MovieChat Forums > Kaitei gunkan (1965) Discussion > Monda sucks!

Monda sucks!

posted 16 years ago by vawlkee_2000
3 replies | jump to latest

As a longtime kaiju fan, Kaitei Gunkan has always been my favorite....I saw it for the first time in LA back in '66.
What's always bugged me about Tsuburaya, Eiji's spfx is that he'd do one scene that was a knockout (and there are a lot of 'em in this film) and then one that really sucked.......Such in this film is the sequence with Monda the dragon, as he attacks the sub.
I'll give them credit for attempting to "animate" an oriental style dragon but the execution is pathetic! Obviously a puppet - wires and all, he moves like one of those cheesy costumes in a Chinese new year's parade or one of those articulated bamboo dragon toys I used to see in Chinatown...In some ways it really comes close to ruining the film - and that's a tough order!
This is one time I wish someone'd do a Lucas and go back and modify the scene digitally to where I don't have to hide my eyes until it's over!
Monda appears again in "Big Monster Battle" (Destroy All Monsters) in '68. At least here he's on the ground and moving like a snake, not suspended....And, on screen for only a brief moment - thank god!

[–] scotbpens 15 years ago

Yes, the Monda puppet was pretty laughable, especially compared to the quality of the other effects such as the underwater miniature work. I think Reptilicus may be Monda's Danish cousin.

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[–] caabrae 11 years ago

I wish that Shūsuke Kaneko would give Manda, as well as some other Toho monsters, the same treatment he gave Baragon in Giant Monsters All Out Attack! MAN did that guy look cool!

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[–] Xcalat3 8 years ago

it looked absolutely ridiculous.

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