Rebirth of Mothra I & II

These movies are somewhat geared toward little kids, but as an adult I found them enjoyable as well. They're not quite as fun as the Godzilla movies, however, and they have a strong "Be good to the Earth" message that can come off as cheesy.

The first movie stars the twin faeries from Mothra vs. Godzilla, the Shobijin (but they call themselves the Elias in this movie). They have more distinct personalities than in any Godzilla movie, and I don't recall them speaking in unison once during the film, excluding the Mosura song. They also have an older sister, Belvera, who is the antagonist of the Rebirth films. She comes off as amusing and is my favorite character in the series, she's kind of a cross between Queen Beryl from sailor moon and Team Rocket from Pokemon, it's great. The monster Mothra fights is Desghidorah, or "Death Ghidorah," and boy does he look awesome. Additionally, he is actually kind of frightening in this one because he's fighting Mothra, not the invincible Godzilla. Mothra looks like crap, and I have a few issues with certain special effects, but overall this movie is fun.

Rebirth of Mothra II is a direct sequel of Rebirth of Mothra, and stars the twin Elias and their evil sister who once again is trying to control a dangerous and evil monster to destroy human civilization. It begins more or less with the discovery of a furby-ish creature that cures injuries with its pee. No joke. It eventually turns out to be the key to unlocking a lost civilization not unlike Atlantis, but with a really long name. Throughout the movie the kids are plagued by two dimwitted bad guys, swarms of mutant starfish, and of course Belvera as they try to find some sort of magical wish-granting treasure. The monster in this one is called Dagarha, and he looks kind of generic--just a big green dinosaur-dragon thing with holes in his shoulders (that look like rocket launchers) that shoot out energy and mutant starfish. Mothra of course takes a huge beating, but eventually TRANSFORMS into a more powerful and streamlined form. You'll either think that part is cool or really lame, but either way it leads to a CGI scene where Mothra splits into ten smaller Mothras and blasts away at thousands of mutant starfish.

Depending on your attitude, you'll either love or hate these movies. Personally, I thought they were kind of juvenile, but still pretty enjoyable despite the overuse of CGI.

A "Monster" to admire!

I've always enjoyed the Japanese kaiju films with a certain tongue-in-cheek admiration, but I've always had fond memories of Mothra from a childhood TV presentation. When I discovered these late 90's movies I quickly ordered a copy and thoroughly enjoyed both. The 3rd movie in the series hasn't been released in the US but you may be able to find a version if you look around. Yes, they are aimed at a younger audience, but once the Elias fairies crank into their summoning song you know the great Moth-Godess of the Earth is going to kick serious monster heinie. There are fierce battles, tear jerking self-sacrifice, and uber-cute fairy maidens. Opps, I hear "Mothra, Ya, Mothra" summoning me.

Mothra returns in style!

I just recently watched both Rebirth of Mothra and Rebirth of Mothra 2, and I have to say I was pleased. Going in I knew it was going to be low tech as Toho is known for, and I knew it was really aimed towards children, but kaiju fans will love these movies, especially fans of the spoony moth. In the first one, Mothra must battle the dangerous Desighidorah with the help of two children, and while some of the scenes may have been dragged out a little too much, all in all the battle was fun to watch and provided a clash worthy of even a Godzilla movie (even though Godzilla could easily crush these two chumps ;) ) With the second movie, Mothra must save the world from the trash eating Dagarha (remind anyone of a certain Godzilla movie from the 70's?) she is aided by three children and the scene where Mothra transforms into Aquamothra is certainly a nice visual effect, and there aren't many dragged out scenes like in the first one. All in all, I would definetely recommend these movies to Japanese monster movie fans :)

Recommended buy for Mothra fans!

This is a must buy for those Mothra fans out there.

I like how Mothra evolve in the show.

You'll enjoy it.

Note: Special effects are about the same as those 1990s Godzilla films.

Movies

These movies were okay, but a little silly with the small flying sisters, and the monsters weren't as exciting as Godzilla movies. They were okay. GodZilla movies and Gamera, etc... are much better movies.