Gorosaurus
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Gorosaurus (ゴロザウルス is a dinosaur Gorozaurusu)kaiju who first appeared in the 1967 Toho film, King Kong Escapes, and later debuted in the Godzilla series in the 1968 film Destroy All Monsters.
In King Kong Escapes, Gorosaurus was a huge dinosaur living on Mondo Island, and attempted to eat Lieutenant Susan Watson after she and a United Nations ship crew came ashore on the island. Gorosaurus was attacked by King Kong, who had taken an interest in Watson, and was defeated after Kong broke his jaw. A second incarnation of Gorosaurus appeared in Destroy All Monsters, where he lived on Monsterland along with the rest of Earth's monsters at the end of the 20th century. The Kilaaks invaded the island and took control of its monsters, unleashing Gorosaurus in Paris. When the invaders' hold on the monsters was finally severed, Gorosaurus joined forces with Godzilla and the other Earth monsters against King Ghidorah, helping to turn the tide of battle by delivering a crippling kick to King Ghidorah's back. Gorosaurus was also featured in the television series Go! Godman as an enemy of the hero Godman.
Name
The origin of Gorosaurus' name is not entirely known, though the "-saurus" part of his name, a common component of the names of dinosaurs and other prehistoric reptiles, comes from the Greek word sauros, meaning "lizard." Gorosaurus goes unnamed in King Kong Escapes, and his name is only spoken onscreen in his second appearance in Destroy All Monsters. The Gorosaurus from Destroy All Monsters is sometimes designated in official books as Second Generation Gorosaurus (二代目ゴロザウルス. Nidaime Gorozaurusu)[9][10]
Development
Gorosaurus was created for the film King Kong Escapes to battle King Kong as an homage to the meat-eater which appears in the original King Kong.[11][6] Because Toho Special Art was occupied with modeling both the King Kong and Mechani-Kong suits as well as other kaiju suits for the Ultra Series, Nobuyuki Yasumaru modeled the Gorosaurus suit himself after consulting chief artist Yasuyuki Inoue, aiming for it to feel like a living creature.[6] Yasumaru created a prototype of the monster's head with water clay. A balloon was placed inside the suit to create its throat movements. As the head became heavy from the mechanism used to open and close the mouth, the head was attached to a piano wire during filming. Die-cut latex mixed with sawdust was applied over its skin to achieve a sense of hardness and mass.[6] The suit was worn by actor Hiroshi Sekita, who also served as the suit actor for Mechani-Kong in the film.
Filming is prepared for the scene where Gorosaurus approaches the Exploration Car on Mondo Island.
Eiji Tsuburaya oversees Gorosaurus' introductory scene in King Kong Escapes.
In the final draft of the screenplay for Destroy All Monsters, the walrus-like kaiju Maguma from Gorath attacked Paris and destroyed the Arc de Triomphe.[11] Maguma was eventually replaced by Baragon in the role, but the filmmakers had concerns about using the restored Baragon suit in the scene due to problems with the suit's ears.[12][6] The role was ultimately given to Gorosaurus, who gained Baragon's ability to burrow and was even referred to as "Baragon" and the "Subterranean Monster" in dialogue. The Gorosaurus suit from the previous year's film was reused for the character's role in this film, with minor cosmetic changes made to the suit's coloration. Hiroshi Sekita again wore the suit, while simultaneously alternating with Tadaaki Watanabe in the role of Anguirus. A small puppet of Gorosaurus and all of the film's other Earth kaiju was created for long shots of the monsters in Aokigahara before the film's final battle. Gorosaurus appeared on the poster and in publicity stills for the next year's film All Monsters Attack, but his role consisted only of a very brief appearance utilizing stock footage from King Kong Escapes. The suit was used in 1970 as part of the "Godzilla vs. Gamera" stage show at the World's Fair. Only one photograph of Gorosaurus clashing with Godzilla with Space Gyaos in the background has surfaced.
The actors in the Gorosaurus, Godzilla, and Anguirus suits wait patiently prior to shooting of King Ghidorah's death scene.
A publicity still for All Monsters Attack featuring Gorosaurus alongside Godzilla and Gabara
Gorosaurus with Godzilla and Space Gyaos during the "Godzilla vs. Gamera" stage show
The Gorosaurus suit was reused for episode 6 of Toho's tokusatsu television program Go! Godman in 1973. As the suit was not maintained following its use in Destroy All Monsters, it was in very poor shape by this time and had apparently begun to fall apart from the inside, causing its torso to cave in and leaving its lower jaw hanging limply under the head.
