A new parody video monetizes Godzilla's tendency to level cities by offering his fellow Kaiju an easy place to find the best real estate to destroy. The King of the Monsters first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1954 classic Godzilla and, with more than thirty screen credits to his name, has been demolishing buildings ever since.
While Honda's initial movie used the prehistoric sea monster as a way to explore the issue of nuclear holocaust in post-war Japan, the Kaiju genre of giant monster movies it inspired is not always so serious. Godzilla pioneered a style of special effects called "suitmation," which sees a person in costume interact with (and usually smash) model sets, creating the appearance of an impossibly large creature stomping through city streets. Later movies embraced the fun that comes with such an approach to filmmaking, staging monster battles and rampages among high rises that inevitably result in a ton of property damage. These sequences are such a staple of the Kaiju genre that they survived the transition to CG effects, and a Godzilla movie without at least one extended attack on a cityscape is virtually unimaginable.
But, as everyone knows, good real estate is tough to find these days, even for monsters. Enter Prehistoric Properties, a company that, in the latest parody advertisement from Nerdist's "Godzilla Tales" series, can help with all of your destructive needs. The brand new app exclusively for Kaiju helps find the right location for any weight-class, from (monster-)child-friendly neighborhoods to expert-level downtown areas. Check out the video below:
This Prehistoric Properties video is just one of many times Nerdist has repurposed the advertisement format to service Kaiju over the past few months, with previous spotlighted companies including the rideshare app Kaiju Kab and the rejuvenating workout program G-90REX. The ads use footage from a range of Godzilla movies made by Toho, the Japanese studio practically synonymous with Kaiju, as part of an official licensing deal to celebrate the character's recent 66th anniversary. Their clever construction makes this series of "Godzilla Tales" shorts fun for any viewer, but fans of Kaiju films will have the added nostalgia of revisiting a number of memorable moments.
Additionally, these parody videos serve to drum up excitement for Godzilla vs Kong, the new installment of the legendary monster's Hollywood reboot that started back in 2014. Originally scheduled to premiere last month, distributor Warner Bros. delayed the movie to May 21, 2021, when it is now set to debut simultaneously in theaters and on the streaming service HBO Max. The look and tone of these latest installments from Legendary Pictures are nothing like Toho's Godzilla movies, and while some fans surely appreciate the greater believability that comes with the upgraded special effects, others will watch videos like Nerdist's and miss the ridiculous fun of suitmation.
Source: Nerdist