Minilla

For other uses of the name Minya, see Minya.

Minilla
Godzilla film series character
File:Son of Godzilla, Minilla.jpg
First appearance	Son of Godzilla (1967)
Last appearance	Godzilla 2 (2018)
Created by	Jun Fukuda
Portrayed by	Shōwa series Masao Fukazawa Millennium series Naoko Kamio
Aliases	Minya

Minilla (ミニラ, Minira) is a kaiju who first appeared in Toho's 1967 film Son of Godzilla. He is the adopted son of Godzilla, and he is sometimes referred to as "Little Godzilla" by American audiences, or Minya when the name is dubbed for American versions.

Overview

Introduced in Son of Godzilla, Minilla was born on Sogell Island, when its egg was prematurely cracked open by a group of mutant giant praying mantis' called Kamacuras. Godzilla soon arrived, killed two of the Kamacuras, and rescued Minilla. Godzilla proceeded to train Minilla and defended it against further attacks from the final Kamacuras and the giant spider Kumonga. Godzilla and Minilla were placed in hibernation when a group of scientists completed a weather experiment, resulting in the freezing of their island. The mutant dinosaurs revived when the snow melted, and eventually relocated to Monster Island, as seen via stock footage in Godzilla vs. Gigan.

In Destroy All Monsters (which takes place in 1999), Minilla, Godzilla and many other Earth monsters live on a new island called Monsterland. Together they battle the three-headed space dragon King Ghidorah at Mt. Fuji. They kill Ghidorah and saved planet Earth. After that, Minilla and the other monsters returned to Monsterland.

Godzilla's exact relationship to Minilla has never been clarified. It is uncertain whether he was of a derelict egg of the same or a similar species or if Godzilla was somehow Minilla's biological parent; (human character dialogue might suggest that Godzilla had been to Sogell Island prior to the events of Son of Godzilla).

Minilla is the first juvenile Godzilla to be featured in the film series. A later young Godzilla appears as Godzilla Junior during the Heisei series, in the last three films of the Heisei series of Godzilla films.

Appearance

Minilla resembles a smaller, pudgy version of his father. His snout is slightly upturned and his eyes are larger and placed further forward on his head, giving him a more human-like appearance. The dorsal fins on his back are small and unformed, and he also lacks the charcoal grey color of his father. His coloring is a lighter, fleshy grey color.

Powers and abilities

Minilla is much more friendly with humans than other monsters and once (in All Monsters Attack) appeared in the dreams of a troubled boy in order to give an example of how to deal with bullying and other childhood issues. It is also very playful, enjoying such games as kicking large boulders and jumping over or riding on Godzilla's tail. While it is usually fearful of other monsters, it occasionally shows courage when defending its human friends, although more often than not it is outmatched by other monsters. The All Monsters Attack appearance is also notable in that it is the only instance of Minilla speaking, which makes sense since it only appears in dreams.

Minilla is most notable for its ability to breathe atomic smoke rings, though he did learn to use a real atomic ray in Son of Godzilla. Minilla also has the ability to communicate with Godzilla over great distances by broadcasting a brainwave pattern over radio frequencies. This ability interferes with other radio transmissions in its vicinity. In All Monsters Attack Minilla is depicted as having the ability to shrink down to human size. This was originally meant to be indicative of the fantasy element of the film, in which Minilla only appears in the dreams of a young boy. This power is depicted again, outside of dreams, in the Millennium film Godzilla: Final Wars.

Minilla reappeared in a slightly altered form in Godzilla: Final Wars, which, as part of the Millennium series, was not directly connected to any of its previous appearances. Its role, however, was unchanged; very human-friendly, especially towards children. It also interceded on behalf of humanity to Godzilla, prompting Godzilla to end its war with the human race. In this film, Minilla is also rather intelligent, knowing how to operate basic human items such as Seatbelts and even a small truck somehow. It can also tell where Godzilla is through an unknown neural link.

Appearances

Films

• Son of Godzilla (1967)
• Destroy All Monsters (1968)
• All Monsters Attack (1969)
• Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
• Godzilla 2 (2018)

Television

• Ike! Greenman (1973-1974)

Video games

• Godzilla / Godzilla-Kun: Kaijuu Daikessen (Game Boy - 1990) - In the game, Minilla is trapped in a large maze. It awaits rescue by Godzilla, the player's character. The only point in which Minilla appears is during the ending sequence.
• Godzilla Trading Battle (PlayStation - 1998)
• Godzilla Generations (Dreamcast - 1998) - A secret character that is unlocked after completing the game with Godzilla-USA, Minilla is the shortest of the playable characters and also the weakest in terms of defense. Its speed is average, and its breath weapon, atomic smoke rings, is not very powerful, as several uses are required to defeat even the Super X.

Cultural references

• In the M*A*S*H* episode "Springtime," Radar O'Reilly asks a nurse played by Mary Kay Place if she would like to accompany him to a screening of "Firstborn of Godzilla" and remarks, "I saw the original—before Godzilla got married" (An amazing feat considering that the Korean War lasted between 1950 and 1953, but Godzilla himself did not appear on screen until 1954).

Other juvenile Godzillas

• Godzilla Junior, Godzilla's second son, introduced in the 1993 film Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II
• Baby Godzilla, from the 1998 film Godzilla
• Godzuki, Godzilla's animated nephew from the 1978 series The Godzilla Power Hour