The Gorosaurus suit prior to its usage in Go! Godman
Design
Gorosaurus is a giant quadruped dinosaur whose appearance was chosen to reflect the meat-eater from the original King Kong. As such, the dinosaur stands upright with his tail dragging on the ground, and possesses a large head, muscular legs and short arms. He has three fingers on each hand, in line with the meat-eater. The monster's skin is covered in thick, scaly bumps, and he sports a spike on the tip of his tail. In King Kong Escapes, Gorosaurus' skin is mostly blue in color, while his chin is red that fades into a lighter desaturated yellow in the underside of his tail and belly. In Destroy All Monsters, Gorosaurus' coloration is more muted. His skin now appears more gray, with the red coloration on his chin being much less visible. His underside remains a light tan color, which may appear yellow in some instances.
By the time he appeared in Go! Godman, Gorosaurus' suit was in very poor shape, with its inner support seemingly deteriorated making its torso appear to be caving in, and its jaw hanging at a slight angle.
Origins
Gorosaurus is a carnivorous descendant of the dinosaur genus Allosaurus, which lived during the late Jurassic period approximately 150 million years ago. The Gorosaurus in King Kong Escapes was living on Mondo Island in the modern day, while the second Gorosaurus from Destroy All Monsters was one of the various monsters contained on Monsterland at the end of the 20th century.
The Gorosaurus in Go! Godman has similar origins to the one from King Kong Escapes, being a prehistoric dinosaur who originates from Mondo Island.[13]
History
Showa Series
King Kong Escapes
When Carl Nelson and his fellow crew members Jiro Nomura and Susan Watson disembarked from their ship on Mondo Island, Susan drew the attention of Gorosaurus, who attempted to eat her. Susan's screams caught the attention of King Kong, who emerged from his cave to rescue her. Kong grappled with Gorosaurus, who used his kangaroo kick to knock Kong to the ground. Kong managed to gain the upper hand and pummel Gorosaurus into submission, saving Susan from the beast. However, just as Kong tried to walk away, Gorosaurus regained consciousness and clamped his jaws on Kong's leg. Kong was able to pry Gorosaurus' jaws apart, then defeated him by breaking his jaws.
Destroy All Monsters
At the end of the 20th century, Gorosaurus was living on Monsterland with the other Earth monsters. After the monsters were taken over by the Kilaaks, Gorosaurus was sent to attack Paris, burrowing underneath and destroying the Arc de Triomphe. He was later called back to Mount Fuji to guard the Kilaaks' base of operations. After he was released from his mind control, he helped Godzilla and the other Earth monsters battle King Ghidorah. Gorosaurus landed a devastating kangaroo kick on King Ghidorah's back, damaging his spine and knocking him to the ground. This turned the tide of battle and allowed Godzilla, Anguirus and Minilla to finish the space monster once and for all. After the destruction of Kilaaks, Gorosaurus and the other Earth monsters were returned to Monsterland to live out their days peacefully.
Go! Godman
Gorosaurus also appears in the series Go! Godman, as a one-time enemy of the eponymous Godman. Gorosaurus appears in a small town and begins to wander around, stepping on trees. Godman is summoned to battle the monster and the two spar, with Gorosaurus ultimately being finished off by a bombardment of Godman's God-Circles and Supersonic Wave attack.
Godzilla Island
Abilities
Physical Capabilities
Gorosaurus demonstrates a fair deal of physical strength, holding his own in battle with both King Kong and King Ghidorah. He prefers to fight primarily by biting his foes.
Gorosaurus is able to use his tail to perform jumps as high as 30 meters.[8]
Kangaroo Kick
Aside from the usual tooth and claw, Gorosaurus has been noted for using a Kangaroo Kick (カンガルー・キック Kangarū Kikku)[11] against foes like King Kong and King Ghidorah. This is arguably Gorosaurus' most well-known trait.
Gorosaurus uses his Kangaroo Kick against King Kong
Burrowing
In Destroy All Monsters, Gorosaurus was able to burrow underground, and used this ability to burrow up from underneath and destroy the Arc de Triomphe.
Fireballs
In the Game Boy game Godzilla, King of the Monsters, Gorosaurus can spit fireballs.
Filmography
- King Kong Escapes (1967)
- Destroy All Monsters (1968)
- All Monsters Attack (1969) [stock footage]
- Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) [stock footage]
- Go! Godman (TV 1972) [episode 6]
- Godzilla Island (TV 1997-1998) [92 episodes][note 2]
- Godziban (TV 2019-) [episode 21]
Video Games
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1993) - Nintendo Game Boy
- Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!! (1995) - Sega Pico
- Godzilla Movie Studio Tour (1998) - PC and Mac
- Godzilla: Trading Battle (1998) - Sony PlayStation
- Godzilla Generations (1998) - Sega Dreamcast
- Collect Godzilla: Giant Monster Assembly (1998) - Sega Dreamcast VMU
- Godzilla (2014) - PlayStation 3 and 4 [Kaiju Guide]
- Godzilla Defense Force (2019) - Android and iOS
Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4)
- Main article: Godzilla (2014 video game)/Kaiju Guide#Gorosaurus.
