is a fictional dinosaur, or ''

kaiju is a Japanese media genre that focuses on stories involving giant monsters. The word ''kaiju'' can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monster ...

'', who first appeared in

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...

's 1967 film ''

King Kong Escapes is a 1967 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film was a Japanese– American co-production between Toho and Rankin/Bass, and stars Rhodes Reason, Linda Miller, Akira Takarada, Mie Hama, Eise ...

''. It was an opponent of

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

in the film, and it later had a prominent role in 1968's ''

Destroy All Monsters is a 1968 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film, which was produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, is the ninth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and features eleven monster ...

''. Gorosaurus is a typical giant dinosaur, having no special powers like beams or energy weapons, relying on its strength and athleticism to fight. Gorosaurus' most identifiable fighting move is a leaping kick similar to that of a kangaroo. Gorosaurus is an

allosaurid Allosauridae is a family of medium to large bipedal, carnivorous allosauroid theropod dinosaurs from the Late Jurassic. Allosauridae is a fairly old taxonomic group, having been first named by the American paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh in ...

, an abrupt descendant of ''

Allosaurus ''Allosaurus'' () is a genus of large carnosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago during the Late Jurassic epoch (Kimmeridgian to late Tithonian). The name "''Allosaurus''" means "different lizard" alluding to ...

'' itself.The Godzilla Movie Studio Tour

Overview

In the film ''

'', Mondo Island inhabitant Gorosaurus attacks and attempts to devour Susan Watson. However,

arrives to save her and fights the dinosaur, breaking Gorosaurus' jaw in the process. Gorosaurus returns in the film ''

'', as an inhabitant of Monsterland, an artificially created environment for Earth's

monsters A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

located on the

Ogasawara Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan and northwest of Guam. The name "Bonin Islands" comes from the Japanese word ''bunin'' (an archaic readi ...

. However, a race of aliens called the Kilaaks invade Earth, capturing and brainwashing the monsters before sending them around the world to attack Earth's cities, with Gorosaurus attacking

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, before being recalled to defend their Earth outpost. After a group of humans destroy the Kilaaks' control device, the aliens send

King Ghidorah is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1964 film ''Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster''. Although the name of the character is officially trademarked by Toho as "King Ghidorah", the character was originall ...

to kill the Earth monsters, who join forces to kill the space dragon. Following this, Earth's monsters return to Monsterland to live in peace.

Appearances

Films

* ''

'' (1967) * ''

'' (1968) * ''

All Monsters Attack is a 1969 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, written by Shinichi Sekizawa, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka. The film, which was produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, is the tenth film in the ''Godzilla'' series, and featur ...

'' (1969, stock footage cameo) * ''

Godzilla vs. Gigan , is a 1972 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, written by Shinichi Sekizawa, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their effects-based subsidiary Toho-Eizo, ...

'' (1972, stock footage cameo)

Television

* ''

Ike! Godman is a Japanese tokusatsu Kyodai Hero kaiju television series by Toho. It ran from October 5, 1972, to April 10, 1973. It was pulled from reruns on September 28, 1973, and it was replaced by '' Ike! Greenman''. While on air Monday through Saturd ...

'' (1972) * ''

Godzilla Island is a television show spinoff of the ''Godzilla'' franchise. It premiered on October 6, 1997, and ran for a total of 256 three-minute episodes, finishing on September 30, 1998. Set in 2097, most of Earth's ''kaiju'' (monsters) live on an island o ...

'' (1997-1998)

Video games

* ''

Kaijū-ō Godzilla is a 1993 action adventure game by Bandai for the Game Boy. It was released exclusively in Japan. The game is notable for featuring nearly every monster in the ''Godzilla'' franchise up until the time of its release. Story While the game does ...

'' / ''King of the Monsters, Godzilla'' (

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...

- 1993) * ''

Godzilla Trading Battle is a PlayStation video game released only in Japan in 1998 by Toho Co., Ltd. It featured almost every Toho kaiju is a Japanese media genre that focuses on stories involving giant monsters. The word ''kaiju'' can also refer to the giant mo ...

'' (

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

- 1998) * ''Godzilla Defense Force'' (2019)

Literature

* '' Godzilla: Rulers of Earth'' (comic - 2013-2015) * ''Godzilla: Monster Apocalypse'' (novel - 2017) * ''Godzilla: Project Mechagodzilla'' (novel - 2018)

References

{{KingKong Fantasy film characters Film characters introduced in 1967 Fictional dinosaurs Fictional giants Fictional monsters Godzilla characters Horror film villains Kaiju King Kong (franchise) characters Science fiction film characters Toho monsters