All Monsters Attack

Godzilla Minilla Gabara All Giant Monsters Attack
Original poster
Directed by	Ishirō Honda
Produced by	Tomoyuki Tanaka
Written by	Shinichi Sekizawa
Starring	Tomonori Yazaki Eisei Amamoto Sachio Sakai Kazuo Suzuki Kenji Sahara Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla
Music by	Kunio Miyauchi
Cinematography	Sokei Tomioka
Editing by	Masahisa Himi
Distributed by	Toho UPA/Maron Films (USA)
Release date(s)	Japan December 20, 1969 (1969-12-20) United States/Canada December 8, 1971 (1971-12-08)
Running time	69 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese English
Budget	$150,000[citation needed]

All Monsters Attack, released in Japan as Godzilla, Minilla, Gabara: All Monsters on Parade (ゴジラ • ミニラ • ガバラ オール 怪獣大進撃, Gojira Minira Gabara Ōru Kaijū Daishingeki^?), is a 1969 tokusatsu Kaiju film, also known as Godzilla's Revenge The 10th film in Toho Studio's Godzilla series, it was directed by Ishirō Honda, who also directed the special effects, assisted by Teruyoshi Nakano. This is the second film to feature Ebirah and Kamacuras. It is the third film to feature Gorosaurus, Anguirus, Kumonga, Manda, and Minilla. Despite the credits in both versions, Eiji Tsuburaya was not directly involved with the production of this film. The "Special Effects Supervised by" credit was given out of respect, since he was still the head of the Visual Effects Department.

In contrast to previous films in the series, this film is openly aimed at children. As such, most reviewers have very negative impressions of the film. However, even these reviewers sometimes concede that children (the audience for whom the film was made) have a more positive impression of the film.^[1][2][3]

Plot

Ichiro is a highly imaginative but lonely latchkey kid growing up in urban (and at that time, polluted) Tokyo. Every day he comes home to his family's empty apartment. His only friends are a toymaker named Shinpei Inami and a young girl named Sachiko. Every day after school, Ichiro is tormented by a gang of bullies led by a child named Sancho, whom Ichiro has nicknamed "Gabara." To escape his loneliness, Ichiro sleeps and dreams about visiting Monster Island. During his visit he witnesses Godzilla battle three Kamacuras and Ebirah, a giant sea monster. Ichiro is then chased by a rouge Kamacuras and falls into a deep cave, but luckily avoids being caught by Kamacuras. Shortly afterwards, Ichiro is rescued from the cave by Godzilla's Son, Minilla. Ichiro quickly learns that Minilla has bully problems too, as he is bullied by a monstrous ogre known as Gabara.

Ichiro is then awoken by Shinpei who informs him that his mother must work late, again. Down on his luck Ichiro goes out to play, but is then frightened by the bullies and finds and explores an abandoned factory. After finding some souvenirs (tubes, a headset, and a wallet with someone's license), Ichiro leaves the factory after hearing some sirens close by. After Ichiro leaves, two Bank Robbers who were hiding out in the factory learn that Ichiro has found one of their drivers licenses and follow him in order to kidnap him.

Later, Ichiro dreams again and reunites with Minilla. Together they both watch as Godzilla fights Ebirah, Kumonga, and some invading Jets. Then in the middle of Godzilla's fights, Gabara appears and Minilla is forced to battle him, and after a short and one-sided battle Minilla runs away in fear. Godzilla returns to train Minilla how to fight and use his own atomic ray. However, Ichiro is woken up this time by the Bank Robbers and is taken hostage by them for taking their stuff and as a means of protection from the authorities.

Out of fear and being watched by the thieves, Ichiro calls for Minilla's help and falls asleep again where he witnesses Minilla being beaten up by Gabara again. Finally, Ichiro helps Minilla fight back at Gabara and eventually Minilla wins, catapulting the bully through the air by a seesaw-like log. Godzilla, who was in the area watching comes to congratulate his son for his victory, but is ambushed by a vengeful Gabara. Luckily after a short brawl, Godzilla beats down Gabara and sends the bully into retreat, never to bother Minilla again. Now from his experiences in his dreams, Ichiro learns how to face his fears and fight back, gaining the courage to outwit the thieves just in time for the police to arrive and arrest them. The next day, Ichiro stands up to Sancho and his gang and wins, regaining his pride and confidence in the process.

