Mothra Trilogy
| Rebirth of Mothra | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Okihiro Yoneda |
| Produced by | Hiroaki Kitayama |
| Screenplay by | Masumi Suetani |
| Based on | An idea by Tomoyuki Tanaka |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Toshiyuki Watanabe |
| Cinematography | Yoshinori Sekiguchi |
| Edited by | Nobuo Ogawa |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Toho |
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Release date
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December 14, 1996 |
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Box office | ¥1.150 billion |
Rebirth of Mothra (モスラ Mosura, released in Japan simply as Mothra) is a 1996 Japanese tokusatsu kaiju film featuring Mothra, produced and distributed by Toho. The film is directed by Okihiro Yoneda and serves as a reboot of the Mothra film series and is the first installment in the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy. It is also the last kaiju film produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, who produced various kaiju films featuring Mothra, Godzilla, and others. The film was released in Japan on December 14, 1996.
Millions of years ago, a titanic terror from another realm arrived to destroy the planet Earth. Named Desghidorah, this three-headed dragon was forced to deal with resistance in the form of a species of highly advanced, enormous moths. These monsters were the protectors of the Elias, a race of tiny, humanlike beings who inhabited the planet. After the ensuing battle, Desghidorah was defeated and sealed within the Earth, although a great deal of life on the planet Earth was lost. Three Elias sisters, Moll, Lora and Belvera, were all who were left of their once prosperous civilization. Though the benevolence of Moll and Lora was undeterred, Belvera became twisted and vengeful due to the mass extinction of her race. These tiny fairies, along with one final guardian named Mothra, lingered on for thousands of millennia. To preserve her species, Mothra created an egg in 1996; however, she became physically exhausted from the ordeal. Shortly thereafter, a logging company uncovered the subterranean prison of the demonic space beast that had ravaged the Earth so long ago. When the seal that had bound the creature was removed from the area, one of the workers of the company took it home and gave it to his young daughter, Wakaba, as a souvenir. Seizing the advantage, Belvera controls Wakaba and uses her to torment her brother Taiki, reminding Belvera of her hatred towards her sisters.
Moll and Lora, riding a smaller Mothra named Fairy, then fought Belvera for control of the artifact. Belvera prevailed and managed to release Desghidorah from its rocky tomb to exact her warped plans for destruction of the human race. Mothra was summoned to halt the detestable dragon, which was absorbing the life out of the environment. She fought a long and difficult battle to repel her ancient adversary, and in response to her declining strength, her young son, named Mothra Leo, hatched prematurely to assist his mother. Though his energized silk seemed to turn the tide of battle in the favor of the protectors, Desghidorah sank the teeth of two of his heads deep into Leo and Mothra became desperate. She quickly airlifted her son to safety, and to keep Desghidorah at bay, lured the beast to a dam. With Desghidorah distracted by a wall of raging water, Mothra carried her son to safety. Unfortunately, Mothra's wounds, age, and exhaustion were ultimately too much. Her strength failed, and she plummeted into the sea below. The crestfallen larva attempted to save his beloved mother, but she died in the ocean, to no avail.
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