Godzilla: The Series (1998–2001) User Reviews

One of the best cartoons since Mighty Max

[Keyan-the-Eagle144 · 8/10 · 16 April 2018]

Back when this show was on the air, I had avoided it since the 1998 Roland Emmerich-directed Godzilla was such a letdown. But after hearing that the series was coming to DVD one year I decided to try it. When I was watching it for the first time, I thought to myself, "What have I been missing?" Turns out I missed a lot.

Fantastic kaiju creatures (some mutants, some aliens) and a main cast featuring Ian Ziering and Rino Romano (and some returning from the 1998 film) all combined to bring a lot to the table. Good plots, major mysteries, a few guest stars, and a new beast or two in addition to the titular kaiju himself. If only we humans had our own respective creatures that bonded to us. Just pray they don't run amok in our cities or eat anyone. Maybe this show was a casualty or got caught in the crossfire during the Pokemon-Digimon heyday battle. Whatever the reason, it made a good 40-something episode run. And that's not bad for a short-lived show. Now if only they could do a continuation in the form of a comic book or a reunion movie. Don't know if the latter is feasible but I'll accept the comic book part.

Undeniably one of the best.

[DustinRahksi · 7/10 · 6 February 2013]

I remember when this used to air on t.v., it was always on way too early in the morning and I rarely got to see it. All I had of this show was a VHS copy of one of the episodes. Now I got two DVD's, but unfortunately there is only three episodes on each disc, for a total of 6 out of 39, wow that sucks. I can't even find any other episodes, did they just release the 3 DVD's? where's the rest of the seasons. They should be boxed together and re-released on Blu-ray, but that's not likely to happen any time soon.

This was a great idea for an animated series, continuing the story of the surviving Godzilla and pitting him against other monsters. The monsters aren't as grand as the Toho one's, but that doesn't matter much, I'm just glad to see Zilla fighting other monsters. There is even a Mecha-Godzilla, which was made from the original Godzilla, funny how that happened later in the millennium series with Kiryu. There is even a three part episode that is a remake of Destroy all monsters, so we get some references to the original Japeneese Godzilla films. Heck we even see the American Godzilla in Tokyo.

The animation looks fantastic, I wish it was still done like this, now-a-days it's all done with CGI, which looks like crap, much like most of the animated programming lately. This show has one of the greatest, if not the greatest opening credits for any t.v. show in history.

The characters are okay, nothing special. I do find nick's voice to feel out of place with the other voice actors, he sounds so stock, if you know what I'm talking about....generic is what I mean. I like the N.I.G.E.L. robot, he's cool, and he is also voiced by Tom Kenny, that I didn't know.

I think this show needs to be discovered by more people, it is actually pretty good. Even with me being older now, I still find this show very entertaining. I would like to know James Rolfe's opinion on this series, he wasn't too fond of the movie, but this offers more than the movie did, at least in terms of monsters.

I recommend this, although I am disappointed in the lack of episodes on DVD, it's still worth checking out.

bad movie but horribly underrated show

[bradenbk · 7/10 · 4 December 2016]

this show awesome, as much as the 1998 Godzilla film sucks the show is very cool and Godzilla in this one is very interesting. The best part about this show are the kaiju are very first I'm going to talk about Godzilla jr, before I start I'm not going to talk about every monster, Godzilla jr in this he starts as a baby and the last egg, which really brings back the post credit scene, later he grows too an a adult. He is very fun monster to see in this show. Next is c rex, he is a cool, he is not a t rex like creature peeps OK, is like a bug like creature with these huge long legs, and I always thought he looked like a worm, next is king cobra, well that's basically like a giant king cobra, Godzilla fights him in Japan, the thing is that he suddenly changes size at times, but overall he very epic. Next is my personal favorite cyberzilla, he is the Godzilla from 1998 movie but he is now a cyborg and he is so cool, he's much bigger than Godzilla jr, he is my favorite. well over all this show is a fun show to watch and I highly recommend.

Better Than the Movie and Most TV Shows, Animated or Live

[raptor_2 · 21 August 1999]

Godzilla the Series takes place where the near-blockbuster movie left off. Nick Tatapolous finds the original Godzilla's one surviving egg. During its hatching, the baby Godzilla implements Nick as its adopted father.

This could've gone into corny areas, as did several other tv show's and the other godzilla cartoon from the 70's, with Godzilla always being there for them no matter what, and always a good guy. NOT SO HERE. Godzilla, though seeing Nick as his "father", also sees the entire planet as his own nest. So, whenever a monster attacks Nick, or starts taking its own land, Godzilla will fight it off. but it also means that mankind definitely gets in Godzilla's way, and there is often little NIck can do, since its not like he can just call an independent thinking creature like Godzilla off. And thankfully, in the series, Godzilla does breath his radioactive fire. And he is much meaner and more assertive against enemies than the movie Godzilla. But several characters from the movie are back in the seires, and are much more interesting at that. The rarely seen Elsie Chapman and Mendel Craven are more 3 dimensional here, as are Audrey Timmons, Animal, and Major HIcks. Several episodes even devote more than ample time on character's histories and relationships to each other, such as an episode where a major character is Elsie's one time fiancee, or plenty of episodes where newcoming characters Monique Dupree, a frech secret agant, and Randy Hernandez, an early 20's hacker, hit it off, but not so well as in most relationships. And the majority of the monsters are great and original. One problem though is that they are often shown in all their designs glory in the first few minutes of an episode. All in all, the series has more plot twists and refreshing script work than the movie. I strongly suggest that everyone watches it and gives it the attention it deserves.

Better as a kid.

[ecschmid-26930 · 6/10 · 31 December 2019]

Growing up in the 1990's, Fox Kids was everything. So too no surprise, they adapted all summer movies, into series'. Godzilla 1998 was a box office disaster, but surprisingly, the show was really good. The show takes place in 1998, after the last films, where Nick has been imprinted by the only surviving offspring of Zilla. The show then returns to its original roots of Godzilla fighting other monsters.

The show definitely introduced a new side too the American Godzilla. Here, he has power breath. He can't be killed by rockets. The monsters are creative; and have a unique purpose. Plus, most of the characters have a personality, that's not just the comic relief.

The show had a lot of great monsters and designs, but where it fell flat, was characters. The characters do not have any progressive character arcs, nor does Zilla. Zilla, is used almost entirely as a plot device, when the characters can't win. That's where the story should've flourished, was Zilla becoming more and more benevolent towards humanity. Instead, he only shows up to save just Nick; then returns to the sea. On top of that, the fight scenes can be slow, there's not much interesting dialogue, the animation is choppy; and the characters feel hollow.

The series still was a lot of fun. In fact, this was the show that got me into giant monsters, but now that I'm in my late 20's and no longer in elementary school, I can see a lot more of the flaws. I'll always love this show, it took nothing and turned it into something. But for what it is, it's still a pretty standard, low budget 1990's Cartoon.

Entertaining Show

[coconutkungfu-30704 · 6/10 · 17 February 2020]

Entertaining "Monster of The Week" show that features some cool new unique monsters and shows viewers that Gino is cool enough to carry a series. Entertaining stuff for what it is.

6 Ginos out of 10

When a cartoon surpasses the movie it is based on

[xamtaro · 9/10 · 2 June 2014]

Godzilla the series

Picking off moments from the end of the 1998 GODZILLA movie, Dr Nick Tatopolus discovers and befriends the last remaining baby Zilla. It imprints on Nick as his parent but is chased away when the military comes calling. Baby Zilla soon grows to full size and although he displays an undying loyalty to Nick, Nick can no longer hide it. While the army is hell bent on exterminating this beast, new monstrous behemoths start to emerge across the world, some the result of mutation, some ancient, others extraterrestrial. Teaming up with former co-scientists Elsie and Craven, along with mysterious French secret agent Monique, Nick forms the H.E.A.T team aiming to track down these giant creatures for scientific purposes before the military blows them apart. But not all these monsters are friendly, and that's where the now adult Godzilla comes in to take them down.