Gallery
- Main article: Gorosaurus/Gallery.
Books
- GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse (2017)
- GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla (2018)
GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse
Gorosaurus appeared in Paris after the city was destroyed by Godzilla. Possessing agility equivalent to Zilla and excellent jumping ability, Gorosaurus battled G-Force in the city in December of 2039 and initially resisted all of their attempts to destroy him, even bringing down two Super X2s. He was finally killed by the combined efforts of G-Force and the Bilusaludo's advanced spacecraft.[14]
GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla
A second Gorosaurus appeared in inland China during "Operation: Great Wall," where he was living underground.[15]
Comics
- Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #1, 9, 21-22, 25 (2013-2015)
- Godzilla: Rage Across Time #5 (2016)
- Godziman #12 (2019)
Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
Gorosaurus was seen in a flash back that the Mothra Fairies told Lucy in an attempt to explain the origins of all monsters. Gorosaurus was seen devouring two full grown dinosaurs, a Tyrannosaurus and a Spinosaurus, which were about to fight over a downed Triceratops.
Before he could eat his meal, Megaguirus attacked him, but the Allosaurus-like monster kicked the dragonfly beast and knocked her out of the sky. Gorosaurus was later seen frozen next to Anguirus. He is also present in the 'Land' monsters section of a cave mural.
Later, Gorosaurus battles a horde of Trilopods who invade his home, and manages to hold them off. However, he is beaten down, and a Beta Trilopod gains some of his blood, taking on some of the dinosaur's characteristics. Gorosaurus is then subdued, and taken to the Trilopod Hive, where he remains until King Caesar arrives and breaks him and the other monsters out. Gorosaurus assists in the fight with Magita, and then travels to the ocean with Godzilla and the others after Magita is defeated.
Roar
In King Kong Escapes, much like Baragon, Gorosaurus' roar is also another modified Varan roar, but was sped up and altered in pitch. Gorosaurus' roar also utilizes parts of Rodan's screech.
In Gorosaurus' protagonistic role in Destroy All Monsters, his roar was slowed down and deepened. Gorosaurus was also given one of Godzilla's roars, during the fight with King Ghidorah. In this film, Gorosaurus also had some other monsters' roars blended into his roar, like Ebirah's screech which can be heard at the beginning of his roar. Gorosaurus also used Varan's unedited roar during the scene where he destroys the Arc de Triomphe.
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In Other Languages
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Trivia
- According to most sources, the original Gorosaurus from King Kong Escapes stands 35 meters tall, yet is only slightly taller than this film's King Kong, who is 20 meters in height. Interestingly, in Destroy All Monsters, despite Gorosaurus appearing to be about the same height as the 50-meter Godzilla, Gorosaurus is constantly stated as being 35 meters tall in supplementary materials.
- However, some sources give the 1967 Gorosaurus a different height of 20 meters,[1] making him the same height as King Kong and Mechani-Kong. The vast majority of sources make no distinction between the 1967 and 1968 Gorosaurus though, and list them both as being 35 meters.
- Gorosaurus' role in King Kong Escapes is a direct homage to the meat-eater that fought King Kong in the 1933 film. Like the meat-eater, Gorosaurus menaces Kong's human love interest before he is defeated by Kong when the giant ape breaks his jaws. Additionally, Gorosaurus' design is an homage to the meat-eater.[6]
- The Pachimon character Doilar is taken directly from Gorosaurus' design, but altered with two head horns and a toothless mouth.
- In the Super Sentai series Zyuranger, the Guardian Tyrannosaurus often performs a Gorosaurus-like kangaroo kick.
- A "what-if" illustrated scenario in the 2004 book Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. Super Complete Works showed the JXSDF creating an army of mecha-kaiju with the help of DNA extracted from their organic counterparts, including Gorosaurus.
Video
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Notes
- ↑ The majority of sources state that both the King Kong Escapes and the Destroy All Monsters incarnations of Gorosaurus are 35 meters tall. However, some such as Encyclopedia of Godzilla (Mechagodzilla Edition) claim that the King Kong Escapes incarnation is 20 meters tall instead.
- ↑ Episodes 1, 6, 9, 11, 21, 39-40, 43-44, 58-63, 66, 76-77, 83-85, 93, 97-98, 110-114, 119-120, 125, 127, 130, 132-135, 137-146, 148-150, 160, 169, 179, 181-184, 186-190, 192, 194, 199, 202, 207-209, 212, 214, 216-217, 223-224, 226-229, 233-234, 236-238, 244-246, 249, 251-252, and 255.
References
This is a list of references for Gorosaurus. 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]
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