As a symbol of post-World War II cinematic history,Godzilla and Postwar Japan – "William M. Tsutsui (Univ. of Kansas) explores the role of the Godzilla film series in popular culture" the irradiated giant monster Godzilla has been referenced and parodied numerous times in popular culture.In Godzilla's Footsteps: Japanese Pop Culture Icons on the Global Stage ed. by William M. Tsutsui, Michiko Ito. Palgrave Macmillan, 2006 Godzilla and other atomic monsters have appeared in a variety of mediums, including cartoons,Professor Ferenc M. Szasz and Issei Takechi, "Atomic Heroes and Atomic Monsters: American and Japanese Cartoonists Confront the Onset of the Nuclear Age, 1945–80," The Historian 69.4 (Winter 2007): 728–752. film, literature, television, and video games.
Name usage
"-zilla" is a well-known slang suffix, used to imply some form of excess to a person, object or theme;William Tsutsui (2004) "Godzilla on My Mind", p,8. some examples being the reality show Bridezillas and the Netscape-derived web browser Mozilla Firefox. "-
The Mesozoic dinosaur Gojirasaurus quayi is a coelophysid named in Godzilla's honor. Over five meters in length, it was originally considered one of the largest theropods of the Late Triassic period.K. Carpenter, 1997, "A giant coelophysoid (Ceratosauria) theropod from the Upper Triassic of New Mexico, USA", Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 205 (#2): 189-208 The species was discovered in New Mexico by paleontologist Kenneth Carpenter, who is an admitted Godzilla fan.J.D. Lees, Marc Cerasini (May 1998) The Official Godzilla Compendium, p,106.
Dakosaurus andiniensis is a marine reptile of the Jurassic Period. It had a uniquely defined head similar to that of theropod dinosaurs, which has led to researchers nicknaming the species "Godzilla".Gasparini Z, Pol D, Spalletti LA. 2006. An unusual marine crocodyliform from the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary of Patagonia. Science 311: 70–73.
On at least two occasions, the name Godzilla has been used as a nickname for athletes. Former Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Olaf Kolzig went by the nickname "Godzilla" (sometimes shortened to "'Zilla") and had a depiction of the monster painted on his goalie mask. Japanese former baseball player Hideki Matsui also had the nickname "Godzilla" which represents his powerful hitting. Matsui had a cameo in the film Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla.
The Nissan GT-R sports car was famously nicknamed "Godzilla" by the Australian motoring publication Wheels in its July 1989 edition – a name that has stuck to this day. This became one of the subjects of the car games.
Film and television Godzilla has been featured in 38 films from 1954 to the present. In the United States, Godzilla films from Toho had been airing on television every week since 1960 up until the 1990s.
Motifs from the series have been echoed, parodied or paid tribute to in numerous later films. Godzilla movies were frequently a target for commentary by the Mystery Science Theater 3000 television series, which parodied B-movies.
Bambi Meets Godzilla is the title of a humorous 1969 Canadian cartoon created entirely by Marv Newland. In 1994 it was voted #38 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field. Only two minutes long, this cartoon is considered a classic by many animation fans.
Godzilla has also faced pop culture icons such as King Kong, in addition to the discarded project Frankenstein vs. Godzilla (which became Frankenstein vs. Baragon), and the case of the fan film Wolfman vs. Godzilla, where Godzilla faces a version of the Werewolf which has been mutated by radiation.
Hanna-Barbera created an animated TV series about Godzilla in 1978. The series only lasted for two seasons. Tri-Star and Sony created another animated TV series in 1998 that was a sequel to the first American remake. This series also only lasted for two seasons.
Godzilla has appeared in many Robot Chicken parodies. In one, for instance, Godzilla and his wife are lying in bed and his wife says "I don't know, maybe if we use some toys?", then Mechagodzilla walks into frame cheering with a dildo coming out of his chest.
Godzilla made a cameo appearance (in a clip from Godzilla vs. Biollante) in the 1996 comedy, Mars Attacks!. Godzilla also made an appearance in the Happy Tree Friends episode 'Wingin' It' when he attacks (and presumably devours) Flaky. A Godzilla action figure was present all throughout the sitcom Roseanne from the series premiere to the series finale.
Steven Spielberg cited Godzilla as an inspiration for Jurassic Park (1993), specifically Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), which he grew up watching. During its production, Spielberg described Godzilla as "the most masterful of all the dinosaur movies because it made you believe it was really happening." Godzilla also influenced the Spielberg film Jaws (1975), and he also included Mechagodzilla in his 2018 film Ready Player One and Godzilla and Rodan frequently in the cartoon series Animaniacs, which Spielberg produced.
Godzilla has been cited as an inspiration by actor Tim Allen and filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton.
The 2007 film Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 featured a cameo appearance from Godzilla.
A snowed up version of Godzilla known as Snow Godzilla makes a couple surprise appearances in the 2019 Japanese anime film Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion the Movie: The Marvelous Fast ALFA-X That Comes From the Future. Godzilla also made a guest appearance in the show Crayon Shin-chan as an antagonist.
In 1991, two Godzilla films, Godzilla vs. Megalon and Godzilla versus the Sea Monster, were shown on the movie-mocking TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000.
A parody creature resembling Godzilla, alongside another parody character resembling what appears to be a hybrid between Ultraman and Kamen Rider, appears in the television special Olive, the Other Reindeer during the song "Merry Christmas After All", during part of which Olive, Santa and the other reindeer are shown passing through Tokyo delivering gifts. The two characters are shown to be friendly and taking part in the song and dance routine shown to include numerous figures, both real and fictional, in the show in various locations visited by the team as they make Santa's annual trip around the world.
