Godzilla’s growth
Godzilla Artwork from: http://www.desktopbackgrounds.me/
We’re all pretty excited because the new Godzilla movie is out. I wonder if he’ll be a good or an evil
Godzilla? I know he has been each before. He’ll certainly be destructive.
I wonder how tall he will be? I know that he always has to stand above the buildings of the city that he is
destroying. I’ve heard that in this movie he’s in Las Vegas, Honolulu, and New York.
The first Godzilla movie was made in Japan in 19541. Godzilla destroyed Tokyo (which he has destroyed a
number of times since that first movie.) At that time the tallest building in Tokyo was the National Diet
Building. It was 65 meters (215 feet) tall and Godzilla was able to peak above the building.
1. Considering the angle that we might be viewing the before and after pictures below, about how tall
do you estimate Godzilla to be?
National Diet Building (65 meters/215 feet) - where Japan’s legislators meet – real building (left) and after Godzilla (right)
2. In the 2014 Godzilla movie, he destroys San Francisco. The Trans Am Pyramid building is apparent
in both pictures below. About how tall does Godzilla appear to be in this 2014 movie?
2014 Godzilla destroys San Francisco. Trans Am Pyramid Building (260 meters/853 feet)
3. Godzilla was supposedly only 50 meters tall in the first Godzilla movie, (1954) yet he was able to
peak above the National Diet Building. Does that make sense based on the picture?
4. In the 2014 movie Godzilla is supposedly 350 feet or about 106 meters tall in the. Does that make
sense based on the San Francisco picture on the previous page?
We did some research on line and found numbers that differed a bit from what he looks like. We’ll use
these numbers to try to study his growth. We found these numbers that we’ll use for analyzing Godzilla’s
movie data.
First year of this size
1954
1962
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1984
1989
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1998
1999
2001
2002
2003
2004
2014
Years since 1954
0
8
10
11
12
13
14
15
17
18
19
20
21
30
35
37
38
39
40
41
44
45
47
48
49
50
60
Height in meters
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
80
100
100
100
100
100
100
55
55
50
55
55
100
106
5. Create a scatterplot of Godzilla’s heights during these various years. Let 1954 be year zero on your
x-axis.
140 Height of Godzilla in meters 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Years since 1954 when the :irst movie was made. 6. Describe the relationship between Godzilla's height and time since first movie. Do you see a trend in
Godzilla’s height through the years?
7. The 1998 film, Godzilla, (made by Roland Emmerich) was not reviewed well. There were two more
sequels planned but those movies were scrapped because of the negative criticisms of the first
movie in the series. One reason for the negative reviews by critics was Godzilla’s height. What do
you notice about Godzilla’s height in 1998 as compare to the 2014 movie? Why might that height
have been okay in the 1950’s but not in modern day?
8. With the box office success of the 2014 Godzilla, reports are that a sequel is on the way. Use the
data that you plotted to predict Godzilla’s height in future movies or TV series.
1
The1954 Godzilla movie was written and directed by Ishirō Honda and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka.
Source: http://www.policymic.com/articles/76357/the-scary-way-godzilla-has-evolved-through-the-years-in-one-chart
http://www.abcactionnews.com/entertainment/movie-review-chilling-godzilla-reboot-upholds-legacy-of-the-original-1954-film
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla_(1954_film)
http://www.factfiend.com/godzillas-designed-just-tall-enough-peer-buildings/
http://www.vox.com/2014/5/12/5707934/the-amateurs-guide-to-godzilla
http://godzilla.wikia.com/wiki/Godzilla
http://www.vh1.com/celebrity/2014-05-13/cities-destroyed-by-godzilla/
http://www.tohokingdom.com/articles/movie_lists/godzilla_listing.htm
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