Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (ゴジラ怪獣惑星) is a 2017 Japanese computer-animated kaiju film directed by Kōbun Shizuno and Hiroyuki Seshita. Produced by Toho Animation and Polygon Pictures, in association with Netflix, it is the 32nd film in the Godzilla franchise, the 30th Godzilla film produced by Toho, the first animated film in the franchise, and the second film in the franchise's Reiwa era.

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters follows a group of human refugees who attempt to recolonize Earth 20,000 years after the planet was taken over by Godzilla. The film was released theatrically in Japan on November 17, 2017, and was released worldwide on Netflix on January 17, 2018. It was followed by two sequels, Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle and Godzilla: The Planet Eater, both of which were released in 2018.

Setting

In the last summer of the 20th century, giant monsters began attacking Earth and humanity is driven to near extinction by one monster which eliminated the others: Godzilla. Two alien races with ulterior motives, the religious and the technologically advanced, came to Earth and offered their assistance against Godzilla.

Plot

Captain Haruo Sakaki bears a seething hatred towards Godzilla, who had killed his parents during humanity's banishment and exile from Earth after 20 years in the Interstellar medium. He believes the exoplanet selected for colonization, Tau-e, is uninhabitable and tries to force the ship's central committee to rescind the order to send the elderly, including his grandfather, to scout the planet. Haruo is arrested and then witnesses the exploratory shuttle explode while entering the planet's atmosphere. He then anonymously publishes a classified essay on Godzilla's weak points provided by the Exif priest named Metphies. This sways public opinion among the population forcing the central committee into returning to Earth after deciding that they are unlikely to find another habitable world.

The Aratrum emerges from hyperspace and arrives in Earth's orbit and begins sending reconnaissance drones to scout the surface which reveal that Godzilla is still alive. Metphies arranges Haruo's bail and he explains to the committee that Godzilla has a vulnerability. It is an electromagnetic pulse-producing organ in his body which generates an asymmetrical permeable shield making him impervious to all damage except for a short period when the organ recycles. Haruo proposes using that window to crack the shield organ and quickly implant an EMP probe into Godzilla to cause an implosion from the resulting energy buildup. He stresses that close quarters combat would be needed for accurately coordinated attacks in order to find the organ and requests a force of 600 out of the 4,000 people onboard to implement the plan.

When Haruo and the landing ships with the 600 personnel from the aratrum reach Earth's surface, they learn that almost 20,000 years have elapsed due to relativistic effects and Time Dilation, and Godzilla's presence on the planet has radically altered Earth's biosphere. They suffer losses and damage to their landing ships by new flying creatures called Servums. The remaining troops mobilize and soon encounter Godzilla. Haruo proceeds with the original plan on his own and attacks Godzilla before Leland intervenes and provoke Godzilla, his death allowing the others to learn Godzilla's weak point is his dorsal fins. Command falls to Metphies, who promotes Haruo to commander as the human convinces the remaining survivors to continue with the plan and defeat Godzilla.

The group manage to trap Godzilla within a collapsed mountain pass, where they succeed in killing the monster. However, it appears to only be an offspring and the original Godzilla, which has grown to 300m in height, emerges from beneath a nearby mountain and destroys most of the remaining crew. Trapped beneath rubble, Haruo watches Godzilla leave while vowing to kill him before losing consciousness.

In a post-credits scene, Haruo wakes up in a secluded area and sees an indigenous girl standing next to him.

Release

Marketing

A stage event for the film was held at AnimeJapan 2017 on March 26, 2017.[13] That same month, a teaser poster revealed that the film will be released theatrically in Japan on November 17, 2017.[17] The film's directors attended the Annecy International Animation Film Festival to reveal more details regarding the film.[18] In June 2017, a new poster detailing Godzilla's design was revealed with the tagline "Despair Evolves".[19] In August 2017, a new trailer and poster were released with the tagline "Who will go extinct — humans, or Godzilla?"[20] In September, Toho and Sanrio announced a collaborative project titled Godzilla x Hello Kitty, which featured artwork, and a 2-meter statue of Godzilla from Planet of the Monsters, on display at Gate City Osaki West Tower in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The exhibit was displayed from September 1–8.[21]

Theatrical and streaming

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters was given a theatrical release in Japan on November 17, 2017. In March 2017, it was announced that the film will be streamed in 190 countries via Netflix following the film's Japanese theatrical release. Greg Peters, President of Netflix Japan stated, "Working with the best creators such as Toho in bringing Godzilla to Netflix users in over 190 countries marks a major milestone for us".[22][23] In January 2018, Netflix announced that the film will be released worldwide on their platform on January 17, 2018.[24]

Box office

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters reached #3 at the Japanese box office on its opening weekend, earning ¥103 million from 71,200 admissions within two days.[25] By its third weekend, it had grossed ¥342,349,800 ($3,052,062).[26] Upon its Chinese release in 2018, the film grossed CN¥1.62 million (US$) at the Chinese box office,[27] bringing the film's total box office gross to US$million in East Asia.

Critical response

Brian Ashcraft of the Kotaku website felt that the characters "aren't all that interesting" but did state that the "anime version of Godzilla is surprisingly effective and frightening" and that despite his complaints, the "overall experience was good" and "It's not a perfect picture, but it was a powerful proof of concept: Godzilla works as an anime."[28] Matt Schley from The Japan Times praised the film's CG animation, stating, "even skeptics will admit the 3-D version of the king of the monsters looks pretty darn cool" but felt the film wasn't "nearly as thematically ambitious as its predecessor" and concluded by stating, "But still, with its impressive 3-D animation and action sequences, 'Planet of the Monsters' has the makings of something interesting."[29] Callum May from Anime News Network gave the film an overall B+ rating, calling the film "not for the uninitiated". May criticized the character of Haruo as being "grating", as the film didn't allow audiences to connect with other characters but praised the animation, call it Polygon's "best-looking CG title yet" and concluded that the film "is a thrilling film that lives up to the reputation of the franchise and delivers on its science fiction premise".[30]

Mike Cecchini from Den of Geek felt the film was "beautifully animated" but criticized the characters, feeling they weren't sympathetic or well-developed.

Home media

In Japan, the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Toho Video on May 16, 2018.[35] It sold 5,813 Blu-ray units within its first week,[36] and 1,784 DVD units within two weeks.[37]

director	Kōbun Shizuno Hiroyuki Seshita
producer	Takashi Yoshizawa
screenplay	Gen Urobuchi
story	Gen Urobuchi
starring	Mamoru Miyano Takahiro Sakurai Kana Hanazawa Yūki Kaji
music	Takayuki Hattori
cinematography	Kousuke Kawamura
editing	Aya Hida
studio	Polygon Pictures Toho Animation
distributor	Toho (Japan) Netflix (Worldwide)
runtime	88 minutes‡R1R‡
country	Japan
language	Japanese
gross	US$3.3 million‡R2R‡

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters

Setting

Plot

Voice cast

Production

Music