Godzilla has been referenced multiple times in the American animated TV sitcom The Simpsons. Godzilla first appeared in the episode "Lisa on Ice" when Lisa imagines herself on Monster Island and is chased by various kaiju, including Godzilla. It has also been referenced in "Treehouse of Horror VI", "Mayored to the Mob" (where Godzilla can be seen signing autographs at the Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con), "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo" (in which the plane carrying the Simpson family is being attacked by Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra and Gamera), "Simpsons Tall Tales", "Treehouse of Horror XVI", "Homerazzi", "Wedding for Disaster", "The Real Housewives of Fat Tony", "Treehouse of Horror XXIV" and "Treehouse of Horror XXVI".
Godzilla appeared in the Family Guy episode "The Peanut Butter Kid". In a cutaway gag Godzilla arrives to attack Haiti only to discover that it is already in shambles and return to the ocean.
Godzilla's roar in non-Toho media In the Japanese anime series Shinzo, the monster Grandora has the same roar as Godzilla. The end of Hercules (1958) has a monster guarding the Golden Fleece that emits Godzilla's roar. In Godzilla effects creator Eiji Tsuburaya's 1966 television series Ultra Q, several of the featured kaiju emit either Godzilla's roar or a variation of it. In the 1982 film The Last Unicorn, Godzilla's roar is heard coming from a green dragon that Prince Lír fights during a song. In the Japanese anime series Mazinger Z, several of the villainous mechanical beasts use Godzilla's roar. In the OVA anime film Gall Force: Eternal Story, the roar can be heard when Paranoid Commander Dorn's ship transforms into a surface-walking mecha. When Mongo the Gingerbread Man's gumdrop button falls off in Shrek 2, he makes the same sound as Godzilla's roar. In the Pokémon episode "Ditto's Mysterious Mansion", the character Jessie gets mad and yells with Godzilla's roar at Ditto. In Danny Phantom, Godzilla's roar is frequently used for the more monstrous ghosts in the series. In Muteking, The Dashing Warrior episode 31, Takokichi turns into a monster like Godzilla. In The Simpsons couch gag for the episode "Homerazzi" where Homer's evolution is featured, Bart and Lisa are depicted as dinosaurs, with both of them emitting Godzilla's roar. In The Simpsons episode "30 Minutes Over Tokyo" (Season 10, Episode 23, #AABF20), the family's flight home is briefly interrupted by a monster attack on Tokyo, featuring Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra and Gamera. Godzilla roars as he attacks their plane and again when they fly away. His roar is heard even after the episode has faded to black. When in "Simpsons Tall Tales" Homer, in his role as the giant Paul Bunyan, fights Rodan, Rodan roars like Godzilla. In the first segment of The Simpsons Halloween episode "Treehouse of Horror VI", "Attack of the 50 Foot Eyesores", Homer steals the Lard Lad's giant doughnut. The Lard Lad gets struck by lightning and comes to life. Then he pulls his feet off the ground, stomps into the middle of the street, and emits Godzilla's roar. In Camp Lazlo, Elebug metamorphoses into a monster in the episode "Creepy Crawly Campy" and emits Godzilla's roar. In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Chemo emits a Godzilla-like roar in the episode "Clash of the Metal Men!". Godzilla's roar can be heard in the episode of Total Drama Island "Camp Castaways". In The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, the episode title "Giant Billy and Mandy All-Out Attack" refers to Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. In the episode "The Incredible Shrinking Mandy", when Mandy becomes a giant after Billy puts a curse on her, she goes to Sassy Cat Land and also does a Godzilla-like roar, scaring everyone away from the amusement park. The South Park episode "Mecha-Streisand" parodies the Godzilla series heavily and also features Godzilla's roar. In an episode of Catscratch ("The King of All Root Beer"), Waffle and Mr. Blik fight each other over the city. Godzilla's roar is also heard multiple times, along with Rodan's. Chappelle's Show features a skit in which Dave Chappelle appears as a giant version of himself and is labeled "Blackzilla" by a Japanese city he attacks. After fighting and beating the real Godzilla, the skit becomes complete with Dave making the signature roar of said movie monster. In the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "Yesteryear", Godzilla's roar was used as part of the sound of a Vulcan creature called the Le-matya. In an episode of Malcolm in the Middle Godzilla is referenced twice; first, when Malcolm comments on the Godzilla suit looking fake and later, when Lois trips on a Lego city, she bumps into the buildings and her voice is slowed down to sound like Godzilla's roar. The Japanese heavy-metal band Seikima-II used Godzilla's roar to begin their live shows. They have also used the roar in their song "Kemonotachi No Hakaba". Seikima-II vocalist and leader Demon Kogure, a fan of Godzilla, won a Godzilla roar-alike contest in 1983 and later made a brief cameo in Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989). Acid Mothers Temple 2006 album Starless and the Bible Black Sabbath features Godzilla's roar at the end of the final track. On the soundtrack album to the 1998 American Godzilla, Green Day remixed their song "Brain Stew" with Godzilla's roar. Sir Mix-A-Lot's song "Posse on Broadway" samples Godzilla's roar repeatedly throughout the song. The punk band Adrenalin O.D. included Godzilla's roar on "Return to Beneath the Planet of AOD vs. Godzilla Strikes Again in 3D", the B-side to their single "A Nice Song in the Key of 'D'".