Godzilla Reminisces -- WIP Animation Update
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Published 2023-05-10
I wanted to get deeper into Godzilla as a character, contrasting his past life as a mere animal with his post-mutation monster self. Most kaiju have some kind of character or personality, especially in more comedic media. In serious media, it can be hard to balance characterizing the kaiju while still keeping them monsters, i.e. distant and mysterious to our human understanding.
Many versions of Godzilla portray him as a mutated animal who gained fantastical powers while losing everything else, mainly his "people" and his place in the world. This is my preferred interpretation. He represents a mixture of nature and technology, mythology and science, and the progressive and destructive side of humanity all in one. His transition between the two lives and his loss is a somewhat under-explored side of him, because while he's a monster, he still has animal and human-like attributes that inform both his appearance and behavior.
I like to imagine the nuclear bombs didn't just make him powerful, but gave him a boost in sentience and cognition, enough to realize and comprehend his own tragedy and develop lasting feelings over it, but not enough to understand why it happened and how he could cope. He was thrust into the role of a living symbol, representing forces and events beyond his understanding and control, but a part of him just wants to go back to his old life. So this animation shows him returning to his old island and sea home to relive memories and perhaps pay respects to his bygone life and fellow semi-aquatic dinosaurs.
His dinosaur form was not based on any existing Toho-approved design like the 1991 Godzillasaurus, but more on paleontologist Kenneth Carpenter’s thought experiment from 1998 about what a more dinosaur-like Godzilla could look like, vaguely inspired by the deep-skulled abelisaurs. I also wanted to keep his light-up dorsal plates, which could be used for communication or display, with each specimen having their own light pattern. I added more color to them too, such as display spots on their throats, but it's hard to see because of the water effects.
To further differentiate pre- and post-mutation Godzilla, I gave the dinosaurs slightly more crocodile-like side to side swimming motions, while the mutated Godzilla has a more ungainly swimming technique that looks more like an awkward human, representing that he's not a natural animal anymore suited for a natural habitat.
This animation is still very far from being finished, this is only one third of a work-in-progress animation, with some unfinished shots. Most of the shots from the previous video have been updated to fix some bugs, but certain ones still need to be fixed and re-rendered. There are a couple of animation shortcomings I can't do much about, like the scale and resolution of the ocean waves and the hokey looking droplet effects. These are the best I can do with my hardware.
All Comments (21)
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Showing Godzilla as an actual animal is something not done very often... I love it!
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National kaijugraphic
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“I was the last of my kind… and you turned me into the first…”
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godzilla acting as a whale pays homage to his translation to his name being translated as "Gorilla whale" it's genius and it is beautiful.
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Even a single frame of this animation looks like a piece of art.
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The underwater sequence is breathtaking!
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For those that may not know, the original Godzilla (Gojira 1954) was an ancient semi aquatic reptilian creature that used to live in a colony of others within his kind. Before the destruction and mutation of the bomb, they lived in deep sea caverns rather peacefully. In the film the village elders of odo island speak of Godzilla as an old sea monster in their folk lore that was feared with the belief that it would rise from the ocean and devour humanity. When times for fishing were hard, the village would have tie girls to rafts and send them out to sea as a sacrifice to appease Godzilla. As the bomb was finally dropped, the home that the creatures lived in were was destroyed and many of the other gojira were killed. Godzilla himself being the only survivor at the time was burned, scarred, and irritated into a kaiju. It’s home gone and relatives dead, this creature would lash out on the surface world and destroy any boats at sea before rampaging through the city. Here Godzilla alone only has the comfort of being in the depths of the ocean and memories of the others he lived with.
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Man this is something I wanted for a while, kaijus portrayed as animals and living their lives rather then fighting something every 17 minutes
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There are very few people who are capable of making something hilarious and make something else that's just beautiful and emotional You're one of them
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Ahh yes, this is the type of animation that makes me greatly appreciate this fandom. Godzilla as an animal, reminiscing what was taken from him and giving us a look at what they looked like before the bomb (which is why Godzilla looks as disfigured and burnt as he does). Its such a tragedy 😢
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"If my ancestors could see me now..." Showing his kind talk to each other through bio-luminescence is an awesome touch
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I always loved the idea of exploring Godzilla's status as not just a mutation, but the last of his species. It's a part of him that never gets to much detail. The concept of Godzilla being alone and depressed is a fascinating one, and it also emphasizes the importance of Minya/Godzilla Jr's role in Goji's life. You've captured to concept beautifully, and I hope you expand upon it in the future.
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The feels hit me like a god damn truck. Back when godzilla perhaps had a family he loved makes me feel bad for the big guy. A mate he loved, Perhaps he has a little sister he would protect, a brother who would watch his back. Perhaps he did have all of these things and knowing that he’s the last of his kind breaks his big atomic heart.
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My eyes are actually watering. The animation is beautiful The scenery is incredible And the actual video idea is amazing
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I love how Godzilla's dorsal fins glow green when greeting another one of his kind. I like the idea that the dorsal fins can glow different colours depends on Godzilla's emotions Maybe the green signals love, friendly or happiness And maybe blue signals despair...
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There's a kind of sadness in this beauty. He's the last one. The rest are gone, never to return. How angry he must feel that humans now dominate, while all he's left with is the crushing weight of solitude.
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Reminiscing of when he's kind ruled not just the sea, but the world… Only to be a memory, a sad, sad memory.😢 I love the fact that you made each Godzilla different from the other, and each one had a different colored glow. As well as how each one was either different colored different shaped head. All of them were unique; one was not the same as the other. 🥹 it was all beautiful.
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Very beautiful, And I always liked the more tragic story of the 1954 Gojira, Nice work Vrahno Edit: I also noticed you removed the grainy look from godzilla that emulated the 1954 one Edit 2: I guess Godzilla Gets A Youtube Award is going to be put in the background, Atleast that's what i got from this, Though the way this animation is turning out is extremely graceful, So i don't have a big problem with it.
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What an absolutely beautiful video! Also, really awesome use of David Arnold's music from '98 Godzilla. I've always found it very underrated, and it really captures the majesty of Goji.
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Makes me think if Pixar made a Godzilla film. Lots of charming personality given to him here in a vibrant, beautiful world. Absolutely loving this! Nice inclusion of the '98 soundtrack as well!
