Cinematic Point Of View

‘All Monsters Attack‘ (1969) was my very first Godzilla movie. In the United States at the time, it would have probably been called ‘Godzilla’s Revenge’ for some reason.

My lifelong love for Godzilla was born and my passion for playing soccer would slowly wain. Blame it on Toho.

The simple story of ‘All Monsters Attack’ follows Ichiro, a lonely latchkey kid in industrial Tokyo, who is bullied. His family isn’t well off and both his parents work full time, so he finds himself playing alone with junk he’s found on the side of the road or exploring the decaying urban landscape around his apartment.

To further escape his dull reality, he often daydreams about traveling to Monster Island, where he befriends Minilla (Godzilla’s son), who has bully problems of his own in the form of a monster named Gabara.

Back in the real world, Ichiro is playing in an abandoned building and stumbles upon two bumbling bank robbers and gets taken hostage. Calling on the lessons he learned from his Monster Island daydreams, Ichiro finds the bravery to outsmart the criminals and stand up to his bully.

I realize that ‘All Monsters Attack’ has a terrible reputation as a Godzilla movie, and to be fair that reputation isn’t unwarranted. It’s a mess. Despite that though, I still find that it’s a beautiful, funny mess with heart and super easy to enjoy.

Director Ishiro Honda manages to take footage from other Godzilla films and cut it around a simple story of involving a robbery and childhood bullying, while also working in some commentary on culture, industry, and environment.

And I know the re-using of footage from other movies was purely a business decision, but in the days before VHS, any chance to see the best scenes from other movies was a real gift. At least it was to me. There wasn’t anywhere to watch this stuff. Once it was out of the theater you never knew if you’d ever see any of it again.

Watching this for the first time as a kid back then, the relatable story spoke to me and that’s a real win for Honda. Here we have a two-parent, working household unable to be there for their kid after school. This latchkey situation leads to him being out playing where he shouldn’t be, ultimately getting him kidnapped.

As a kid growing up in Texas in the late ’70s and early ’80s, this was a valid fear and a frighteningly common occurrence. I was one of the lucky ones who had a parent at home after school. Many of my friends did not, and the fear of child abduction was very real in my neighborhood.

Last week, I watched ‘All Monsters Attack,’ for the first time in many years, with my youngest kiddo and we had a blast. It’s super breezy, short, and it’s simple messages still hold true.

It’s also full of so many crazy-random, hilarious laugh out loud moments like this one below. In my book, Tomonori Yazaki, who plays “Ichiro,” is the pinnacle Godzilla child actor.

I also wanted to mention that Ichiro, in many ways, reminds me of me as a kid. My head was always in the clouds and I could turn any old household object or broken junk into something to create a story with. Any walk could turn into an adventure in my imagination. I still daydream of Godzilla, so there’s that too.

The older I get, the more I realize that every Godzilla film has its own special charms and even those with the worst reputation can be a great time. Enjoying Godzilla has always taken a bit of the viewer’s imagination to work. Isn’t that part of the appeal? How much you enjoy a Godzilla film is entirely up to you.

Which reminds me! I almost forgot to mention the incredibly harsh opening song “Monster March.” Boy howdy, that’s a song. The first time you hear it you might run screaming from the room, toppling chairs and tables.

Like everything attached to this movie though, I’ve softened to this song and it’s even become a running joke around our house. I love to pop it on for a laugh. There’s an energy to it that puts a smile on my face. What’s wrong with me?