Gabara

Toho character
Gabara
Species	Dream Ogre/Kappa
Height	58 meters
Weight	23,000 tons
Origins	Dream
Major enemies	Minilla Godzilla Godman Greenman
First appearance	All Monsters Attack (1969)
Created by	Ishirō Honda
Portrayed by:	Yasuhiko Kakuko

Gabara (ガバラ^?) is a fictional kaiju (giant monster) featured in the 1969 Japanese tokusatsu film All Monsters Attack (also known as "Godzilla's Revenge"), the tenth Godzilla film to be produced by Toho. Gabara is the primary antagonist of the film.

Overview

Just as All Monsters Attack is one of the more distinctive entries in the Godzilla canon — existing, as Gabara does, entirely inside the dreams of a small child — Gabara is unique. Not obviously based on any real animal or mythological creature, Gabara's costume is similar to an ogre or troll, with a turquoise, warty hide. On top of his head is a mane of scruffy orange fur with a series of horns protruding from it. His facial features are vaguely feline, and his roar sounds like a crazed, throaty warble. Gabara has the power to project electricity through physical contact, and uses this ability to electrocute Minilla, and later, Godzilla. Promotional photos for All Monsters Attack also depict Gabara shooting lightning bolts from his hands, though this ability was never depicted in the film. However, in a few fight scenes, Gabara appears to emit powerful electric shocks when he makes direct contact with his opponents.

Media appearances

Within the context of the film, Gabara is a representation within the dreams of Ichiro, the main character, of a schoolyard bully of the same name. Similarly, Ichiro is represented by Minilla, Godzilla's son. After Godzilla defends his offspring in Ichiro's dreams, Ichiro is able to overcome his fears and confront the real Gabara.

The character did not make any further appearances in official Godzilla films, but the name and costume were reused in the second episode of Yuke! Godman and the following year in the fourteenth episode of the short Kyodai Hero television series Ike! Greenman. However the Godman and Greenman shows were not linked to any sort of continuity with the various Toho films.^[4] Also, the monster's name was used for a lake in the three minute long Godzilla Island.

English version

The film was released in North America on December 8, 1971 by Maron Films as Godzilla's Revenge on a double bill with Island of the Burning Damned. Maron Films later re-released the movie on a double bill with War of the Gargantuas.

There are some minor alterations between the North American and Japanese versions:

• All Japanese-speaking dialogue is dubbed to English.

• The Japanese version featured a vocal song over the opening credits (Kaiju no Māchi or March of the Monsters), sung by Risato Sasaki and the Tokyo Children's Choir, and issued on the Japanese label, Crown Records. While the North American version features a jazzy instrumental entitled "Crime Fiction", composed by Ervin Jereb.

• In the original Japanese version, Minilla had a young female-like voice. In the North American version, Minilla is renamed "Minya", and he is given a cartoony male voice.

• In the Japanese version, the two thieves' names were never mentioned in the film. In the North American version, the leader is given the name "Roy," but his partner's name is never mentioned in the film.

Box office

In Japan, the film sold 1,480,000 tickets. This was over a million tickets less than the previous Godzilla film, Destroy All Monsters (and it was the first Godzilla film to sell less than 2 million tickets).

Titles

• Godzilla, Minya, Gabara: All Monsters on Parade - Japanese title.

• All Monsters Attack - Toho's official English title.

• Godzilla's Revenge - U.S. release title.

• Minya, Son of Godzilla - Original American title, changed after Henry Saperstein realized that the similarly titled Son of Godzilla had been shown on American television two years prior.^[5]

DVD releases

Classic Media

• Released: Original Japanese version with English version as part of the Toho Master collection; originally supposed to be released in September 2007 but was made an "exclusive" to the Godzilla Toho Master Collection Box Set in November 2007, this and Terror of Mechagodzilla, it was released separately on April 29, 2008.

• Region 1
• Note: Part of the Toho Collection

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ [2]
3. ^ [3]
4. ^ Gabara [Go! Greenman]
5. ^ Steve Ryfle. Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of "The Big G" Toronto, Ontario, Canada: ECW Press. 1998. Pg.157

External links

• All Monsters Attack at the Internet Movie Database
• "ゴジラ・ミニラ・ガバラ オール 怪獣大進撃 (Gojira Minira Gabara Ōru Kaijū Daishingeki)" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1969/cs004030.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-18. 
• All Monsters Attack - TOHO KINGDOM
• All Monsters Attack - TOHO KINGDOM
• [4]