Clearly inspired by the Showa era of heroic Godzilla movies, as well as the Hannah Barbara GODZILLA power hour cartoon, Godzilla the series ranks among the better animated shows based on movies. It is arguably better than the movie itself, returning a generic giant monster premise to its Japanese roots. Where most animated adaptations/continuations dumb down the story (see Robocop, Rambo, Star Wars Droids), this shows ups the ante in action, scale and enjoyment.

The plots could be a tad formulaic: new threat shows itself, H.E.A.T team investigates, gets into trouble, Godzilla helps, monster attacks, fights Godzilla who may or may not be evenly matched, godzilla ultimately wins thanks to its own cunning or human assistance. Thankfully, the execution is too notch. For a start, the characters are well written with snappy dialogue and good chemistry among the voice actors. There are hints of character development across the series. They start off one dimensional but as episodes go along, they change slowly, subtly adding depth to their personalities. For example, Nick outgrows his geeky personality into a confident action leader type by the second season.

On the production side, Godzilla the series looks quite good for a 1999 animated show. Animated by korean studio DR Movie, this show displays a good balance of art detail and animation fluidity. Shadows are consistent, clothing show folds; only the backgrounds come across a little half baked. The backgrounds are flatly colored with the odd scene looking a tad unfinished. Though the character designs may also take some getting used to, coming across like Rugrats mixed with bad early 90s Japanese anime, the monster designs are marvelous. You can tell that most time and effort went into the monsters themselves. They are drawn with an insane level of expertise and animated very smoothly.

Fans agree that this series is what many wished the 1998 Godzilla remake delivered. It is not shy to delve into darker territory, such as the acclaimed "monster wars" 3 part saga, and manages to balance a coherent plot with some timely humor. (Poor N.I.G.E.L). Initially only selected episodes were released on DVD. But now, A complete series DVD set has been released to coincide with the 2014 GODZILLA movie from legendary studios. The late 90s and early 2000s was a new renaissance for American animation, with GODZILLA THE SERIES right there among the best.

This is a great show

[jacobjohntaylor1 · 7/10 · 11 February 2017]

This a great show. It has great acting. It has a great story line. It has great animation. It is a fellow up to The Godzilla reboot from (1998). The Godzilla reboot from 1998 is better. Godzilla (1954) is better. Godzilla raids again is better. King Kong vs Godzilla is better. Godzilla vs Mothra is better. Ghildorah the three headed monster is better. Godzilla vs monster zero is better. Godzilla vs the sea monster is better. Son of Godzilla is better. Destroy all monster is better. Godzilla vs the smog Monster better. Godzilla vs Gigan is better. But still this is a great show. See it. This is better the Godzilla's revenge. This also better then Godzilla 2000.

Very Entertaining but needs more episodes or another LAM (Live Action Movie)

[dekabreakomegaX-1 · 10/10 · 12 November 2008]

In all my years as a Daikaiju fan, this is one of the best.This unlike the Godzilla in the film, is much more powerful and faster. This Godzilla The Series is a very wonderful fast paced animation that was better than the HB version. He is fast, agile, strong and affectionate, even playful in some occasions to humans especially to Dr. Nick. This however, ended up canceled in TVs and that made it bad not only to this show, but to other shows as well because of that Pokemon VS Digimon wars. Now as to this, I hope that this will have a Season 3 or another Live Action Movie with Godzilla Jr. (Zilla Jr.) as an Earth Protecting Daikaiju, a more reminiscent to his Japanese version. The battles are good and entertaining, may they make some more. Why end the show when the fans are enjoying it? That needs more emphasis on the duels of Godzilla in this GTS, sadly the action was limited. And that's all.

Everything the movie should've been

[dino_saur333 · 7/10 · 31 May 2010]

Many critics and fans will agree, the '99 American remake of Godzilla was disappointment. The movie fails in that people naturally expect a lot from a big budget monster movie. And how could they not? The movie is about a 120ft lizard after all.

But sadly the movie just failed to deliver. The director of the film traded unnecessary story and environmental preaching for what the fans really wanted: complete mayhem caused by a giant monster. Zilla was thereby lost in a sea of potential. He could've been great. He only needed a bigger, better, more bad-ass script.

Fortunately though, Zilla Jr. got everything his father never had and what every giant monster should have. Zilla Jr. was baddass! He had it all: Near-indestructible tenacity, awesome atomic breath powers, an ambiguous good/bad reputation, and most importantly, a crap load of other monsters to kick ass! I dare say that Zilla Jr. can even surpass the original Japanese Godzilla. I truly believe this and I don't care what anybody else says.

Godzilla: The Series redeemed the original source movie by being a highly imaginative series that takes all the best elements of classic monster flicks and amps them up for a 21st century. The characters and the stories are engaging and each episode, while still able to blend into a wider continuity, can stand alone in their own way (such is the style of American animated series) The direction is well done and the stories and monster battles Zilla Jr. get's himself into are quite imaginative. And if you say it's unbelievable...Well, it's a sci-fi animation series about giant monsters. 'Nuff said.

Heck, even the original Zilla Sr. managed to get redeemed in the series himself, being resurrected by aliens into a cyborg. How cool is that? If this is playing in a TV near you, watch it. If not, I seriously recommend getting the series on video.

I loved Godzilla series when I was a little kid but...

[joshuahubbard-13015 · 5/10 · 3 November 2018]

I loved Godzilla the series. It was the best. But is there any chance that that might make a blu-ray? I was hoping they could make closed caption or subtitles? Please?

I've been addicted to Godzilla: the series for 5 years

[kurt_wilkinson · 10/10 · 7 March 2013]

I have been watching this show for 5 years straight and i can't stop, it's so addicting I can't understand why the series was ended and I've been dying to know why. I mean, come on, why would they end it with all of that suspense and possibility??? I would wait my whole life if I had to for them to start the series back up!!!!!! I hope they DO start it up again because this series is to DIE for, NO JOKE. I would really recommend this series to anyone I meet because this is the best TV show I have seen in my short life. As a matter of fact.... if it was possible I'd rate this show at an infinite number of stars. One of my MOST favorite parts about this series is how much Randy Hernandez, loves to mess with Mendel Craven's robot, N.I.G.E.L. and the best part about he always messes with the voice programming to where it quotes a famous show, person, etc. but the best part it's always hilarious because of the situations.

Brilliant, better than the movie but with original zing

[Transient-Orca · 15 April 2007]

I grew up watching this show every saterday morning. I loved the first movie, but always hated the originals. But one thing I have noticed is that people who liked the originals actually like this series,and the people who loved the newer series love it more.

It keeps the new Godzilla (1998) but adds more of the classical aspects from the originals. I even enjoyed this show, to this day.

Some monsters I didn't like, like the huge insects, but most were pretty cool, and amazing.

The characters we actually pretty developed, and Godzilla was more like the original, meaning he could be violent and rampaging at times, but in the end he was sort of on the good side. He was an unpredictable creature that could be on your side or the other. ANd his decision would make or break you.

Really I enjoyed this series, its to bad it had to end because of the lame Digimon and Pokemon wars that ensued at this time.

It has one of the best story-telling in all of monster-genres and it fixes a lot of mistakes from 1998 movie.

[suryapigeon · 9/10 · 3 July 2020]

Though this Godzilla is still consider as Zilla, he does have the worthiness to be called as one. Zilla Jr is more powerful than his father like withstanding rockets and much more, just like the Japanese Godzilla. Humans are interesting to follow unlike the first one. They have a good story and they have interesting personalities. My only problem with the series is that we didn't get enough of Zilla Jr. But, it was a enjoyable series and I wish it continues.

