmail chain email, carrying Vanelope with him in a recreation of the climax from the 1933 King Kong film. The song that plays during this scene is even titled "Kling Kong".
- Professional wrestler Samoa Joe has incorporated fragments of Godzilla's theme during his runs in TNA (Total Nonstop Action) and WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). His WWE theme, "Destroyer," features Godzilla's growl.
- Japanese professional wrestler Shoko Nakajima is known as the "1.47-Meter Big Kaiju" and has stated that Anguirus is her favorite kaiju.[1]
- The Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 was nicknamed "Godzilla" when it surpassed Ford Sierra Cosworth at the Australian Touring Car Championship, and is still referred to by this name to this day.
In the 1990 television miniseries adaptation of the novel, the character Richie Tozier mentions Godzilla during his stand-up routine. He specifically seems to allude to "Operation: One Million Volts" from King Kong vs. Godzilla, remarking that even though military weaponry and the atom bomb failed to stop Godzilla, he was able to be repelled by power lines. Shortly after this scene, an inflatable Godzilla can be seen in Richie's pool.
- The anime Sonic X contains numerous allusions to Godzilla and Toho's other tokusatsu films. In addition to featuring the Biollante-like giant monster called Perfect Chaos, the series includes a two-episode arc which pays extensive homage to Toho's films. Episode 47, "The Great Latitude Zero Battle," references the film Latitude Zero both through its title, which is only one kanji off from the film's Japanese title, and its title card, which mimics both the film's title card and the famous Toho logo. The episode begins with an aquatic research vessel called the Seahawk going missing, a clear nod to the submarine of the same name from King Kong vs. Godzilla. A scientist named Dr. Atsumi, possibly named after the character Joji Atsumi from The Mysterians, is researching a lost civilization known as "Murasia," similar to Mu from Atragon. The episode features a scene where characters depart via boat as part of an investigation party which is framed siilarly to scenes depicting the same situation from the original Godzilla and Mothra. When the party reaches their destination at Latitude Zero, they are attacked by the villainous Dr. Eggman's battleship the Egg Giant Makan, which is clearly both named and designed after the Daimakan from The War in Space. The Egg Giant Makan is even armed with a laser weapon heavily resembling the turret of a Maser Cannon. The Egg Giant Makan is then engaged by the GUN Fort, a drill-nosed multipurpose warship clearly modeled after the Gotengo. The following episode, "Sonic vs. the Subterranean Monster," has its title taken from the Japanese title of Frankenstein vs. Baragon while the title card mimics that of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. This episode is also rife with Godzilla and Toho references, including a giant moth named Mothmacin which is obviously based on Mothra and a giant robot called Mongroun which is the spitting image of the Showa Moguera. A statue of Godzilla is briefly seen before seismic activity causes it to collapse. Atsumi further discusses the sunken Murasian civilizations and mentions that they worshiped dragons, while an ancient relief is shown onscreen depicting a giant serpentine dragon clearly resembling Manda. The episode "Mayhem! 6 Chaos Emeralds," shows a set where a giant monster movie is being filmed, with the monster heavily resembling Godzilla. The show's 76th episode, "The Day of Forestation" features a giant alien three-headed dragon called Final Mova which is a clear homage to King Ghidorah. Perhaps coincidentally, due to Final Mova's plant-based nature, it also resembles the Biollante-King Ghidorah Hybrid from The Godzilla Comic Raids Again.
- Garfield tells Odie to come watch a "Godzilla movie where he steps on people" in an episode of Garfield and Friends called "Safe at Home".
- In The Garfield Musical, a viewer changes the TV to watch a movie that resembles Godzilla destroying a city.
