Editorials
Go, Go, Notzilla! 6 of the Most Memorable ‘Godzilla’ Knock-Offs in TV History
No matter how much the corporate rights holders might try to keep a story or a character to themselves, once an idea reaches critical mass, it ultimately belongs to the people. From parodies to legally distinct alternatives, truly universal ideas will resurface again and again in the hands of other creators, regardless of any legal limitations. If you need a concrete example of this, look no further than Godzilla!
Our favorite atomic dinosaur has stomped his way into the hearts and minds of millions of people despite the fact that only a relatively small fraction of fans have actually gone out of their way to experience official Gojira-related media, with a lot of folks actually becoming aware of the monster through cultural osmosis.
In celebration of Godzilla making another official appearance on TV courtesy of the latest season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, today we’d like to highlight six of the most memorable Notzillas in television history. After all, while these loving knock-offs may not be official representations of Toho’s iconic creation – they’ll always be a part of the monster’s massive cultural footprint.
As usual, this list is purely based on personal opinion, but don’t forget to comment below with your own favorite Godzilla knock-offs if you think we missed a particularly fun one.
With that out of the way, onto the list!
6. Gatorella – The A-Team
The A-Team was never meant to be a serious show, but some moments in the long-running series are definitely wackier than others. Case in point: Season 4’s Where is the Monster When You Need Him? – an hour-long parody of overseas filmmaking where Hannibal is set to star in a monster movie as the titular “Gatorella”.
Presented to viewers as a mutant alligator hybrid (albeit with surprisingly complex character motivations), it’s clear from the get-go that Gatorella is supposed to be an off-brand Godzilla despite its cyclopean face. Of course, the only reason this lovable knock-off ranks so low on this list is the fact that the episode appears to be borrowing just as much from Universal Horror pictures like The Creature From the Black Lagoon as it is from Japanese Kaiju movies!
5. Lizardo – The Real Ghostbusters
From Samhain to Cthulhu himself, The Real Ghostbusters had more than their fair share of memorable villains. However, one stand-out episode had the group face off against a trio of fictional Kaijus from the 1960s who had been brought to life (or is it unlife?) by a freak accident involving VHS tapes.
While the episode is an obvious love letter to Godzilla, with the reptilian Lizardo being said to have been featured in over 12 monster movies and serving as a mascot of sorts for Japan, his design is actually unique enough for the monster to continue showing up in the background of future Ghostbusters media for years to come.
4. Shagzilla – What’s New, Scooby Doo?
This might sound a little blasphemous, but I actually have more nostalgia for Cartoon Network’s 2002 reboot, What’s New, Scooby Doo? than I have for the original show. I was at the perfect age to enjoy this slightly less spooky spin on the Scooby Gang back when it was first coming out, and that Barenaked Ladies theme song will live on in my head until the end of time.
However, being generally less horror-centric doesn’t necessarily mean that the revamped show skimped on the monsters, and one memorable creature that was inevitably revealed to just be a scam artist in disguise was none other than Shagzilla! A kaiju-sized reptilian monster meant to look like Shaggy after ingesting a cursed pizza, the villain was later unmasked as a vengeful professor piloting a giant robot.
3. Empty Tank Zilla – PTT Performa Gold Commercial
This bizarre gas station commercial from Thailand takes the same approach as UltraQ/Gomess by simply gluing horns onto an obvious Godzilla suit and calling it a legally distinct monster, but the absurdist humor on display here makes it clear that the creators knew exactly what they were doing with this hilarious example of a Notzilla.
While many fans originally saw this strange ad as an online meme usually shared without context, over the years, it’s become popular enough among Kaiju enthusiasts that I’d argue it’s just as iconic as the official (but no less bizarre) commercials where Godzilla promotes everything from Snickers to Nike shoes.
2. Jirahs – Ultraman
Bringing over-the-top Kaiju battles to the small screen is no small feat, so I’ve always admired the ingenuity behind the Ultraman team when it came to designing new threats for the show. Of course, the low budget and rushed schedules meant that not every monster could be completely unique, and one of the most iconic creatures on this list is precisely the result of the showrunners attempting to recycle an old Godzilla suit.
A repainted Toho suit featuring a hastily-glued-on frill, Jirahs looks like Godzilla wearing a cheap disguise – and that’s precisely why he remains one of the most beloved monsters in Tokusatsu history, though UltraQ’s equally absurd Gomess also deserves a shout-out!
1. Reptar – Rugrats
Hands-down the most recognizable Notzilla on this list, Nickelodeon’s Reptar is so iconic that he was actually the subject of a lawsuit between Toho and the creators of the show. In fact, this legal drama is the main reason why the fan-favorite dinosaur has since taken a backseat in the Rugrats franchise, with the producers not wanting to step on the actual Godzilla’s gigantic toes with their cartoony antics.