A fantastic show that rises far above the disasterous film it is based on

[lukejustice-37599 · 8/10 · 30 May 2023]

I was really cautious going into this series after the disaster that was the '98 film but this actually turned out to be a damn good show. Godzilla still has that awful Tri-Star design but at least he does get his atomic breath back and acts a lot more aggressive than the film (though he gets his ass beat a little too much sometimes). The main human cast is really good and I thought they had a pretty fun dynamic. The voice acting talent was pretty stacked across the board and I felt they all did great jobs.

The series didn't have the rights to any of the actual Toho monsters so they had to come up with original monsters and I think they did a really good job with most of them. The monster fights were pretty solid though you can tell they were holding back somewhat due to this being a show for kids. The Monster Wars episodes were incredible and are easily the best episodes of the show.

Even better than the movie.

[creationdev-12043 · 9/10 · 19 November 2022]

Godzilla: The Series was better than Godzilla (1998). Though took the same plot after the the 1998 film, Godzilla: The Series managed to delivers Godzilla despite it's still a Zilla with same design from the 1998 with minor changes. Zilla in this show was called Zilla Jr. As he was hatched on the last remaining egg that survived the explosions. This Junior, has seberat things that his father lacked of. Junior is smarter, stronger than his father. Though, Junior still had a green flame breath, the breath did made a very catastrophic damage and powerful even several Jr's enemy got knocked so hard by the flaming breath. Now this is the Godzilla we wanted even tho having it's design identical with his father. Unfortunately, the show was eventually cancelled because of the show's connection with the 1998 Godzilla film.

Great animated series! One of the best ever!

[Movie Nuttball · 18 July 2005]

I am a huge Godzilla fan, I grew up with Godzilla, I just love seeing this awesome monster just destroy cities and fighting other monsters. I like his enemies as well but Godzilla is the Icon!

This is really an awesome animated series! I you know, I am a huge Godzilla fan and though I wasn't complete pleased with Godzilla 1998 there were things I did like how he looked, his personality and such but he wasn't the indestructible monster that we all know and that is what I didn't like about the film and how he died. It would have been one of the greatest films of the century if he would have been immortal. But neither is he in the cartoon though he does fight other monsters and the people understand he more. People who love Godzilla's trademark roar will be happy to know he roars through out the series! Another thing I like about this cartoon series is he even has he other roar he does in the US movie. All of his characteristics are captured here from the 1998 film as well. Kevin Dunn reprises his Major Hicks role again only this time he is animated and Joe Pantoliano is in it so those are nice treats! All of the animated characters are great! The animation is very crisp, clean and very beautiful and I love the intros! In short and in My opinion, this is what the the United States 1998 Godzilla film should have been!

Godzilla Is Currently My Favorite Animated Series

[crazy-22 · 8 March 2000]

I highly recommend Godzilla: The Series to anyone who enjoys well written stories, great monsters and characters you can really root for. The stories are imaginative and filled with Fil Barlow's fantastic creature creations. A big plus is the inclusion of strong female characters. Monique Dupre, Elsie Chapman and even Audrey Timmonds are brave, intelligent and capable.

The underlying relationships of the characters are often what makes the show such fun: Randy Hernandez' endless quest to impress Monique, his teasing friendship with Mendel Craven, and Mendel's quiet longing for the oblivious Elsie truly hooked me on the show. Characters are also multi-dimensional and capable of change. Mendel is often used as comic relief, but his creative genius often saves the day and he can be selflessly heroic should the need arise.

Check Godzilla: The Series out. You won't be sorry.

???

[Op_Prime · 24 May 2000]

This Godzilla series was great and much better than previous efforts (the earlier animated series and even the movie). This series picked up where the Sony movie left off. In this series, the HEAT team and Godzilla faced new monsters: giant bat and bee, mutated seas creature, that kind of stuff.

I don't believe it.

[noise_pollution1618 · 9 January 2006]

I saw this cartoon rerun in Zurich (where i live), and I could not believe my eyes! The movie back in '98 made me disappointed, a. for having one monster fighting off a military (people don't come to see a monster fighting just the military, they want monsters fighting each other) and b. because they were trying too hard to be like Jurassic park at the end.

