Godzilla is one of the oldest and most well known monsters of the 20th century. Since his debut in 1954, he has starred in 28 films, has cameoed or been referred to in countless other films, and has in general integrated himself into popular culture both in and outside Japan. Basically, he is one of the most recognized and renowned fictional characters in existence. Godzilla films are quintessentially Japanese in their style, which unfortunately turns many people off from even giving them a chance. This style also happens to result in many Godzilla films, especially those of the late sixties and seventies, containing moments that are just...strange. Strange in the way only the Japanese could be. Many Godzilla films have moments that just leave you dumbfounded at what you just saw. These moments of sublime weirdness range from abilities that come out of nowhere to special effects failures. So with the return of Godzilla looming over the horizon, now seems a perfect time as any to go back and look at some of the most bizarre moments from the Godzilla series. There are more than this list could fit, but here are the 10 most WTF moments from Godzilla's 60 year career.
10. Mothra Translates (Ghidrah, The Three-Headed Monster)
With the fifth entry in the Godzilla series, Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla was starting to soften up in order to appeal to a younger audience. He didn't become nice without a fight though. Before Ghidrah makes his grand entrance, Godzilla and Rodan get into a major spiff, not caring about anything else going on around them. As Ghidrah goes on a rampage, humanity asks Mothra to try to convince the two that they need to stop fighting and work together in order to defeat this greater threat. Mothra intervenes in the fight and begins actually talking in monster language, resulting in a three-way monster conversation. The ridiculousness of this moment comes from the fact that the whole conversation is being translated by Mothra's twin fairies for the convenience of the humans (and the audience). Suddenly the monsters are being depicted like bickering children; trading insults and throwing rocks at each other, which humanizes them to the point of absurdity. Godzilla even offers an excuse for acting the way he does, saying that he goes on rampages because the humans are mean to him. However, the real silliness of this scene comes from the English dub version. Apparently Godzilla swears like a sailor, to which the twin fairies exclaim, "Godzilla, what terrible language!" It was one of the first majorly silly scenes of the series, and a prelude of what was to come.
