Godzilla is as big a character as any in the history of modern movie making. However, that doesn't mean that quite every Godzilla is as big as any other. It turns out the range varies quite wildly. A new "sizing chart" has put all of the big screen monster lizards side by side so that you can get a real look and how they match up. While we're far from shocked that the most recent Godzillas have been the biggest, the actual distribution is more than a little intriguing.
It's certainly no surprise that the first monster, from 1954's Godzilla was only 50 meters tall. As the first, he didn't need to be huge, and since everything had to be created with models, making him any larger was likely too difficult to pull off at the time. The 1974 version of the beast would have been from Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla which was when the Japanese series of films saw an increase in their budget, which is likely what lead to the increased size.
The most interesting thing that you learn about Godzilla while doing research on this image is that Japan's 2001 Godzilla film, the gloriously titled Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack was essentially a reboot of the series, which was designed to follow on the original film while ignoring everything that came in between. This explains why the character actually shrinks, after steadily growing in size over the course of four decades. It turns out Hollywood aren't the only ones capable of a reboot.
Of course, at the top of the heap are the two most recent Godzillas. At 108 meters tall is the 2014 Gareth Edwards directed version. Not to be outdone, the version of the character in Japan's just released new Godzilla film Godzilla Resurgence, stands at 118.5 meters tall. Thanks to the world of digital effects there is essentially no limit to how big you can make the monster in your movie. The biggest issue now is simply how much of him you can fit in the frame.
Of course, we'd be remiss if we didn't bring up the monstrosity that is the Roland Emmerich Godzilla movie. If you needed any more clearer view of how truly wrong the monster looked, there it is. Next to the rest of the movie Godzillas this one looks more like a Xenomorph than Godzilla. It's not clear what anybody was thinking with that mess of a movie.
The world of Godzilla is far from over. There are plans to make a sequel to Gareth Edwards film, following by a film that will pit the giant lizard against the larger than usual ape that we will meet next summer in Kong: Skull Island.