But this takes a completely different approach. The last baby of the Godzilla movie considers Nick (the main character) his "father", so whenever some ugly creature starts rampaging around New York (the enemy monsters can also be very well designed), so Godzilla comes and pretty much makes sure they can never touch New York again. He has the same design from the movie, and he can finally shoot fire from his mouth and is a lot more nimble. Godzilla fans rejoice.

One of the better series on TV

[Figaro-8 · 6 April 2000]

Okay, so he doesn't look like he did in the '50s. If you really want to see how Godzilla should be done, tune in to this series. This has some of everything: well-developed characters we can actually identify with, clever stories that will thrill you, make you laugh, and might even teach you a thing or two, and (of course) fantastic monster creations. In the past, Godzilla has been presented as being totally bent on destruction (IMHO) or has been reduced to last-minute save-the-day status (in the '70s Hanna-Barbera cartoons). Here he is an independently-thinking creature. Although he takes it upon himself to protect the HEAT team (and the planet), he is a monster first and foremost, with a huge appetite and unpredictable actions. After countless episodes, he is still a mystery. This series keeps my glued to the tube every time.

Second review: better than the movie and other cartoon, but lacks enough 'Zilla action

[raptor_2 · 31 July 2001]

This is my second, more carefully constructed review for this series. As said, i won't cover the ground details as i did before, but offer a second opinion.

I still like this series, and I do think it's better than the movie, in that it has better, more believable characters, and Godzilla acts more like Godzilla than he did in the remake.

The main problem is that, in his own cartoon show, Godzilla is rarely seen, and often treated as a mere Deus Ex Machina!

Sure, there are some interesting monsters, and they get plenty of screen time, but most of them are just large insects, and any potential mystery about their appearance is ruined, since they usually are completely seen in the prologue before the opening credits.

And yes, the human characters are more than just cardboard cut outs, they earn our interest, and interact instead of just act towards each other. In other words, the almost exact opposite of the characters from the 70's Hanna-Barbara show (but even they had good intentions).

But, unfortunately, while the the humans and monsters are often interesting, the producers of the show forgot one thing: this is called "Godzilla: the Series", so why is it he only shows up twice an average episode?!? And when he does show up, its usually when he either makes his first appearance, gets injured, then comes back in at the end to kill the monster after the humans fail.

While the humans don't fail always, whatever plan they do have requires Godzilla uses him as a plot device, and without it, he probably wouldn't have shown up in the episode at all!

Its like in most of the Gamera (re: flying-turtle Godzilla knock-off) movies: Cool evil monster comes in, humans stare at it, Gamera comes in, get wounded, retreats, humans attempt to kill cool evil monster, fail, then either Gamera comes back and kills it himself or becomes integral to the human's attempts to kill it. (also, for fun, add in tiny short wearing children who are "friends of Gamera")

Basically, take this formula, replace the boring Japanese people with the interesting cartoon characters, take out the tiny-short wearing kids and put in NIck Tatopolous, and (this is the worst part) replace Gamera with Godzilla, and you have generally every episode of the series, though not as lame as the older gamera movies, but not as good as the recent ones.

also note: While Godzilla and Nick in the show have a relationship somewhat like Gamera had with whatever small kid he was saving, Godzilla is not under Nick's control. And while Godzilla does often protect Nick, it is often not his main reason for being in the story. Also, while Gamera mostly followed the kids, Godzilla and Nick often follow each other to wherever the story takes them.

However, the episodes where Godzilla is the center of attention are absolutely excellent! The episode where Godzilla is cloned, where he is being mind controlled, where Nick and Monique go inside him to stop a virus, are all great shows.

Especially great is the one where Godzilla meets up with another monster like him, and becomes a surrogate mate. That episode takes everything good about the series (character development and interaction, monster fights, and drama), and rolls it into a perfect episode. Heck, they even have a giant mutant turtle in that one! An obvious nod to Gamera, and a monster fight Kaiju fans would kill to see.

Overall, "Godzilla: the series" is good, a great improvement on the movie, and its worth seeing every episode, but it could have been great if only Godzilla himself were in it more.