Nevertheless, Reptar remains one of the channel’s most beloved creations, and watching the Rugrats babies freak out whenever they see their favorite monster is an undeniably relatable memory for all of us kaiju fans who got hooked on the genre early on!
From child-eating witches to village-burning dragons, fairy tales have always had a foot in the horror genre. That’s why it makes sense that, for every The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia, there are also darker and more adult-oriented stories about magical worlds inhabited by ravenous monsters and cruel villains.
Funnily enough, these sinister tales were precisely the ones that I gravitated towards back when I was a kid, and I was reminded of this while watching Netflix’s recently released I Am Frankelda, Mexico’s first ever feature-length stop-motion animation and one hell of an entertaining parable about the intersection between fiction and reality.
In honor of this special kind of horror-adjacent fairy tale, today I’d like to share this list recommending six Dark Fantasy films that horror fans might enjoy.
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be defining Dark Fantasy as fantastical stories that don’t shy away from the more macabre elements that fuel classic fairy tales. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own grim favorites if you think we missed a particularly thrilling one.
With that out of the way, onto the list!
6. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
I’m fascinated by bizarre attempts at blockbuster filmmaking – especially when the resulting movies are somehow still fun despite their corporate-mandated origins. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is precisely one of these strangely compelling studio projects, as this surprisingly successful action-thriller boasts a lot of heart (and tongue-in-cheek humor) for a CGI-heavy creature feature.
Directed by Dead Snow’s Tommy Wirkola, Witch Hunters re-frames the classic fairy tale as an origin story for a duo of badass monster-slayers. Of course, it’s the flick’s anachronistic aesthetic and overall visual flair that make it stand out from other action-horror endeavors from around the same time.
5. The Wolf House (2018)
Made in the tradition of faux cursed films in the same vein as Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made, the eerie backstory to 2018’s Chilean animated flick The Wolf House (La Casa Lobo in the original Spanish) already makes it a nightmarish experience before the flick even really begins.
After all, the movie is presented to us as a faux propaganda film produced by the leader of a death cult (heavily inspired by the real life Colonia Dignidad), with this hybrid animated feature using complex movie magic to simulate a single uninterrupted shot as it tells the story of a lazy young girl who runs away from an isolated colony and encounters a creepy old house in the woods.
4. The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Out of all the Monty Python alumni, Terry Gilliam has had the most interesting career outside of the original comedy group. From fascinating canceled projects (such as his scrapped adaptation of Watchmen) to dystopian parodies that feel more relevant by the minute (1985’s Brazil), even his “lesser” films are still intriguing in their own way.
2005’s The Brothers Grimm is one such project, with this peculiar movie attempting to combine the comedian-turned-filmmaker’s unique visual style with a more blockbuster-oriented plot reimagining the titular brothers as con-artists rather than mere writers. The end result isn’t exactly a masterpiece, but it’s still a legitimately fun ride with plenty of memorable monsters and wonderful performances by both the late, great Heath Ledger and Matt Damon.
3. Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic (2010)
2010’s Dante’s Inferno game may have a reputation as something of an unapologetic God of War clone, but I’d argue that the now-obscure game was aesthetically unique enough to deserve a bigger fanbase. However, while the title remains trapped on the seventh console generation, its highly underrated anime adaptation is a lot easier to get a hold of!
Animated by 6 different studios in order to make the 9 circles of hell feel unique from each other, this may not be a completely faithful adaptation of Dante Alighieri’s poem, but it’s still one heck of a great (not to mention gory) time that I’d highly recommend to fans of Netflix’s take on Castlevania.
2. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)
My personal favorite entry in the Underworld franchise, Rise of the Lycans, is a highly ambitious prequel that actually works better if you haven’t had the story spoiled to you by the previous Underworld films.
While the rest of the series features plenty of urban fantasy elements as the movies combine machine guns and modern environments with gothic storytelling, Patrick Tatopoulos’ prequel fully embraces its fantastical origins and tells a classic tale about a doomed romance between a werewolf and a vampire amid a medieval uprising.
And the best part is that we get a lot more Michael Sheen as the fan-favorite Lucian.
1. Solomon Kane (2011)
One of my personal favorite movies on this list, MJ Basset’s criminally underseen adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s other iconic warrior is thoroughly steeped in horror ambience and features plenty of memorable monsters. However, it’s also a classic origin story for a swashbuckling hero that wouldn’t feel out of place in a tabletop RPG.
While I’ve already written about how the film deftly combines both horror and fantasy elements without breaking the bank, I’ll never pass up an opportunity to recommend the bizarre movie where James Purefoy expertly plays a puritan John Wick.
It’s just too bad that we never got the other films in this intended trilogy.
You must be logged in to post a comment.