20 Years of "Godzilla vs. Mothra"

An example on how quickly time marches on is by noting that 2012 marks 20 years since Toho's Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) was produced and released.  It was released in Japan on December 12, 1992.

Here's what Wikipedia says about it:

Godzilla vs. Mothra (ゴジラ対モスラ, Gojira tai Mosura) is a 1992 Japanese Science Fiction Kaiju film produced by Toho. Directed by Takao Okawara with special effects by Koichi Kawakita, the film starred Tetsuya Bessho, Satomi Kobayashi and Akiji Kobayashi. The 19th installment in the Godzilla series of films, the film remains the highest grossing film of the entire Godzilla series (unadjusted for inflation). [I'd hazard a guess that King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) is still the boxoffice champ if adjusted for inflation. - A.]  After the success of the previous year's Godzilla vs King Ghidorah, Toho decided to bring back their second most famous creation Mothra into the new series. Composer Akira Ifukube's score won a Japanese Academy Award. The film was the second highest grossing film in Japan in 1993, second only to the Hollywood film Jurassic Park.  

The film was released straight to video in the United States in 1998 by Tristar as Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth.

Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The movie also introduced a new kaiju: Battra.  The big battle in the movie took place on the oceanfront of Yokohama, Japan.   The structures demolished include the Cosmo Clock Ferris Wheel at the Yokohama Cosmo World amusement park and the crescent-shaped InterContinental Yokohama Grand Hotel (photo above).  These are covered on pages 19-20 of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan (which will also tell you how to get there).

It is somewhat incredible that this year will mark 20 years since the movie was made and released. Time does fly by!