If you haven't read the previous entries in this Retrospective, be sure to read Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3.
THE COMEBACK KID
GAMERA THE BRAVE
(Original Title: "Chisaki Yusha Tachi: Gamera" - Little Braves: Gamera)
April 29, 2006
Our main character is a boy named Toru (Ryo Tomioka) and after seeing so many annoying little boys in these movies I'm grateful to have one that I don't want to scream at. He's just a normal kid who forms a bond with a turtle he names Toto. Toto will be our future Gamera.
No wacky hijinks for this kid however. Instead we get emotional trauma and feelings of loneliness because of his mother dying years ago, his friend having heart surgery and his father working endlessly at his restaurant. Now throw in a new pet that just so happens to be the savoir of the planet descended from the same Gamera who sacrificed his life to kill a trio of Gyaos threatening Japan, who Toru is worried will follow the same path and leave him again.
Is this enough baggage?
Regardless Tomoika does a good job of giving us the best boy lead in a Gamera film and the rest of the cast including Toru's Father (Kanji Tsuda) and his friends are also solid. I really don't dislike any character in this movie.
As for Toto himself. He's cute, more than capable of putting up a fight and I like him. I feel like they could have easily named this movie "Son of Gamera."
There is one thing however, I do not like about him. WHAT. THE HELL. HAPPENED. WITH HIS ROAR!?!?!?!!!
GAMERA THE BRAVE
(Original Title: "Chisaki Yusha Tachi: Gamera" - Little Braves: Gamera)
April 29, 2006
A boy finds and befriends a turtle who begins growing at an amazing rate. Eventually a monster starts attacking the city and the turtle now grown to giant size steps in to fight it off. Suffice to say this is no ordinary turtle, but the successor to the very monster that gave his life to protect the earth, Gamera!
In November 2002, Daiei Film was bought up by and eventually merged into Kadokawa Pictures, making them the new owners of Gamera. Naturally, a new film was considered.
One of the concepts Kadokawa proposed was a 'Godzilla vs. Gamera' crossover film which almost everyone was on board with...except for Toho. With that idea shot down, it was decided to simply go with a standalone reboot.
Unlike the last couple of films, this one would harken back to the roots of the original Gamera films. When I first heard about this, I was immediately skeptical given my feelings of the majority of those films.
However, you may be pleasantly surprised to hear that this movie is nothing like the originals. Despite having a focus on child characters, they are not annoying, the adults don't act like idiots in comparison and the story is treated with maturity and realism. Or at least as realistic as you can get in a movie with giant monsters in it, but at least we don't have aliens wearing goofy outfits.
And yes, we still get our gratuitous monster gore.
In November 2002, Daiei Film was bought up by and eventually merged into Kadokawa Pictures, making them the new owners of Gamera. Naturally, a new film was considered.
One of the concepts Kadokawa proposed was a 'Godzilla vs. Gamera' crossover film which almost everyone was on board with...except for Toho. With that idea shot down, it was decided to simply go with a standalone reboot.
Unlike the last couple of films, this one would harken back to the roots of the original Gamera films. When I first heard about this, I was immediately skeptical given my feelings of the majority of those films.
However, you may be pleasantly surprised to hear that this movie is nothing like the originals. Despite having a focus on child characters, they are not annoying, the adults don't act like idiots in comparison and the story is treated with maturity and realism. Or at least as realistic as you can get in a movie with giant monsters in it, but at least we don't have aliens wearing goofy outfits.
And yes, we still get our gratuitous monster gore.
No wacky hijinks for this kid however. Instead we get emotional trauma and feelings of loneliness because of his mother dying years ago, his friend having heart surgery and his father working endlessly at his restaurant. Now throw in a new pet that just so happens to be the savoir of the planet descended from the same Gamera who sacrificed his life to kill a trio of Gyaos threatening Japan, who Toru is worried will follow the same path and leave him again.
Is this enough baggage?
Regardless Tomoika does a good job of giving us the best boy lead in a Gamera film and the rest of the cast including Toru's Father (Kanji Tsuda) and his friends are also solid. I really don't dislike any character in this movie.
There is one thing however, I do not like about him. WHAT. THE HELL. HAPPENED. WITH HIS ROAR!?!?!?!!!
Gamera has such a unique and iconic roar, I just can't wrap my head around why Kadokawa decided to replace it with a stock dinosaur roar. Every time I hear it all I think about is the "T-Rex" from 1957's 'The Land Unknown' and countless other movies and shows that have sampled it. At least when it was used in the 1976 King Kong remake, they used a different variation of the roar to make it a little different. This is less Kong '76 and more Jaws the Revenge.
I recently found out that Media Blasters attempted to reinsert the original Gamera roar into their English dub for the DVD/Blu-ray release, but they were denied the opportunity to do so by Kadokawa.
Toshinori Sasaki plays both the full size Toto and the first Gamera we see in the movie aka Advant Gamera, and I'm just gonna say it, Advant Gamera looks like he should have retired at least 20 years ago. He needed a better union.
And then there's our enemy monster, Zedus. He has a pretty cool design, but he's mostly basic. His only real unusual power is a spear tongue. There is some really good buildup to his appearance. The movie shows ship wrecks and various people getting eaten at sea until finally he makes landfall, starts wreaking the town and devouring crowds of people.
