Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (ゴジラ怪獣惑星, Gojira Kaijū Wakusei) is a 2017 Japanese computer-animated kaiju film directed by Kōbun Shizuno and Hiroyuki Seshita. Produced by Toho Animation and Polygon Pictures, in association with Netflix, it is the 32nd film in the Godzilla franchise, the 30th Godzilla film produced by Toho, the first animated film in the franchise, and the second film in the franchise's Reiwa era. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters follows a group of human refugees who attempt to recolonize Earth 20,000 years after the planet was taken over by Godzilla. The film was released theatrically in Japan on November 17, 2017, and was released worldwide on Netflix on January 17, 2018. It was followed by two sequels, Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle and Godzilla: The Planet Eater, both of which were released in 2018.
Setting In the last summer of the 20th century, giant monsters began attacking Earth and humanity is driven to near extinction by one monster which eliminated the others: Godzilla. Two alien races with ulterior motives, the religious Exif (エクシフ, Ekushifu) and the technologically advanced Bilusaludo (ビルサルド, Birusarudo), came to Earth and offered their assistance against Godzilla. After the Bilusaludo's gambit with Mechagodzilla failed before it could be activated, both the aliens and humanity were forced to abandon Earth and emigrate to the exoplanet Tau Ceti e in the Tau Ceti system located within the Constellation Cetus via the interstellar emigration ship Aratrum (アラトラム号, Aratoramu-gō), while a second interstellar emigration ship known as the Oratio (オラティオ号, Oratio-gō), was sent to Kepler-452b in the Constellation Cygnus, but disappeared under mysterious circumstances. 20 years later, Aratrum is 11.9 light years from Earth and contains the remaining humans accompanied by Exif and Bilusaludo refugees.
Plot Captain Haruo Sakaki bears a seething hatred towards Godzilla, who had killed his parents during humanity's banishment and exile from Earth after 20 years in the Interstellar medium. He believes the exoplanet selected for colonization, Tau-e, is uninhabitable and tries to force the ship's central committee to rescind the order to send the elderly, including his grandfather, to scout the planet. Haruo is arrested and then witnesses the exploratory shuttle explode while entering the planet's atmosphere. He then anonymously publishes a classified essay on Godzilla's weak points provided by the Exif priest named Metphies. This sways public opinion among the population forcing the central committee into returning to Earth after deciding that they are unlikely to find another habitable world. The Aratrum emerges from hyperspace into Earth's orbit and begins sending reconnaissance drones to scout the surface, which reveal that Godzilla is still alive. Metphies arranges Haruo's bail and he explains to the committee that Godzilla has a vulnerability. It is an electromagnetic pulse-producing organ in his body which generates an asymmetrical permeable shield making him impervious to all damage except for a short period when the organ recycles. Haruo proposes using that window to crack the shield organ and quickly implant an EMP probe into Godzilla to cause an implosion from the resulting energy buildup. He stresses that close quarters combat would be needed for accurately coordinated attacks in order to find the organ and requests a force of 600 out of the 4,000 people on board to implement the plan. When Haruo and the landing ships with the 600 personnel from the Aratrum reach Earth's surface, they learn that almost 20,000 years have elapsed due to relativistic effects and Time Dilation, and Godzilla's presence on the planet has radically altered Earth's biosphere. They suffer losses and damage to their landing ships by new flying creatures called Servums. The remaining troops mobilize and soon encounter Godzilla. Haruo proceeds with the original plan on his own and attacks Godzilla before Leland intervenes and provoke Godzilla, his death allowing the others to learn Godzilla's weak point is his dorsal fins. Command falls to Metphies, who promotes Haruo to commander as the human convinces the remaining survivors to continue with the plan and defeat Godzilla. The group manage to trap Godzilla within a collapsed mountain pass, where they succeed in killing the monster. However, it appears to only be an offspring and the original Godzilla, which has grown to 300m in height, emerges from beneath a nearby mountain and destroys most of the remaining crew. Trapped beneath rubble, Haruo watches Godzilla leave while vowing to kill him before losing consciousness. In a post-credits scene, Haruo wakes up in a secluded area and sees an indigenous girl standing next to him.
Voice cast
Production In August 2016, Toho announced that an animated Godzilla film was being developed, targeted for a 2017 release. Gen Urobuchi was announced as the writer, Kobun Shizuno and Hiroyuki Seshita as the directors, and Polygon Pictures was announced as the studio that would animate the film. In January 2017, Urobuchi announced the main cast on his Twitter account. In March 2017, Toho announced that the film would be the first film in a new trilogy. About the production, co-director Shizuno stated, "From the start, we had the blessing of Toho to not be constrained by previous entries in the franchise, and with the freedom of imagination offered by animation I feel we have come up with a cool new form for Godzilla." On Godzilla's new design, co-director Seshita stated, "With his masses of muscle fibers and unique body tissue to support his enormous bulk, this is an extraordinarily rugged-looking physique. It was an overwhelming presence that reverberated through the whole project, like a fearsome deity that even we who created it must prostrate ourselves before. That is our Godzilla." The English dub was produced by Post Haste Digital.
Music Takayuki Hattori composed the film's soundtrack, marking it his third Godzilla film score. XAI performed the film's theme White Out.
Release
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