Video Games
Image | Game of origin | Release date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Destroy All Humans! 2 | 2006/10/17 | The wordmark for Destroy All Humans! 2, as well as the rest of the Destroy All Humans! series, is represented using the Godzilla font. Their titles may also be inspired by Destroy All Monsters. The level boss for Takoshima is a giant lizard named "Kojira," which is just one letter off from Gojira. | |
Sonic Adventure | 1998/12/23 | The game's final boss, Perfect Chaos, bears a strong resemblance to Biollante's Plant Beast Form. | |
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | 1992/11/21 | The Turtloid enemy clearly resembles Gamera in flight. Concept art for one of the game's bosses, Mecha Sonic, features an "MS" insignia on its arms, almost certainly in reference to the Showa Mechagodzilla. | |
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II | 2012/05/15 | The boss Egg Serpentleaf may be inspired by Biollante's Flower Beast Form, possessing a giant flower for a head and attacking with mouth-tipped tendrils. | |
The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare | 1992/09 | In one of the game's dream-battle sequences, Bart is the city-stomping Bartzilla, facing down enemies Homer Kong and Momthra. | |
Wizard101 | 2008/09/02 | Two cards can appear in the game called Firezilla and Stormzilla. | |
Yo-kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits | 2014/07/10 | On the second floor of the Gourd Pond Museum, a poster for The BIG Lizard Movie has been stolen. | |
Yo-kai Watch 2: Fleshy Souls |
Books
Image | Book of origin | Author(s) | Publish date | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
It | Stephen King | 1986/09/15 | Mike Hanlon, a member of the Losers Club, is being stalked by the evil clown Pennywise, who transforms into a giant bird resembling Rodan to attack him, as Mike had recently seen the film Rodan. |
Comics
Image | Comic of origin | Issue(s) | Publish date | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dinosaurs vs. Aliens | Various | 2012/07/23 | In this motion comic of the graphic novel, all of the theropod and herbivorous dinosaurs use the TriStar Godzilla's roar. | |
Eerie | #5 | 2014/07 | A story titled "The King of All Monsters" pays homage to Godzilla and the tokusatsu genre while delivering a horror story. The story follows an aging suit actor who is forced into retirement by selfish and greedy executives who think replacing him with the latest in CGI and digital technology will make his character "scary again" to modern audiences. After being shocked by a digital camera, the angry suit actor transforms into a giant monster and rampages across Tokyo. The main character is named Haruo Furuya, a play on Godzilla's original suit actor Haruo Nakajima, and Bin Furuya, the original suit actor for Ultraman. | |
Garfield | N/A | 2001/10/02 | A talking scale tells Garfield that he is fat, to which he responds that he is simply big-boned. The scale tells him that Godzilla was big-boned, and reiterates that Garfield is fat, implying that he is even heavier than Godzilla. | |
2006/04/24 | While reading the newspaper, Jon points out a courtroom drama film which he says sounds interesting. Garfield replies that he doesn't "really get into those," but when Jon reads him the title, Godzilla vs. the Board of Education, it causes him to reconsider. | |||
2011/12/06 | Garfield watches a movie on TV entitled Santa's Elves versus Godzilla. Godzilla is implied to repeatedly stomp on the elves, prompting Garfield to comment that the battle feels one-sided. | |||
2012/03/11 | Jon tells Garfield that he has a date night with Liz and that she will be choosing the movie they'll watch. He calls her to ask what she picked, hoping that it will be a monster movie. He is elated upon hearing that she indeed chose a monster movie, but is quickly snapped out of it by the film's title: When Godzilla Met Sally. | |||
2015/01/09 | While talking with Liz, Jon claims to have dreamt about Godzilla the night before. | |||
2017/10/25 | Garfield watches a movie on TV entitled Mothra Returns a Sweater. In it, Mothra tries to return a sweater that has holes in it to the store, claiming that she found them after bringing it home. The clerk does not believe her, a joke on moths chewing holes through articles of clothing such as sweaters. | |||
Planetary | "Island" | 1999/03 | The issue's story is a clear homage to kaiju films; an infamous Japanese writer visits the mysterious Island Zero, where he discovers the carcasses of giant, prehistoric monsters. Jakita, a member of Planetary, explains that after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, giant monsters began to populate the island but were thought wiped out by the mid-1970s. Later, after the writer unleashes a deadly nerve gas on the island to kill an armed defense force stationed there, Jakita and fellow team member Snow observe a giant dragon-like creature fly overhead, confirming that the island is still home to giant monsters. |
Music
Image | Song of origin | Artist(s) | Release date | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
"Godzilla" | Blue Öyster Cult | 1977/11 |
| |
"Godzilla" | Michael Sembello | 1983/09/25 |
| |
"The Number of the Beast" |
Iron Maiden | 1982/04/26 | Godzilla makes an appearance in the song's music video through stock footage from Mothra vs. Godzilla. | |
"The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny" | Lemon Demon | 2005/12/22 | Godzilla is one of the many pop culture characters mentioned in the song. A green and rather cuddly version of him also appears in the song's music video. |
Dragon Ball
- Main article: Dragon Ball.
Kat Kong and Dogzilla
Mystery Science Theater 3000
- Main article: Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Pokémon
- Main article: Pokémon.
Miscellaneous
Image | Media of origin | Description |
---|---|---|
Adult Swim bumper | Godzilla and Mothra, sporting the faces of Rick and Morty, appear attacking a city. | |
Garbage Pail Kids card | The card "Charred Chad" features a giant green fire-breathing character, who is clearly inspired by Godzilla, trampling a city. | |
IKEA commercial | A slightly modified Godzilla with a large horn is seen in IKEA's "Playing With My Friends" advert sitting at a kitchen table with a number of other brightly-colored mascots. Note its blue coloration, making it somewhat resemble the Godzilla from Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!. | |
Sparkle Crest commercial | King Ghidorah makes two appearances in a Sparkle Crest commercial from the 1980's. In the first, King Ghidorah's gravity beams are replaced by Sparkle Crest tooth paste, while in the second, he appears alongside other characters featured in the commercial. | |
Trumoo milk carton | In the milk company Trumoo's back-of-carton "Power Cows" series, one carton contains a character called "Moozilla" whose power is "flaming fire breath." |
Gallery
A model of Godzilla in South Park Episode 192 "Whale Whores"
Godzilla in Robot Chicken Episode 42 "Squaw Bury Shortcake"
2 Godzillas in Robot Chicken Episode 24 "Celebrity Rocket"
Moguera in Sonic X
A Fusion Series Gigan figure from the Bandai Creation Godzilla toy line can be seen in this TV advert for 'Stuffies'
Deady's monster form has Godzilla's Template:Scutes
An army of flying kaiju
Godzilla without his Template:Scutes in Extreme Dinosaurs
Dragon City's "Kaiju Dragon", who resembles Zilla
Creullock from Transformers: Energon resembles Zilla
Javil has a slight resemblance to Gigan
Ultraseven in 31 Minutes
King Kong in 31 Minutes
Godzilla in 31 Minutes
Team Fortress 2 "Mecha Update" poster referencing Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II poster
Videos
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Lawsuits
Toho enforces its rights to the Godzilla trademark strictly.
- Toho forced Adler Fels Winery of Napa Valley to dump an undisclosed amount of wine for using the Godzilla image without permission.[2]
- Toho sued the company Subway for allegedly infringing on their copyrights on Godzilla. Subway released an advertisement part of their "Fire Dollar Footlong" series where a giant green reptilian monster attacks a city.[3]
- Toho sued NOLA Brewing over their "Mechahopzilla" beer line, which uses a character very similar to Mechagodzilla.[4]
- Toho sued Voltage Pictures over their film Colossal, which was described by the filmmakers as a "cross between Godzilla and Being John Malkovich." Toho claimed that not only did the filmmakers frequently reference Godzilla when discussing their film, even calling it "a Godzilla film" in interviews, but blatantly used the design and characteristics of Godzilla in marketing for the film.[5]
References
This is a list of references for Godzilla in popular culture. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
External Links
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