Zedus was played by Mizuho Yoshida, who also played Godzilla in 2001's "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack"
I recently found out that Media Blasters attempted to reinsert the original Gamera roar into their English dub for the DVD/Blu-ray release, but they were denied the opportunity to do so by Kadokawa.
Toshinori Sasaki plays both the full size Toto and the first Gamera we see in the movie aka Advant Gamera, and I'm just gonna say it, Advant Gamera looks like he should have retired at least 20 years ago. He needed a better union.
Zedus was played by Mizuho Yoshida, who also played Godzilla in 2001's "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack"
*takes a breath*
So I guess in a roundabout way, Kadokawa got their 'Godzilla vs. Gamera' movie after all.
Aside from the full-size suits, a number of real turtles and scale rubber props were used to portray Toto throughout his various growth spurts and CGI is used to enhance Toto's expressions.
Aside from the full-size suits, a number of real turtles and scale rubber props were used to portray Toto throughout his various growth spurts and CGI is used to enhance Toto's expressions.
Another noteworthy prop used was a full size, 15-foot long Toto model used for the scenes showing him being transported to Nagoya on the back of a truck. In fact, it was so convincing several news sites published articles claiming it to be the "Worlds Largest Tortoise Found!" Of course, they were quickly debunked.
The best way I can describe Gamera the Brave is imagine if Hayao Miyazaki made a monster movie. It takes mature subject matter, sprinkles it among a very whimsical backdrop and leaves much of the story elements and backstories up to the viewers' imagination. We don't get much background on the "Giant Monster Council" or even a hint of where Zedus comes from. I can see that being an issue for some, but I really don't mind because ultimately, that's not what the focus on the story is about. It's a personal story about a boy and his turtle that doesn't necessarily need a multilayered plot with endless exposition.
Or as the intro to a certain show says: Repeat to yourself "It's just a show, I should really just relax!"
Gamera the Brave takes the best elements from the better Gamera films, great monster scenes, engaging characters, emotional themes and manages to work them into a delightfully charming film that anyone can enjoy. It manages to hold itself up well, especially to those like myself who had reservations upon hearing about it. Take it for what it's worth and just have a good laugh, cry and a cheer while watching.
I certainly would not have minded seeing more Gamera movies done this way.
However despite a mostly positive reception, Gamera the Brave ended up being a box office failure. It was the lowest grossing Gamera film to date and Kadokawa ultimately decided to shelve Gamera indefinitely.
The best way I can describe Gamera the Brave is imagine if Hayao Miyazaki made a monster movie. It takes mature subject matter, sprinkles it among a very whimsical backdrop and leaves much of the story elements and backstories up to the viewers' imagination. We don't get much background on the "Giant Monster Council" or even a hint of where Zedus comes from. I can see that being an issue for some, but I really don't mind because ultimately, that's not what the focus on the story is about. It's a personal story about a boy and his turtle that doesn't necessarily need a multilayered plot with endless exposition.
Or as the intro to a certain show says: Repeat to yourself "It's just a show, I should really just relax!"
I certainly would not have minded seeing more Gamera movies done this way.
However despite a mostly positive reception, Gamera the Brave ended up being a box office failure. It was the lowest grossing Gamera film to date and Kadokawa ultimately decided to shelve Gamera indefinitely.
WILL GAMERA RETURN?
While the Kaiju genre has continued to expand into new territory and grow in popularity in recent years, Gamera has been noticeably absent. Since 2006 there has not even been a whisper of a new film.
Then in 2015 for Gamera's 50th anniversary, there was an amazing trailer at New York Comic-Con showing a fully CGI Gamera fighting a swarm of Gyaos before facing off against a new monster. It looked amazing, Gamera looked great and he even got his roar back. The trailer ended up being a proof of concept, shown to hopefully ignite interest in a new film.
Fan reception was overwhelmingly positive, but nothing else seems to have come from it. To this day, Gamera's only major appearance was in the 2017 video game 'City Shrouded in Shadow', a game where you play as a civilian trying to escape a city being attacked by a monster that seriously needs a US release!
Then in 2015 for Gamera's 50th anniversary, there was an amazing trailer at New York Comic-Con showing a fully CGI Gamera fighting a swarm of Gyaos before facing off against a new monster. It looked amazing, Gamera looked great and he even got his roar back. The trailer ended up being a proof of concept, shown to hopefully ignite interest in a new film.
Fan reception was overwhelmingly positive, but nothing else seems to have come from it. To this day, Gamera's only major appearance was in the 2017 video game 'City Shrouded in Shadow', a game where you play as a civilian trying to escape a city being attacked by a monster that seriously needs a US release!
It goes without saying that I and so many others miss seeing the titanic terrapin. Only time will tell whether or not Gamera will grace the screen again. But when he does, you can bet I'll be there.
Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon
and thank you for joining me here in my lair.
So long...
I hope you have enjoyed reading this and if you would like to see more from The Gryphon's Lair, be sure to give my Facebook page a 'LIKE' to see updates and other related stuff.
Thanks for reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment