Godzilla (franchise)

Godzilla (franchise)

Godzilla (ゴジラ, Gojira?) is a Japanese series of Kaiju films featuring the character Godzilla.

The first film, Godzilla, was first released in 1954. It was adapted by an American company into Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, edited and with added principal scenes featuring Raymond Burr, the film was released internationally becoming a commercial success.

The original Godzilla was greatly inspired by the commercial success of the 1952 re-release of King Kong, and the 1953 success of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms. Godzilla would go on to inspire Gorgo, Gamera, Cloverfield, and many others. The original film has also inspired many sequels along with a American remake of the franchise. The popularity of the films has introduced the character in other media in the franchise such as television, music, literature including a series of books and comics along with video games. Its character has been one of the most recognizable symbols in Japanese popular culture worldwide and remains an important facet of Japanese films, and was the first example of the tokusatsu genre of Japanese entertainment.

The name "Godzilla" is a romanization, by the film production company Toho Company Ltd., of the original Japanese name "Gojira" — which is a combination of two Japanese words: gorira (ゴリラ) 'gorilla' and kujira (鯨, くじら) 'whale'. The word alludes to the size, power and aquatic origin of Godzilla.