is a kaiju 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 ...

's 1967 film ''

Son of Godzilla is a 1967 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, with special effects by Sadamasa Arikawa, under the supervision of Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the eighth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise. It st ...

''. He is the adopted son of

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

, and is sometimes referenced as Minya in the American dubbed versions.

Overview

Introduced in ''

'', Minilla was born on Sollgel Island, when his egg was prematurely cracked open by a group of mutant giant

mantis Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They ha ...

es called Kamacuras.

soon arrived, killed two of the Kamacuras, and rescued Minilla. Godzilla proceeded to train Minilla and defended it against further attacks from the final Kamacuras and the giant spider

Kumonga is a mutated, enormous spider-like kaiju that first appears in Toho's 1967 film ''Son of Godzilla'' and went on to appear in the films ''Destroy All Monsters'', ''All Monsters Attack'' (through stock footage) and ''Godzilla: Final Wars''. In the ...

. Godzilla and Minilla were placed in hibernation when a group of scientists completed a weather experiment, resulting in the freezing of their island. The monsters were revived when the snow melted, and eventually relocated to Monster Island, as seen via stock footage in '' Godzilla vs. Gigan''. In ''

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 ...

'', Minilla, Godzilla, and many other Earth monsters live on a new island called Monsterland. Together they battle the three-headed space dragon

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 ...

at Mount Fuji. They kill Ghidorah and save planet Earth. After, Minilla and the other monsters return to Monsterland. In '' Godzilla: Final Wars'', Minilla accompanies a young boy and the boy's grandfather on an adventure around Japan before convincing his father not to attack the crew of the Gotengo, afterwards leaving with Godzilla into the ocean. The children's web-series ''Godziban'' has Minilla and Little Godzilla co-existing as Godzilla's kid brothers, embarking on many misadventures while Godzilla tries to teach them important monster skills.

Development

According to director

Jun Fukuda was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for directing five entries in the ''Godzilla'' series starting with '' Ebirah, Horror of the Deep'' (1966) as well as the spy films ''Ironfinger'' (1965) and ''Golden Ey ...

, Minilla's creation was not an attempt at appealing to child audiences, but was merely a new approach for the series.David Milner
"Jun Fukuda Interview"
''Kaiju Conversations'' (July 1994) After filming ''

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep is a 1966 Japanese '' kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda and produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd. The film stars Akira Takarada, Kumi Mizuno, Akihiko Hirata and Eisei Amamoto, and features the fictional monster characters Godzilla, M ...

'', Godzilla creator

Tomoyuki Tanaka was a Japanese film producer. He is best known for co-creating the ''Godzilla'' franchise and its associated spin-offs. Early life Tanaka was born on April 26, 1910, in Kashiwara, Osaka. As a child, he would often walk miles to the nearest th ...

reportedly approached screenwriter

Shinichi Sekizawa was a Japanese screenwriter noted for his immense contributions to several films by Ishirō Honda, including several classic Godzilla films. He also contributed material to the original ''Ultraman'' series and several Tōei Dōga films such as ' ...

and suggested the idea of giving Godzilla a son to commemorate the

New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...

. According to Godzilla historian Steve Ryfle, the character's creation was likely a response to the contemporary light-hearted

Gamera is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. Debuting in the 1965 film ''Gamera, the Giant Monster'', the character and the first film were intended to compete with the success of Toho's ''Godzilla'' film ...

films.

Appearances

Films

* ''

'' (1967) * ''

'' (1968) * '' All Monsters Attack'' aka ''Godzilla's Revenge'' (1969) * '' Godzilla: Final Wars'' (2004)

Television

* '' Ike! Greenman'' (1973–1974)

Video games

* ''

'' / ''Godzilla-Kun: Kaijuu Daikessen'' (

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 t ...

– 1990) – In the game, Minilla is trapped in a large maze. He awaits rescue by Godzilla, the player's character. The only point in which Minilla appears is during the ending sequence. * '' Godzilla Trading Battle'' ( PlayStation – 1998) * '' Godzilla Generations'' (

Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nint ...

– 1998) – A secret character that is unlocked after completing the game with Godzilla-USA, Minilla is the shortest of the playable characters and also the weakest in terms of defense. His speed is average, and his breath weapon, atomic smoke rings, is not very powerful, as several uses are required to defeat even the

Super X is a 1984 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Koji Hashimoto, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. The film features the fictional monster character Godzilla. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is th ...

Cultural references

* In the '' M*A*S*H*'' episode "Springtime",

Radar O'Reilly This is a list of characters from the ''M*A*S*H'' franchise, covering the various fictional characters appearing in the novel '' MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'' and its sequels, the 1970 film adaptation of the novel, and the televisi ...

asks a nurse played by

Mary Kay Place Mary Kay Place (born September 23, 1947) is an American actress, singer, director, and screenwriter. She is known for portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series '' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'', a role that won her the 1977 Primetime Emm ...

if she would like to accompany him to a screening of "Firstborn of Godzilla" and remarks, "I saw the original—before Godzilla got married" (however the Korean War lasted between 1950 and 1953, but Godzilla himself did not appear on-screen until 1954). * Doom metal band Goblin Cock have a song on their debut album titled "Ichiro's Dilemma" which summarizes the plot of the film '' All Monsters Attack'' and mentions Minya (the alternate name for Minilla sometimes used in English dubs).

Other juvenile Godzillas

* Godzooky, Godzilla's nephew from the 1978-81 animated television series ''

''. *

Godzilla Junior is a kaiju which first appeared in Toho's 1993 film ''Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II''. Overview Godzilla Junior first appears in ''Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II'' as an egg. Presuming it to be a ''Pteranodon'' egg, a scientific team unearths it ...

(also referred to as Little Godzilla and Baby Godzilla), Godzilla's second son, introduced in the 1993 film '' Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II''. * Baby Godzilla, from the 1998 film ''

'' and the 1998–2000 animated television series '' Godzilla: The Series''.

References

{{Godzilla Fictional dinosaurs Fictional telepaths Fictional mutants Godzilla characters Mothra characters Toho monsters Science fiction film characters Fantasy film characters Film characters introduced in 1967 Kaiju Fictional monsters