Godzilla, King of the Monsters (TV series)

Godzilla, King of the Monsters is an American animated kaiju television series based on the Godzilla franchise by Toho Co., Ltd. Directed and developed by Bruce

Timm, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Toho, it originally aired on Fox Kids from January 1994 to May 1998, ending in four seasons. After Fox Kids shut down, the show would have reruns on Kids' WB and later Toonami.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters, as with Timm's previous series, Batman: The Animated Series (1992-95), received critical acclaim for it's darker tone, mature writing, thematic complexity, artistic presentation, voice acting, orchestrated score and it's respect to the source material. As with Batman, this series won multiple Daytime Emmy Awards.

Comics, toys, video games, home video releases, a manga, novels and trading cards based on this series had achieved strong sales in the United States and other markets overseas. The series remains very popular, and critics and fans regard it as the best animated series in the franchise.

Overview
The series took influence from Toho's Showa (1954-75) Heisei Eras (1984-95), as well as the 1978 Animated series from Hanna-Barbera. In designing the Monsters, Bruce Timm mostly used the Heisei designs, but with slightly modified features. As with Batman: The Animated Series, Godzilla, King of the Monsters has a "vintage" color scheme, with the flourishes similar to later Heisei Era Godzilla films.

Similar to earlier half of Batman, the series took a variation of Akira Ifukube's Godzilla theme. Much of Akira Ifukube's music would also be adapted by the show's numerous composers such as Shirley Walker. The score of the series was also influenced by her previous work on Batman.

The series is more adult oriented than the previous Hanna-Barbera series in 1978, but still considered appropriate for younger viewers. Unlike the film's, this series depicts outright physical violence of monster against monster, including mild blood in some episodes. Godzilla King of the Monsters was the only show in the block to show violence and mention death unlike most other shows in it's block.

The series is notable for it's cast of Monsters or Kaiju. Warner Bros. Pictures and Timm we're given the rights to other Toho movie and TV monsters unlike most other series based on the franchise at the time. These include King Ghidorah, Mothra, Rodan, Mechagodzilla, Anguirus, Biollante, etc.

Main cast
· Peter Richards

· David Easton

· Margaret O'Brien

· Michael Van Horn

Other characters
(Tba)

Monsters
· Godzilla

· King Ghidorah

· Mothra

· Rodan

· Mecha-King Ghidorah

· Mechagodzilla

· Battra

· Gigan

· Biollante

· Anguirus

· M.O.G.U.E.R.A.

· SpaceGodzilla

· Megalon

· Baragon

· Varan

· Kumonga

· Kamacuras

· Manda

· Gorosaurus

· Jet Jaguar

· King Caesar

· Titanosaurus

· Gabara

· Hedorah

· Ebirah

· Giant Octopus

· Giant Condor

· Meganulon

· Dogora

· Gezora

· Kamoebas

· Ganimes

· Sanda

· Gaira

· Maguma

· Matango

· Deutalios

· Destoroyah

· Bagorah

· Godzilla Jr./Little Godzilla

· Godzooky

· Giant Rats

· Kamerus

· Inagos

· Soran

· Cybersaur

· Giant Sea Serpent

· Sea Baragon

· Skeleturtle

· Zone Fighter

· Mogu

· All-Terraintula

· Burtannus

· Great Watchuka

· Axor

· Cyclops Creature

· Lord Howe Monster

· Gigamoth

· Stranger

· Bagan

Cast
· Jeff Bennett as Peter Richards

· Keith David as David Easton

· Susan Eisenberg as Margaret O'Brien

· Clancy Brown as Michael Van Horn

Episodes
Main article: List of Godzilla, King of the Monsters Episodes

Animation
In order to complete the series, Warner Bros. Animation outsourced the series several different overseas animation houses as they did with Batman: The Animated Series: Spectrum Animation, Sunrise, Studio Junio and Tokyo Movie Shinsha in Japan, Dong Yang Animation and Koko Enterprises Ltd. in South Korea, Jade Animation in Hong Kong, Blue Pencil in Spain and NOA (Network of Animation) in Canada.

Adaptations
· The first episode is a pseudo-remake of Godzilla (1954) and Godzilla Raids Again (1955).

· The Episode "Soar" is loosely based on Rodan (1956).

· "Monster Zero" was an adaptation of the final battle scenes of Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster (1964) and Invasion of Astro Monster (1965).

· "Butterfly" was loosely based on Mothra (1961). However, the Shobijin do not sing Mothra's song due to legal issues.

· "Flowers of Erika" was an adaptation of Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989).

Comics and novelization
A one shot comic book based on the series was published in January 1994, titled "Godzilla, King of the Monsters: Monster Island Unleashed." Another tie-in comic series, "Godzilla, King of the Monsters: The Comic," was published by Dark Horse Comics. A novelization based on the show was published by William Stout, simply called "Godzilla."

Toyline
A line of Toys based on the show by Trendmasters was popular. At it's time, Trendmasters was the primary toy manufacturer of the Godzilla franchise in the United States.

Video games
Several video games based on Godzilla, King of the Monsters we're released. The first video game of the same name was released in May 1994 for the Sega Genesis and Game Boy. A pinball game based on the series released in 1995.

Clips of the series can be cut out to make original as well as many of the Godzilla films in the 1996 interactive Godzilla game Godzilla Movie Studio Tour. 2015's Godzilla: Kaiju Collection featured most of the Monsters featured in the show alongside the kaiju from the films. Godzilla Battle Line brought in the series' versions of Godzilla, Rodan, Anguirus, Baragon, Varan, Biollante and Bagan in 2023.

Broadcasting
Godzilla, King of the Monsters premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company's children's block Fox Kids in January 1994. The show have it's run on the block for it's entire original run from 1994 to 1998. It was one of the block's most successful series. In Japan, the series was broadcasted on TV Tokyo.

After it's original run, the series occasionally had reruns on The WB Network's children's block Kids' WB. In 2000, to coincide with the American release of Godzilla 2000, Cartoon Network's Toonami added the series to it's line-up.

In 2023, the series was added to Pluto TV's Godzilla Channel.

Reception
The series was a success during Fox Kids' Saturday Morning line-up. Outside Fox Kids, Godzilla, King of the Monsters was met with critical acclaim in the years following it's original run, with praise for it's mature tone, writing, voice acting, soundtrack, visual aesthetic and faithfulness to the source material. Entertainment Weekly ranked it as one of the top shows of the year in 1994. Stomp Tokyo listed the series as the best adaptation of Godzilla outside the films. Wizard Magazine ranked it No. 3 of the greatest animated television series. The series also won three Emmy Awards

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Godzilla, King of the Monsters holds an 89% rating based on 50 reviews. In his book "Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of 'The Big G'," Steve Ryfle said about the series: "a gorgeously designed and very well animated take on the Big G, it could be the defining animated Godzilla."

Music
Godzilla, King of the Monsters, as with Batman, featured several different composers throughout the series run. The main theme, which is Akira Ifukube's Godzilla theme, is used for the opening and ending credits of each and every episode. A majority of Akira Ifukube's work on Toho's kaiju films we're adapted by the composers.

Home video
(Tba)