Mothra

This article is about the character. For the 1961 film, see Mothra (film). For the web browser, see Mothra (web browser).

Godzilla film series character
Mothra
Alias	Mosura
First appearance	Mothra
Last appearance	Godzilla: Final Wars
Created by	Shinichiro Nakamura, Yoshie Hotta, Takehiko Fukanaga

Mothra (モスラ Mosura) is a fictional character who first appeared in the serialized novel The Luminous Fairies and Mothra by Takehiko Fukunaga, Shinichiro Nakamura, and Yoshie Hotta. It is depicted as a giant monster (known in Japan as kaiju) that resembles a moth. Since its film début in the 1961 film Mothra, it has appeared in several Toho tokusatsu films, most often as a recurring character in the Godzilla franchise.

Name

The name "Mothra" is the suffixation of "-ra" to the English word "moth"; since the Japanese language does not have dental fricatives, it is approximated "Mosura" in Japanese. The “ra” suffix follows the precedent set by “Gojira”, which in turn is derived from kujira (鯨（クジラ), the Japanese word for “whale,” to indicate the character’s enormous size.

Character overview and development

Mothra’s design is inspired by giant silk moths such as the Atlas moth.

Mothra’s iconic character design is that of a giant brown caterpillar with blue eyes, or a colourful imago form that combines attributes of moths and butterflies along with fictional embellishments such as chewing mouthparts, ocelli and talons. It is typically depicted onscreen via puppetry; a radio controlled animatronic prop on wheels for its caterpillar form, and a marionette with overhead wires moving the wings and body as an imago. In more recent films it has been rendered with CGI as well.

At the time of its creation, Mothra’s colourful appearance and benevolent nature set Mothra apart from Toho’s other giant monster characters. Mothra is generally portrayed as a giant insect that lives on a tropical island, where it is worshipped as a deity. It is a peaceful character that only fights to protect itself, its allies or the earth. It is usually accompanied by miniature twin fairies, who summon it into battle by singing a prayer (Mosura No Uta). Depending on the film, the Twins have gone by many titles, such as the Shobijin, the Cosmos, and the Elias. The Rebirth of Mothra trilogy expanded on their characterization, giving the fairies names - Lora and Moll – and an evil sister named Belvera.

Mothra has been portrayed as using a number of special abilities. It has been shown to have the ability to spray silk, metamorphose, fly, generate hurricane-force wind, scatter poison, drop wings and use various magical energy attacks. According to character profiles it has been given in supporting media, Mothra measures 30-180 meters long and weigh 9,000-15,000 tons in its larval form, and possess a weight of 15,000-25,000 tons and a wingspan of 75-250 meters in its imago form. Mothra is one of Godzilla’s most frequently recurring opponents, though it has never defeated it without assistance; in some stories, Mothra is also portrayed as Godzilla’s ally.

Appearances

• The Luminous Fairies and Mothra
• Mothra (film)
• Mothra vs. Godzilla
• Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster
• Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
• Destroy All Monsters
• Godzilla vs. Mothra

• Rebirth of Mothra
• Rebirth of Mothra II
• Rebirth of Mothra III
• Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
• Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla
• Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.
• Godzilla: Final Wars

See also:

• Godzilla video games
• Godzilla (comics)

Reception

Mothra is one of Toho’s most popular monsters, and second only to Godzilla in its total number of film appearances. Toho had intended to follow 1989's Godzilla vs. Biollante with a revival of Mothra in her own spin-off film, Mothra vs. Bagan, for 1990 release. However, following the disappointing box office performance of Biollante, Toho discarded the project in favor of another Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991). A 1992 survey revealed that Mothra was Toho's most popular character among women, an observation which inspired Toho to again revise its plans, abandoning a proposed sequel to King Ghidorah in favor of a Godzilla/Mothra feature. Following the end of the Heisei Godzilla series, Toho produced a trilogy of Mothra films, known in the U.S. as Rebirth of Mothra (1996–1998). Mothra thus became the first Toho daikaiju to lead its own film(s) after its incorporation into the Godzilla franchise.